Departmental Proficiency Exams

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning

Placement & Proficiency

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Placement and Proficiency
Room 247 Armory
(217) 244-4437
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Subjects with Departmental Proficiency Exams (last updated June 9, 2021)

Please check this website often. We will update it as new information concerning Summer and Fall testing becomes available. Feel free to call PNP at 217-265-6248 during business hours, or email us your question.

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 the course or 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

The next opportunity to test will be at the start of the Fall 2021 semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Molecular and Cellular Biology

The next opportunity to test will be at the start of the Fall 2021 semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Chemistry

The next opportunity to test will be at the start of the Fall 2021 semester. For general information,go to the department's webpage.
Computer Science

The next opportunity to test will be at the start of the Fall 2021 semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.

Please consult the course-specific information on the department's webpage to learn about the exam you wish to take. If you have questions about the CS proficiency exams, you can email undergrad@cs.illinois.edu or you can visit their virtual drop-in hours at http://go.cs.illinois.edu/csadvising.
Economics

June 7 to July 23 - Registration is now open and will close on Friday, July 16 at a minute before midnight. You can sign up to take only ECON 102, only ECON 103, or ECON 102 on one day and ECON 103 on another day.

To take these online exams, you will need an active Moodle account and either Chrome or Firefox as a browser on your computer, with ProctorU installed.

For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Languages other than English (LOTE)
Math

Saturday, June 19, 2021 from 9:00 to 12:00 noon Central Time. Registration is now open and will close at 11:59 a.m. on Wednesday morning, June 16th. You may register for MATH 220, 225, 231, 241, 285, 286, or 415. You may take only one exam per test day. The June test will be given online.

The next opportunity to take a math proficiency exam will be on August 28th from 9:00 to 12:00 noon. Registration will open August 13th and will close August 25th at noon.

FOR NEW FRESHMEN AND NEW TRANSFER STUDENTS ONLY: You may sign up for the two-hour MATH 220 ('Calculus I') Proficiency Exam that will be offered on Saturday, August 14, 2021 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Central Time. Registration will open July 30th and will close at 11:59 a.m. on Wednesday, August 11th.

For the link to the registration form (when it opens) and for general information, go to the department's webpage.
Music
Fall 2021 proficiency testing will be in-person (not online) as follows:

FOR NEW FRESHMEN AND NEW TRANSFER STUDENTS ONLY:
- Tuesday, August 24 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - MUS 107 and MUS 108 (Musicianship I and II). Registration is required.
- Wednesday, August 25 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. - MUS 101, 102, 201, and 202 (the core Music Theory classes). Registration is required.
- Thursday, August 26 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - MUS 207 and MUS 208 (Musicianship III and IV). These tests are available only to those students who passed Tuesday night's MUS 107 and MUS 108 exams. Registration is required.
FOR BOTH NEW STUDENTS AND CURRENTLY ENROLLED STUDENTS:
- Tuesday, August 24 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. - Piano MUS 172, 173, 174, and 175 (Group Piano I through IV). Registration is required.
For links to the registration forms and for general information, go to the department's webpage.
Physics

The next opportunity to test will be at the start of the Fall 2021 semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Psychology 100

The next opportunity to test will be at the start of the Fall 2021 semester. For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Rhetoric

There is no departmental proficiency test for 'Composition I.'

Sufficiently high scores on the ACT English subtest, the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing subtest, either of the two AP English exams, or any of the five IB 'English A' exams will fulfill the Composition I General Education requirement by earning test-based credit for RHET 105, which is our introductory academic "Writing and Research" course. Please note that ACT/SAT scores must have been submitted with your application to Illinois.

NOTE: If you chose to be test-optional (that is, you elected not to send in your ACT/SAT scores when you applied for admission), you cannot now send in a sufficiently high ACT or SAT score in order to get RHET 105 credit. 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 attempted to proficiency). 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.