Departmental Proficiency Exams

Placement & Proficiency

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Placement and Proficiency
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Subjects with Departmental Proficiency Exams (last updated November 23, 2020)

We are doing our best to provide you with the most updated information possible during this COVID-19 epidemic. Please check this website often, 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.

If you are a new incoming student who deferred your Fall 2020 admission, you will be eligible to take a departmental proficiency exam when you come to Illinois. For example, if you deferred your Fall 2020 admission to Spring 2021, you can take the January 2021 proficiency exams - but you cannot take the proficiency exams that are offered in December 2020 during Finals Week. Departmental proficiency exams are available to currently enrolled students only.

Click on a subject below for more specific information.

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Integrative Biology

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Options are IB 100, IB 103, and IB 150. Registration is required, and the deadline to register is Monday, January 25. The location and format will be announced later.

For the link to the registration form and for general information, go to the department's webpage.
Molecular and Cellular Biology

Tuesday, February 2, 2021 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. Options are MCB 150, MCB 250, and MCB 252. You may take only one exam. Testing will be done online. Registration is required, and the request form will be available in January.

Thursday, February 4, 2021 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. for the MCB 151 lab. Testing will be done online. Registration is required, and the request form will be available in January.

For the link to the request forms and for general information, go to the department's webpage.
Chemistry

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

The next opportunity to test will be at the start of Spring semester. 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.

For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Economics

December 14, 15, and 16. Options are ECON 102 ("Microeconomics") and ECON 103 ("Macroeconomics"). You may sign up to take only ECON 102, only ECON 103, or ECON 102 on one day and ECON 103 on another day. Testing is done online. Registration will open on December 1st. Make sure that you have an active Moodle account and that you have Chrome or Firefox as a browser on your computer, both of which support ProctorU.

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

Saturday, January 16, 2021 from 9:00 to 12:00 noon Central Time. Options are MATH 220, 225, 231, 241, 285, 286, and 415. You may take only one exam per testing session. Testing will be done online. Registration will open on Saturday, January 2 at midnight Central Time and will close at noon on Wednesday, January 13. New freshmen and new off-campus transfer students who are enrolling for the first time at Illinois in Spring 2021 and who wish to take a second exam may do so on January 20th. All other students who wish to take a second exam may do so in June 2021.

For general information, go to the department's webpage.
Music
FOR ANY STUDENT (whether new freshman, new transfer student, or currently enrolled undergraduate): Piano Placement and Proficiency. You must register in advance for the Group Piano I through IV exams.
- MUS 172, 173, 174, and 175 ... Tuesday, January 26 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. CST.
FOR NEW FRESHMEN AND NEW TRANSFER STUDENTS ONLY: You must register in advance for the exam you wish to take.
- MUS 107 and MUS 108 ... Tuesday, January 26 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. CST.
- MUS 101, 102, and 202 ... Wednesday, January 27 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. CST.
- MUS 207 and MUS 208 ... Thursday, January 28 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. CST. Open only to those who passed Tuesday night's MUS 107 and MUS 108 exam.
For the links to the registration forms and for general information, go to the department's webpage.
Physics

Final Exams Week, tentatively according to the schedule shown below: You must sign up now if you wish to test, and further information (including confirmation of test dates, once they are finalized) will be emailed to you after you register. Remember, if you already sat for the proficiency exam on a previous occasion or if you were enrolled in the course and took even one of its tests, you cannot take that course's proficiency exam now.

PHYS 101 ... Tuesday, Dec. 15 from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. CST. Registration closes at 11:45 p.m. on December 7th.

PHYS 102 ... Monday, Dec. 14 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. CST. Registration closes at 11:45 p.m. on December 7th.

PHYS 211 ... Monday, Dec. 14 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. CST. Registration closes at 11:45 a.m. on December 7th.

PHYS 212 ... Friday, Dec. 11 from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. CST. Registration closes at 11:45 p.m. on December 4th.

PHYS 213 ... Monday, Dec. 14 from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. CST. Registration closes at 11:45 p.m. on December 7th.

For the link to the registration form and for general information, go to the department's webpage.
Psychology 100

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.'

To fulfill the Composition I General Education requirement by earning test-based credit for RHET 105, which is our introductory academic "Writing and Research" course, you can submit your sufficiently high score 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 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.