1. On the AoE website, opt into the University of Arizona Online (Arizona Online) Illuminated Histories pathway in campaign play mode. You will need an Xbox live account to register.
2. Play through the game and engage with the Arizona Online Illuminated Histories content on the AoE website as indicated.
3. Upon completion of the game and content, take the Arizona Online Illuminated Histories assessment.
4. Fill out the Arizona Online Illuminated Histories request for information form received via email, work with the enrollment team to apply and be accepted to the University of Arizona Online as a degree-seeking student or non-degree seeking student. 
5. Enroll in an Arizona Online course.
6. Once your course begins, you will receive one full University of Arizona undergraduate credit on your University of Arizona transcript!

You must enroll in Arizona Online and take a class to establish a student account. The credit will show up on your student account approximately 30 days after the course start date. Your admission fee will be waived as part of the Arizona Online-Age of Empires partnership, but tuition fees will apply for all courses. Arizona Online tuition starts at $500.00 a credit hour, with most courses consisting of 3 credit hours. Arizona Online has developed a three-unit companion course, HISTORY 297B: Playing and Making History with Age of Empires IV that expands on the skills you learned by playing the Arizona Online Illuminated Histories experience for Age of Empires IV and demonstrates how you can transfer these skills to succeeding in your college career. Learn more about this class here.

Yes, for your college credit to become active, you must take a University of Arizona Online course. If you are an on-campus student, you may also take an on-campus course to activate the credit. Your admission fee will be waived as part of the Arizona Online-Age of Empires partnership, but tuition fees will apply for all courses. Arizona Online tuition starts at $500.00 a credit hour, with most courses consisting of 3 credit hours. Arizona Online has developed a three-unit companion course, HISTORY 297B: Playing and Making History with Age of Empires IV that expands on the skills you learned by playing the Arizona Online Illuminated Histories experience for Age of Empires IV and demonstrates how you can transfer these skills to succeeding in your college career. Learn more about this class here.

While there is no fee associated with the one credit, you must be admitted to Arizona Online and take a course (where fees apply) in order to activate the credit on your student account and transcript. The application fee will be waived as part of the Arizona Online-Age of Empires partnership, but tuition and fees will apply for all courses. Arizona Online tuition starts at $500.00 a credit hour, with most courses consisting of three credit hours.

You are welcome to complete the Arizona Online Illuminated Histories content without taking the assessment for credit.

Once you complete the Age of Empires IV (campaign version) as well as the Arizona Online Illuminated Histories on the Age of Empires website, your information will be shared with the University of Arizona. You will receive a link to the assessment within 24 hours via the email address you provided to Microsoft. Make sure to check your junk mail folder. If you do not receive an email with the link to the assessment, please reach out to our support team:
Email: partnership@arizona.edu
Phone: (520) 621-2640

Once you pass the assessment, you will receive an email from the University of Arizona with the next steps to activate your credit, which requires applying and enrolling in a University of Arizona Online class. Whether you are ready to continue your learning now or sometime in the future, follow the directions in the email to explore enrollment options and obtain your undergraduate University of Arizona credit!

If you choose not to activate your credit immediately, it will be waiting for you when and if you decide to pursue a class or degree at the University of Arizona for one year from the date of the passed assessment. If no action is taken towards credit activation for over 12 months, you will be required to re-engage with the AoE IV and Arizona Online Illuminated Histories content and assessment.

You need a copy of Age of Empires IV to play, as well as an Xbox Live account, which can be created for free at Xbox. You will need to use the Xbox Live account when accessing the AoE website, as well as when playing the game.

You can access AoE on Steam, Microsoft Store or via Xbox Game Pass for PC or Ultimate.

On the AoE website, opt into the Arizona Online Illuminated History pathway in campaign play mode. You will need an Xbox Live account.

Yes, the Illuminated History portion of the pathway must be completed while the credit program is being offered by the University of Arizona and Microsoft. If the credit program is discontinued, users who have started the promotion will be given a minimum 90-day notice to complete the Illuminated Histories portion of the pathway prior to the offer and content being removed.

Arizona Online Illuminated Histories modules are located on the AoE website and can be accessed by all players who have opted into the credit pathway at any time during the game.

