Placement tests serve to adapt the needs and backgrounds of individual students to the College curriculum. They place entering students at the proper level of study in a given subject and may be used to award academic credit where appropriate. On the one hand, placement tests minimize the repetition of subjects already mastered and, on the other, they reduce the possibility that students might begin their programs with courses for which they are inadequately prepared. Placement tests measure skill in problem solving as well as general knowledge in a subject field. Students who have some background in the areas being tested are urged to review it, but incoming students without such knowledge are not expected to acquire it over the summer preceding entrance.
The College offers placement tests to entering students only during Orientation in late September. Placement tests may not be taken at a later date. Over the summer, information that describes these tests in detail is sent to all incoming first-year and transfer students.
Optional Placement Tests in Foreign Languages. Students who have studied any of the following languages may take placement tests in those languages: Chinese, French, German, Classical Greek, Modern Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Vietnamese. Course credit may be granted on the basis of performance on the placement tests.
Required Placement Test in Mathematics. On the basis of their performance on the required mathematics placement test, students begin their mathematics education in the College with one of the precalculus courses, with one of the two nonhonors variants of 100-level calculus, or with one of the approved noncalculus courses. Students who do not place into calculus must take the appropriate precalculus mathematics courses (through Mathematics 102 or 106) before taking any other courses offered by the Physical Sciences Collegiate Division. Precalculus is also prerequisite to the natural sciences sequences. The mathematics placement test covers all facets of precalculus mathematics: arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, and analytic geometry.
Optional Placement Test in Calculus. Entering students may take the optional calculus placement test and, on the basis of their performance, begin mathematics at a level higher than that indicated by their scores on the required placement test in mathematics or by their scores on the AP calculus examinations. Students with any knowledge whatever of calculus are urged to take this test, even though it is not required. NOTE: Students who wish to register for Mathematics 161-162-163 (Honors Calculus) or for Physics 141-142-143 (Honors Physics) must take this test.
Placement Test in Physical Sciences. Students who plan to concentrate in the biological or physical sciences, or who are preparing for the health professions, must fulfill their general education requirement in the physical sciences by passing a three-quarter sequence of 100-level courses in either chemistry or physics. Both the physical sciences and mathematics placement tests are required of students who seek to enroll in those 100-level chemistry or physics courses in order to determine placement in the different sequences. Students who wish to register for Physics 141-142-143 must also take the calculus placement test.
The physical sciences placement test is optional for students whose probable field of concentration is in the Humanities, Social Sciences, or New Collegiate divisions. For such students, a high score on this test meets the general education requirement in the physical sciences. For students who plan to concentrate in the biological or physical sciences, a high score on this test confers credit for three quarters of electives.
Optional Placement Test in the Biological Sciences. The optional placement test in the biological sciences measures understanding of basic concepts of evolution, heredity, and regulation of processes at the macromolecular, cellular, organismic, and population levels. On the basis of their performance, students who do not plan to concentrate in the biological sciences may meet the general education requirement in the biological sciences.
Students who concentrate in the biological sciences, however, must complete one of the Biological Sciences 160s, 170s, 180s, or 190s sequences to meet the general education requirement. For these students, a high score on the placement test confers credit for three quarters of electives.
Students who request college credit for Advanced Placement (AP) courses taken in high school (i.e., before a student matriculates in the College) are asked to submit an official report of their scores on the AP tests given by the College Entrance Examination Board. In most cases, credit is granted for a score of 4 or 5. The decision to grant credit is reported at the end of the first quarter in residence and units of credit awarded appear on the student's official academic record.
The following chart shows how AP credit may be applied to the forty-two credits required for graduation.
While AP scores alone are sometimes used to establish placement or to confer credit, satisfactory performance on the College's own placement tests may supplement AP scores and lead to additional credit.
For further information on AP credit and how it relates to the Chicago degree program, a student should consult his or her College adviser. NOTE: Credit for no more than six electives may be gained by examination.
International Baccalaureate Programme
Credit earned for courses in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme may be applied to certain general education requirements or to electives. Grades of 6 or 7 on higher-level IB exams will give credit analogous to the AP credit described on the preceding chart. Special circumstances, as described under AP credit, apply to mathematics, chemistry, physics, and biology.
British A-Levels and Other Examinations
Credit is not automatically granted for examinations and course work taken in countries abroad. The College Curriculum Committee will, however, consider petitions for credit earned by British A-Level and other international examinations.
Advanced Standing (Transfer Credit)
Courses Taken While in a Degree Program Elsewhere. Students transferring from other institutions must complete a minimum of eighteen courses in the College and must be in residence for at least six quarters. Generally, the College grants transfer credit for liberal arts courses carrying at least three semester hours or four quarter hours of credit and passed with a grade of C or better (in some cases, a grade of B or better is required) from an accredited institution.
Transfer credit is listed on the student's University of Chicago transcript only as units of credit. Courses and grades are not listed, nor do transferred courses contribute to the student's University of Chicago grade point average. Credit for courses in precalculus and calculus mathematics and in foreign language must be validated by College placement examinations. Depending on the student's concentration and on the level of work to be evaluated, credit for some courses in chemistry, physics, and biology may also be subject to examination.
Professional or technical courses (e.g., journalism, business, law, musical performance, speech, and nursing) do not transfer; only courses similar to those taught in the College may transfer. The College grants credit for some CEEB Advanced Placement examinations with scores of 4 or 5, but not for CLEP, USAFI, or correspondence course work.
Most transfer students can complete their studies with no more than one extra quarter beyond the usual four college years, although this may depend on how course work elsewhere relates to the structure of a Chicago degree program. College housing and financial aid are available to all transfer students. After matriculation in the College, transfer students may not earn additional credits from schools other than the University of Chicago, except for foreign study programs sponsored by the University of Chicago. However, these foreign study courses cannot count toward the minimum of eighteen courses that are required to be taken in the College.
NOTE: More than half the courses required by a student's concentration program must be taken in residence on the University of Chicago campus.
Courses Taken Elsewhere While in a Degree Program at the University of Chicago. Students who wish to take courses at other institutions after they enter the College should discuss their plans with their advisers. Before registering for course work elsewhere, students must submit to the Office of the Dean of Students course descriptions and a petition requesting tentative approval for transfer credit to be applied toward their graduation requirements. Upon completion of the course work, students should have an official transcript sent to the Office of the Dean of Students. Credit for language courses must be validated by examinations. Depending on the student's concentration and on the level of work to be evaluated, credit for some courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics may also be subject to examination. Only courses similar to those taught in the College may transfer; professional or technical courses do not transfer. Transfer credit is listed on the student's transcript only as units of credit.