Departmental Proficiency Exams

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For questions or information,
please contact:

Placement & Proficiency
(217) 244-4437
pnp@illinois.edu

OFFICE HOURS

Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Subjects with Departmental Proficiency Exams (last updated October 11, 2019)

There are many exams that allow an incoming student to try to earn proficiency credit. In addition to the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams that you can take in high school, you have ample opportunity to demonstrate your proficiency in the sciences and the humanities by taking a departmental proficiency exam once you come to campus. Currently enrolled students are also allowed to take a departmental proficiency exam if they have not already earned credit for a higher-level course in the subject.

Departmental proficiency tests are usually given at the beginning of each fall and spring semester. Usually you are permitted to attempt an exam only once, but there are a couple exams that you are allowed to take twice. Given that different departments have different policies, you should always check with the department first.

Click on a subject below for more specific information.

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Integrative Biology

Proficiency testing for Fall 2019 has ended. The next opportunity to test will be at the start of Spring semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Molecular and Cellular Biology

Proficiency testing for Fall 2019 has ended. The next opportunity to test will be at the start of Spring semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Chemistry

Proficiency testing for Fall 2019 has ended. The next opportunity to test will be at the start of Spring semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Computer Science

WRITTEN EXAMS: Saturday, October 19 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. in Room 1404 Siebel Center. Options are CS 105, CS 125 (C++), CS 173, and CS 225. To take a written proficiency exam, simply show up on time with your University of Illinois ID. No late seating.

COMPUTER-BASED EXAMS: the week of October 21 in the Computer-Based Testing Facility. Please check back for specific dates and times. You must schedule your test time with the CBTF in advance. Options are CS 101 and CS 125 (Java).

Once mid-semester testing has finished, the next opportunity to test will be at the start of Spring semester. For general information and for the link to the CBTF scheduling site, go to the department's webpage .
Economics

Proficiency testing for Fall 2019 has ended. There might be a testing session in December 2019. Please check back to see if this gets scheduled. Otherwise, the next opportunity to test will be at the start of Spring semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
History

Proficiency testing for Fall 2019 has ended. The next opportunity to test will be at the start of Spring semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Languages other than English (LOTE)
- Group proficiency testing for Fall 2019 has ended for all languages except Chinese. The Chinese Proficiency Test will be offered on Tuesday, October 29 from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. in Room G27 FLB. Advance registration is required. If you cannot take the test on October 29, you can take it at the Testing Center. Contact PNP for more information.
- The next opportunity to test in other languages will be at the start of Spring semester.
- Individual, "on demand" proficiency testing in Chinese, French, or Spanish is available for eligible students. The cost is $25. Please contact Melissa Minarik at least 5 business days prior to your desired test date to schedule your appointment at the Testing Center.
- Learn about testing in a less commonly studied language.
Math

Saturday, January 25, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Location will be announced once it is confirmed. Advance registration is required and will open on Friday, January 10th. Options are MATH 220, 231, 241, 225, 415, 285, and 286. You may take only one test per testing session.

For more information, go to the department's webpage.
Music

Proficiency testing for Fall 2019 has ended. The next opportunity to test will be at the start of Spring semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Physics

PHYS 214 on Monday, October 14, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The deadline to register is Sunday night, October 13 at 11:45 p.m. To register, log in through the Physics webpage.

The next opportunity to take other Physics proficiency exams will be at the start of Spring semester. Some proficiency exams might get scheduled for Final Exams Week (December 13-20). Please check back for updates. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Psychology 100

Proficiency testing for Fall 2019 has ended. The next opportunity to test will be at the start of Spring semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Rhetoric

There is no departmental proficiency test for 'Composition I.' Credit for RHET 105, "Writing and Research" (which fulfills the Comp I General Education requirement), can be earned with sufficiently high scores on the ACT or SAT, either of the two AP English tests, or any one of seven different IB tests. Email PNP if you have any questions or concerns about your test scores. Learn more about the 'Comp I' requirement and the test scores that can earn credit for RHET 105.

To try to proficiency out of an introductory course not mentioned above, contact the department that offers the course.

SHOULD YOU SIT FOR A DEPARTMENTAL PROFICIENCY EXAM?

Any student who just missed earning proficiency credit from the AP Calculus exam, the IB Math exams, the AP Physics exams, or the IB Physics exams -- and any student who scores well on the Chemistry and/or Physics Placement Exam -- should seriously consider taking the departmental proficiency test. If you believe you know the material well, it is probably worth your while to attempt the proficiency exam. Your academic record is not affected if you fail the exam (most likely, you would simply enroll in the course that you did not proficiency out of). Remember, usually you are allowed only one attempt at any particular test.

If a departmental proficiency exam also offers course placement, you will need to check with the department for your placement results.

IMPORTANT!

Duplicate credit earned through AP, IB, departmental examinations, or any other means will not be granted. This means, for example, that if you already earned MATH 220 credit through the AP Calculus exam, you cannot earn MATH 220 credit again by taking the Math Department's MATH 220 proficiency exam. Credit for a particular course will be awarded only once.