Does Queen's University give transfer credit for IB French A: Literature HL?
Kingston, ON
Yes, Transfer Credit Available!
Minimum Grade Required
Credit Granted
FREN 2UNS (6.0 units)
Generic Credit: Unassigned credit, not a specific course. How it applies to your degree is determined by your faculty, and it may not replace a mandatory prerequisite for your major.
Health Sciences students: A score of 6 or higher is required to use this credit as a prerequisite for upper-year FREN courses. A score of 5 grants the 6.0 units but may not unlock upper-year registration.
Engineering exception: In Smith Engineering, French A or B HL is credited as 6.0 units toward Complementary Studies (Performance Arts & Languages), not as FREN 150. Max 6.0 Complementary Studies units from all IB credits combined.
Course note: FREN 150 is a legacy course code; it has been replaced by FREN 151 (3.0) and FREN 152 (3.0). The IB transfer credit still maps to FREN 150 and satisfies the same prerequisites.
💡Expert's Take
Yes: Queen's grants 6.0 units for IB French A: Literature HL (score of 5+), but the credit is unspecified, which carries real limitations. Across most faculties, students receive FREN 2UNS, a 200-level unspecified French credit that counts toward your degree's unit total but does not serve as a prerequisite for upper-year French courses. This is a fundamentally different award from what French A: Language and Literature HL students receive, and the distinction matters if you have any plans involving French at Queen's (Queen's IB transfer credit tables).
The critical difference lies in how Queen's distinguishes between the two IB French A streams. If you took French A: Language and Literature HL, you receive FREN 150, a specified equivalent that directly maps to Queen's intermediate French course and acts as a prerequisite gateway for upper-year FREN courses at the standard minimum score of 5. (Health Sciences is the one exception: that faculty requires a score of 6 or higher to use FREN 150 for prerequisite access.) If you took French A: Literature HL, you instead receive FREN 2UNS, an unspecified credit at the 200 level. The "UNS" designation means Queen's recognizes the work is at an advanced level but has not matched it to a specific course in their catalogue. This credit counts toward your degree's total units, but it does not unlock any prerequisite chains. In practical terms, FREN 2UNS is treated as elective credit.
This distinction is consistent across nearly every faculty at Queen's, Arts, Science, Computing, Health Sciences, Nursing, and Smith Commerce all award FREN 2UNS for French A: Literature HL. The one exception is Smith Engineering, where IB French A (either stream) is grouped together and awarded as 6.0 units of "Performance Arts and Languages" credit, counting toward the faculty's Complementary Studies requirements.
What to watch for:
- If you're considering a French Minor, Major, or Specialization: The gateway into all French degree plans is now FREN 152 (preceded by FREN 151). French A: Language and Literature HL students with FREN 150 can use that credit and potentially skip ahead, but French A: Literature HL students with FREN 2UNS will likely still need to take the French Studies placement test to determine where they enter the course sequence. The unspecified credit sits on your transcript as elective units; it does not substitute for any required plan courses.
- The score-of-6 rule is Health Sciences–specific: For French A: Language and Literature HL, the Health Sciences faculty requires a score of 6+ to use FREN 150 for prerequisite access to upper-year FREN courses. Other faculties do not impose this additional threshold, a score of 5 is sufficient. Since French A: Literature HL awards FREN 2UNS (which carries no prerequisite access regardless of score or faculty), the distinction between a 5 and a 7 has no practical impact on course sequencing; you receive the same 6.0 elective units either way.
- Credit deadline: You must submit your IB results to Queen's by the end of fall term of your first year. Students who miss this deadline are considered to have declined transfer credit, and this decision is irreversible.
Strategic advice: If you are not pursuing French Studies, FREN 2UNS is straightforward value, 6.0 units of elective credit toward your degree with no strings attached. Accept it and move on. If you are planning to study French, contact the Department of French Studies before your first term to discuss placement. The department's Undergraduate Chair handles transfer credit questions and special permissions, and they can advise on whether your FREN 2UNS credit can count toward plan requirements or whether you'll need to supplement it with additional coursework. Given that the department now requires FREN 152 as the gateway course (a recent change from the old FREN 150 gateway), the specific impact of your unspecified credit on your plan progression is worth clarifying early, before course selection locks you into a sequence that adds unnecessary time to your degree.
