About
Advanced Placement
In May of each year, the College Board administers Advanced Placement tests in calculus at two different levels:
- The Calculus AB Advanced Placement Examination covers the topics of differential and integral Calculus.
- The Calculus BC Advanced Placement Examination includes the topics of the AB Advanced Placement Examination as well as additional material on infinite series.
Only results from these two exams affect whether a student may or may not be exempted from The University Core Curriculum requirement in mathematics, and what, if any, mathematics corequisites may be omitted in a student's major program. In particular, note that results achieved in the Statistics AP Placement Examination have no impact with regards to mathematics requirements.
We consider a student to have Advanced Placement ("AP") credit in mathematics if he or she has received a score of four of higher on either the Calculus AB or Calculus BC Placement examination.
Earning AP credit from the Calculus AB exam can be roughly equated to successfully completing our Calculus courses MT100 Calculus I and MT101 Calculus II. Earning AP credit from the Calculus BC exam compares very closely with successful completion of our Calculus courses MT102 Calculus I (math and science majors) and MT103 Calculus II (math and science majors).
It's important to understand that AP credit at Boston College serves a variety of different functions.
- In all schools and colleges, AP credit exempts the student from The University Core Curriculum requirement in Mathematics.
- In the Carroll School of Management (CSOM), AP credit exempts the student from the CSOM Calculus requirement.
- In many programs or majors (e.g., chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, and psychology), AP credit may exempt the student from having to meet mathematics core requisites specified by the program or major.
- In some majors or programs (e.g., Biology-BS and the Pre-medical program), AP credit is used primarily to properly place the student in a required calculus course, allowing the student a wider range of options in how he or she may complete a mathematics corequisite in the program.
The pages of this website that specify mathematics requirements according to a student's school or college and then by major or program define as precisely as possible how AP credit can be used in each of those majors or programs.
Note that AP credit is not considered as course credit. That is, each student is required to complete 38 or more courses for graduation, depending upon their school or college. AP credit does not reduce the number of courses needed to graduate.
In short, AP credit allows a student to be properly placed into courses when mathematics is an essential component of his or her program or major, often bypassing corequisite mathematics courses, and almost always giving students more options in completing requirements in their majors and programs.
Students must ask that their scores be transmitted by the College Board to Boston College. Once scores are received by Boston College, appropriate designations are made on the student's transcript - MT011 and MT012 AP designations are made on the student's transcript when qualifying scores are received.
It is the responsibility of every incoming student to make sure that results of their AP examinations are correctly transmitted to Boston College. Please contact the College Board and/or Boston College Admissions if your examination scores are not properly transmitted. All questions regarding the recording of AP credit in math must be resolved by Boston College Admissions.
Students pursuing or likely to pursue majors in Mathematics, Chemistry, Geophysics, Geology-Geophysics, or Physics, or following the B.S. program in Computer Science, should take one of the Calculus courses required by their major in the first Fall semester. You will choose from the following:
- MT102 Calculus I - Math & Science Major
- MT105 Calculus II-AP - Math & Science Major
- MT202 Multivariable Calculus
These Calculus courses are also open to, and recommended for, students in other majors who are mathematically inclined and highly motivated.
If you've taken no more than one semester of Calculus in high school, your choice is simple: take MT102 Calculus I (Math & Science Majors). In the Spring semester, you'll take its direct continuation MT103 Calculus II (Math & Science Majors), and then complete the basic Calculus with MT202 Multivariable Calculus in your third semester.
Even if you've taken no Calculus or PreCalculus, MT102 Calculus I (Math & Science Majors) is still the correct choice for a first-semester Calculus course.
Which of the MT102, MT105, or MT202 courses is the most appropriate for you is determined by these major factors:
- the type of high school Calculus curriculum you studied ("AB," "BC," or "Other");
- the results you achieved in these courses;
- the results you achieved on the AP exam, if you took one;
- your attitude towards mathematics;
- your motivation to pursue a demanding program; and
- your desire to advance more quickly through the requirements of your major.
