A North Carolina student needs at least 22 credits to graduate from high school, and this fall one of those credits changed. Students who started ninth grade in the 2026-27 school year are the first who must pass a computer science course, and the state made room for it by cutting their electives from six to five.
The other thing that sets North Carolina apart is who gets to add to the list. In many states, including Ohio and California, the state sets a floor and each district can build on it. North Carolina's graduation statute, General Statute 115C-83.31, says "A local board of education shall not require any additional credits beyond those mandated by the Board for high school graduation." The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction says districts "may recommend additional courses and credits" to help students with their plans after high school.
The rules apply across 595 public schools, not counting virtual schools, that run through 12th grade. Those schools enrolled 102,935 seniors in 2024-25, according to allk12's analysis of federal data.
The 22 credits for each class
The state calls its course list the Future-Ready Core. The version a student follows depends on the year they first entered ninth grade.
| Subject | Entered 9th grade 2021-22 to 2025-26 | Entered 9th grade 2026-27 or later |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | 4 |
| Math | 4 | 4 |
| Science | 3 | 3 |
| Social studies | 4 | 4 |
| Health and physical education | 1 | 1 |
| Computer science | 0 | 1 |
| Electives from CTE, arts, or world language | 2 | 2 |
| Other electives | 4 | 3 |
| Total | 22 | 22 |
Most of those credits are tied to specific courses. English means English I through IV. Math means NC Math 1, 2, and 3 plus a fourth course that matches the student's plans after graduation. Science has to include a physical science, Biology, and an earth or environmental science. The four social studies credits are Founding Principles of the United States of America and North Carolina: Civic Literacy, Economics and Personal Finance, American History, and World History. State law makes a passing grade in both the civics course and the personal finance course a condition of graduating.
World language is not required on its own. It is one of three ways to fill the two set-aside elective credits, along with career and technical education and arts education, so a student can graduate without any.
What else a student has to finish
Every student must complete CPR instruction. DPI lists it under the health and physical education credit as "a requirement for high school graduation," and state law calls for hands-on training.
Students who entered ninth grade for the first time in 2025-26, the class of 2029 and later, also need at least one arts education course at some point from sixth through 12th grade. DPI says after-school activities do not count.
North Carolina has no exit exam. Students take end-of-course tests in English II, NC Math 1, NC Math 3, and Biology, and a State Board of Education rule requires districts to count each one as at least 20 percent of the student's final grade in that course. The same statute that sets the graduation list also bars the state from requiring a graduation project.
One option runs the other way. The state allows students to finish their credits in three years, and the statute says their transcript will note that they graduated within three years of entering ninth grade.
Seven optional diploma endorsements
Endorsements are extras printed on the diploma, and DPI says students are not required to earn one. There are seven:
- Career: a career and technical education concentration, an unweighted GPA of at least 2.6, and at least one industry-recognized credential
- College: a fourth math course that meets UNC or community college standards and an unweighted GPA of at least 2.6
- College/UNC: a fourth math course that meets UNC standards, three science credits including a physical science with a lab, and a weighted GPA of at least 2.5
- NC Academic Scholars: for ninth graders from 2024-25 on, at least five advanced courses, two credits of the same world language, and an unweighted GPA of at least 3.5
- Global Languages: the state's Seal of Biliteracy
- Arts Proficiency: four arts courses, a 3.0 GPA in each, and 40 hours of arts activities outside class
- Citizenship Proficiency: answering at least 6 of 10 questions correctly from the U.S. citizenship civics test
A bill that would change math and history
House Bill 415 would drop NC Math 3 as a graduation requirement, count computer science as a math course, and require a U.S. history test to graduate, according to the legislature's staff summary. It passed the state House 69-43 on May 7, 2025, and has been sitting in the Senate Rules Committee since the next day. Until the Senate acts, the requirements above stand.
You can look up any high school's enrollment, staffing, and test results from the North Carolina schools page, and compare the state's 22 credits with the rest of the country in our state-by-state graduation requirements guide.
Sources
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction: High School Graduation Requirements
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction: High School Diploma Endorsements
N.C. General Statute 115C-83.31: High school graduation requirements
N.C. General Statute 115C-81.45: Founding Principles course
N.C. General Statute 115C-81.65: Economics and Personal Finance
16 NCAC 06D .0309: Testing requirements
North Carolina General Assembly: House Bill 415 (2025)
School and enrollment counts from allk12's analysis of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data, 2024-25.