Official award line (IB French A: Literature HL):
Minimum score: 5
Credit granted (Arts, Science, Computing, Health Sciences, Nursing, Smith Commerce): FREN 2UNS, 6.0 units (unspecified 200-level French)
Credit granted (Smith Engineering): Performance Arts and Languages, 6.0 units (Complementary Studies)
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Your Potential Savings
Credit Awarded
6
unit (1 course = 3 units)
Ontario Resident
~$207-$503/unit
~$1,241 - $3,021
Potential Tuition Value
(Arts and Science to Commerce)
Out-of-Province
~$259-$630/unit
~$1,553 - $3,779
Potential Tuition Value
International
~$1,494-$1,844/unit
~$8,962 - $11,062
Potential Tuition Value
(varies by faculty)
*2026-27 tuition-only rates. Values assume the award replaces tuition you would otherwise pay. Actual cash savings can be $0 under flat-rate or full-time billing unless credit reduces a billed term or time to completion.
📊 Compare French A: Literature HL at Other Universities
See how French A: Literature HL transfer credits compare across Canadian universities. Click column headers to sort.
| University | Min Grade | Credit Granted | Tuition Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carleton UniversityOttawa, ON | 5/7 | FREN 1XXX (1.0) | View estimate | → | |
| Concordia UniversityMontreal, Quebec | 4/7 | 9 transfer credits toward the Extended Credit Prog… | View estimate | → | |
| Dalhousie UniversityHalifax, NS | 5/7 | French 2999.06 (elective) | View estimate | → | |
| Lakehead UniversityThunder Bay, ON | 5/7 | French 1200 | View estimate | → | |
| McGill UniversityMontreal, QC | 5/7 | FREN 1XX (6 credits) | View estimate | → | |
| McMaster UniversityHamilton, ON | 5/7 | 6 units of unspecified Level 1 French | View estimate | → | |
| Simon Fraser UniversityBurnaby, BC | 5/7 | SFU FREN 1XX (6), or SFU FREN 1XX (3) + WL 1XX (3)… | View estimate | → | |
| Toronto Metropolitan UniversityToronto, ON | 5/7 | 2 Language LLS | View estimate | → | |
| University of AlbertaEdmonton, AB | 6/7 | FREN 100-level (3 units) + FREN 211 (3 units) | View estimate | → | |
| University of British ColumbiaVancouver, BC | 5/7 | FREN_V 311 + FREN_V 3rd-year level (6 credits) | View estimate | → | |
| University of CalgaryCalgary, Alberta | 5/7 | FREN 315 | View estimate | → | |
| University of GuelphGuelph, ON | 5/7 | HUMN 9110 (0.50 credits) | View estimate | → | |
| University of ManitobaWinnipeg, MB | 4/7 | FREN 1200: French 1 (6) | View estimate | → | |
| University of OttawaOttawa, ON | 5/7 | FRA 1710 + FRA 1720 (6 units) | View estimate | → | |
| University of ReginaRegina, SK | 5/7 | Individual evaluation | View estimate | → | |
| University of TorontoToronto, ON | 5/7 | FRE1**Y (1.0 credit) | View estimate | → | |
| University of VictoriaVictoria, BC | 4/7 | FRAN 120 (3 units) | View estimate | → | |
| University of WaterlooWaterloo, ON | 5/7 | FR 1XX (0.5 units) — Elective credit | View estimate | → | |
| Western UniversityLondon, ON | 5/7 | French 1910 (1.0 credit) | View estimate | → | |
| York UniversityToronto, ON | 5/7 | Unspecified credit (6 credits) | View estimate | → | |
| Memorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John's, NL | N/A | Not yet verified | — | → | |
| Ontario Tech UniversityOshawa, ON | N/A | Not yet verified | — | → | |
| University of New BrunswickFredericton & Saint John, NB | N/A | Not yet verified | — | → | |
| University of SaskatchewanSaskatoon, SK | N/A | Not yet verified | — | → | |
| University of WindsorWindsor, ON | N/A | Not yet verified | — | → |
Tip: Open a university to compare same-province, out-of-province, and international tuition values. Flat-rate or full-time billing can make the immediate cash saving $0.
Taking more than French A: Literature HL?
Add all your IB subjects and predicted scores to estimate your total transfer credit across Canadian universities, side by side.
Other IB Subjects at Queen's University
Related subjects you might be interested in at Queen's University
French A: Language and Literature HL
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Data Disclaimer
This information is compiled from Queen's University official sources and verified community reports. It is NOT a substitute for official academic advising. Always confirm with your advisor before making decisions.
Last updated: July 2026
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