Our general recommendations on which course you should choose as a first Calculus course can be found in the following table. In all cases where we suggest choosing one of two possible courses, you should almost always take the higher-numbered course if you have a positive attitude towards mathematics and are motivated to pursue a demanding program.
| Calculus Curriculum You Studied/AP Test You Took | ||||
| BC | AB | Other | ||
| The Result You Achieved | AP Score of 5 | MT202 | MT105 | --- |
| AP Score of 4 | MT105 or MT202 | MT102 or MT105 | --- | |
| A year of high school Calculus with mostly grades of A | MT105 | MT102 or MT105 | MT102 | |
| A year of high school Calculus with mostly grades of B | MT102 | MT102 | MT102 | |
Note
- MT105 Calculus II-AP (Math & Science Majors) assumes that you've studied the transcendental functions (exponential and logarithm). If you studied Calculus but did not learn the Calculus of these functions, then you should take MT102.
- MT105 Calculus II-AP (Math & Science Majors) is a Fall-only course. Its nearest Spring equivalent is MT103 Calculus II (Math & Science Majors), which is the direct continuation of MT102 Calculus I (Math & Science Majors). If you feel you are not strong with integration, but that you know differentiation very well, the best option may be to not take math in the Fall, and then take MT103 in the Spring.
- Secondary Education students in LSOE having an A&S major that requires Calculus for Math and Science Majors (MT102 or MT105) must ask registration staff to enroll them "by hand" in MT102 (when you register for courses on the second day of Orientation). This is a known problem with the system -- your registration can only be made by registration staff or the Mathematics Undergraduate Vice Chair.
- CSOM and CSON students may register for MT102 only after obtaining permission from the Mathematics Undergraduate Vice Chair.
Students pursuing majors in the Social Sciences, Biology, Geology (excluding Geology-Geophysics), Environmental Sciences, or following the Pre-medical or Pre-dental or Pre-veterinary Programs, and all students in the Carroll School of Management, will usually take their first Mathematics course at Boston College from among the following:
If you've taken no more than one semester of Calculus in high school, your choice is simple: take MT100 Calculus I. In the Spring semester, if you wish to (or are required to) continue, you'll then take MT101 Calculus II.
Even if you've taken no Calculus or PreCalculus, MT100 Calculus I is still the correct choice for a first-semester Calculus course. The first three weeks of the course are essentially a self-contained (albeit brief) course in PreCalculus.
Which of the MT100 or MT101 (or even MT202 Multivariable Calculus) courses is most appropriate for you is determined by these major factors:
- the type of high school Calculus curriculum you studied ("AB," "BC," or "Other");
- the results you achieved in these courses;
- the results you achieved on the AP exam, if you took one;
- your attitude towards mathematics;
- your motivation to pursue a demanding program; and
- your desire to advance more quickly through the requirements of your major.
Our general recommendations on which course you should choose as a first Calculus course can be found in the following table. In all cases where we suggest choosing one of two possible courses, you should almost always take the higher-numbered course if you have a positive attitude towards mathematics and are motivated to pursue a demanding program.
| Calculus Curriculum You Studied/AP Test You Took | ||||
| BC | AB | Other | ||
| The Result You Achieved |
AP Score of 5 | MT101 or MT202 | MT101 | --- |
| AP Score of 4 | MT101 | MT100 or MT101 | --- | |
| A year of high school Calculus with mostly grades of A |
MT101 | MT100 or MT101 | MT100 or MT101 | |
| A year of high school Calculus with mostly grades of B |
MT100 | MT100 | MT100 | |
Note
- Please remember that these are only general guidelines, and no student will be forced to register for one of the courses that might be suggested by the table above.
- For students who have reservations about their abilities, or who are taking multiple science courses with labs, or who have heavy commitments in other disciplines, a conservative choice would be to "drop back" from a suggested course of MT202 to MT101, or similarly, to "drop back" to MT100 if MT101 is suggested.