After you complete the Age of Empires IV campaign, as well as the Arizona Online Illuminated Histories, Microsoft will send a registration link to take the assessment using the email you provided to Microsoft. This will be delivered within 24 hours. Make sure to check your junk mail folder

Your Xbox Live ID will be captured to verify the completion of the Age of Empires game and Arizona Online Illuminated Histories content. Once you have access to the assessment, University of Arizona will ask for additional information which will be used to waive your admissions application fee. Admission and enrollment in a class is required to award you the University of Arizona undergraduate credit. Please make sure you provide your full legal name, date of birth, and a valid email address.

You will be given a new link to retake the assessment following a failing score. There is no limit to how many times you can take the assessment.

Yes, as part of the requirements for accreditation in earning a college credit, you must be given an assessment on the subject matter. Learn more about the process under the Take the Assessment section of this page.

Please reach out to our support team:
Email: partnership@arizona.edu
Phone: (520) 621-2640

Yes, your work will be saved with your registration information using your browser’s history.

There are no log-in credentials (like a password) needed. If you exit out of the browser, please make sure to use the same browser when you return to finish the assessment, and do not clear your browser’s cookies before submitting and passing the assessment. The assessment answers will not save if you open the exam in a different browser (or device).

AoE players will be required to be admitted to the University of Arizona Online as either non-degree seeking or degree-seeking. As a non-degree seeking student, you are not working towards graduating with a degree from the University of Arizona and are taking classes without officially declaring a major and might be fulfilling prerequisites, growing your expertise in a certain field, or just interested in picking up a new skill. Therefore, GPA and prior coursework are not needed for admittance.  For degree-seeking status, both GPA and prior course work are required. The acceptance rate for degree-seeking students at Arizona Online is approximately 84%. In general, all non-degree seeking applications are accepted.  

Please visit the Individual Courses page to learn more about non-degree seeking student requirements.

For more information on the degree-seeking application process, click here.

HIST 297B is a three-unit course that was created exclusively for Age of Empires IV game completers.

This course builds upon the skills you learned by playing the Arizona Online Illuminated Histories experience for Age of Empires IV and demonstrates how you can transfer these skills to succeed in your college career. You will learn how to: use a variety of databases and other library materials to study history; summarize and critique scholars' arguments, and do original research and share it with classmates through fun and engaging research projects based on playing and making history. Instead of presenting your research in papers, you will present your research through experiential learning activities like cooking medieval recipes, creating medieval objects, and making your own games. 

Learn more about the course here.

This is a three-unit course and tuition fees are $500.00 per unit for non-degree seeking students. For degree-seeking students in a particular degree program, tuition is based on the per credit hour rate identified in your program.

If you are still having technical issues logging in, please get in touch with the support team.
Email: partnership@arizona.edu
Phone: (520) 621-2640

If you are a current active student: Once you have passed the assessment, you will receive an email with a request for more information. Please indicate in the space provided on the form that you are a current University of Arizona student so we may apply your undergraduate credit once we have confirmed you are enrolled. 

If you are a former/inactive student: You will follow the same process as a new student Your NETID (username) will be the same username given to you previously.

Yes, you are still eligible, and will still complete the University of Arizona Online Admissions application, which includes a waived application fee. Please follow the process on our website.

If you need to make any amendments to your name (if special characters did not translate correctly into the assessment), you will have an opportunity to correct this when completing your application, after the assessment.

The University of Arizona has teamed up with Badgr to award AoE players a digital badge of achievement following a passing score on the Illuminated Histories assessment.  Please note, this is not the college credit, but a digital credential that validates your skills and accomplishments in completing the Age of Empires IV game, the Illuminated Histories content and assessment.

A Badger badge is a digital symbol of achievement and can be earned and awarded in many learning environments, games, or the workplace. The badge is no cost to the player, and once received can be used in your email signature, your profile in apps like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, and across many gaming platforms to signify your achievement. This is not a college credit, and you will still need to apply to the university to receive the college credit. Learn more about Badgr badges here.

You will receive an email from Badgr with a link to their custom Arizona Online Illuminated Histories badge. The badge will be awarded via email 24 hours after receiving a passing score on the Illuminated Histories assessment. Players DO NOT have to create an account in Badgr, however, many do as it is a credentialing platform with stackable learning pathways and shareable learner records.

PLEASE NOTE: You will still need to complete the admissions process separately and enroll in a course to activate your University of Arizona college credit.