- Nevertheless, be careful to not be overly conservative if you choose to "drop back" from our suggestions. Taking a course that mostly repeats your high school Calculus curriculum will not receive your full attention, can lead to poor study habits, and sometimes even results in a poor grade.
- Students looking for a deeper or more challenging mathematical preparation -- e.g., for those thinking about graduate work in Economics -- and students who would consider majoring in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science/BS, or Geology-Geophysics -- should see our advisement page for Math and Physical Science majors. In particular, there may be better options for students having a strong mathematical background and AP credit.
Two Curricula for Single Variable Calculus
Our Calculus offerings very much mirror the familiar "AB" and "BC" Advanced Placement curricula.
- We offer the MT100 - MT101 Calculus sequence mostly for majors in the Social Sciences, Biology and Geology majors, students in pre-Medical/pre-Dental/pre-Veterinary programs, and students in the Carroll School of Management. The topics covered in these two courses are almost identical to the Calculus AB curriculum.
- We offer the MT102 - MT103 Calculus sequence for Math and Science majors, as well as for students looking for a more challenging alternative to the MT100-MT101 sequence. The topics covered in these two courses are almost identical to the Calculus BC curriculum.
Students who have completed a year of an Advanced Placement Calculus curriculum in high school should strongly consider bypassing the first course in either of these curricula.
- For students taking the MT100 - MT101 Calculus curriculum, MT101 is often an appropriate choice for your first semester. Please see the page describing this curriculum for more info about whether skipping MT100 and starting with MT101 is the right choice for you.
- For students who will take the Math and Science curriculum MT102 - MT103, a special version of MT103 is offered in each Fall semester, labeled MT105 Calculus II-AP (Math and Science majors). This course very nicely bridges your high school Calculus background with the goals of the MT102 - MT103 sequence, allowing you to move more quickly to Multivariable Calculus after only one semester of study. Please see the Math and Physical Science Major Calculus page for more detail on whether MT105 would be the correct starting point for you.
Students who complete either the MT102-MT103 (Math and Science Major) sequence or the MT105 Calculus II-AP course, and wish to pursue more mathematics, should continue to MT202 Multivariable Calculus.
Students who complete the MT100-MT101 sequence and wish to pursue more mathematics may continue to MT202 Multivariable Calculus. (Although some topics such as sequences and series may have been omitted in this transition, none is prerequisite to MT202.) However, it may be appropriate for students to first complete either MT103 (in Spring) or MT105 (in Fall) before entering MT202. Please consult your MT101 instructor or the Math Advisor for a personal recommendation on which choice is appropriate for you.
You can compare topic coverages of these courses and sequences in the following table.
| First Course Differential Calculus |
Second Course Integral Calculus |
Third Course Multivariable Calculus |
|
| The Basic Calculus Sequence | MT100 (4 hours) Some pre-Calculus, derivatives, applications of derivatives, introduction to integration. |
MT101 (4 hours) Basic integration notions, basic techniques of integration, applications of integration, and an introduction to differential equations. |
MT202 (4 hours) Partial derivatives, gradient, level curves and surfaces, optimization in several variables, multiple integration, alternative coordinate systems for double and triple integration, parametric curves in the plane and in space, line integrals, and Green's Theorem. |
| Math & Science Major Sequence | MT102 (Fall: 4 hours) In addition to the topics of MT100, this course includes technical notions of limits and continuity, as well as more depth on applications of derivatives, especially in optimization techniques. |
MT103 (Spring: 4 hours) In addition to the topics of MT101, this course includes several more integration methods, and provides an introduction to infinite sequences and series (including Taylor series). |
|
| MT105 (Fall: 3 hours) This course reviews the major integration methods and their interesting applications, then provides an introduction to infinite sequences and series (including Taylor series). |
Note
- Any student who thinks he or she may eventually become a major in Math, Physics, Geophysics, Geology-Geophysics, Computer Science/BS, or Chemistry should take the Science major sequence.
- Any student who would prefer a deeper, more demanding program in Mathematics should also prefer the Science major sequence.