Skip to main content

Placement Exams and Assessments

The need to take placement exams depends on your school's unique requirements and your own course objectives. For those taking more than one exam or assessment, we encourage you to plan in advance so you take no more than one per week.

Do you need to take any placement exams or assessments this summer?

Review your school's page first for an overview of expectations. Then, view the expandable menus below for an overview followed by exam and assessment descriptions and access links.

For McCormick Transfer Students

  • If you need to take additional chemistry courses to fulfill your program's degree requirements or wish to have generic Chem 1XX credit rearticulated into specific equivalencies, please see the section below for information about the Initial Chemistry Assessment and Chemistry Placement Exam.
  • If you need to take additional mathematics courses to fulfill your program's degree requirements, please see the section below for information about the Mathematics Placement Exam.
  • For information about your degree program's specific chemistry and math requirements, please refer to your department's section in the current Northwestern University Undergraduate Catalog.

For Transfer Students Planning to Take Chemistry

  • Initial Chemistry Assessment
    • Required if you plan to take General Chemistry at Northwestern and have not taken chemistry at your previous institution. 
    • Transfer students with AP Chemistry credit do not need to take this initial assessment, but you will need to take the Chemistry Placement Exam if you plan to take any chemistry courses at Northwestern.
  • Chemistry Placement Exam
    • Required if you have taken college-level chemistry before and are seeking to receive other than generic CHEM 1XX credit. Rearticulation to Northwestern course credit may be needed if you are planning to take courses for which general chemistry is a prerequisite.  
    • Access the placement exam by accepting the email invitation to join the Canvas exam page. If you do not find the above exams in Canvas or if you have any questions, please contact f-northrup@northwestern.edu.  

Required for Transfer Students Planning to Take Calculus

Mathematics Placement Exam
  • Access the placement exam by accepting the email invitation to join the Canvas exam page.

Any questions? Email calculus@math.northwestern.edu.

Required for Students Planning to Continue Studies in Languages Other Than English or to Verify Language Proficiency

Regardless of your undergraduate school, if you have prior knowledge of a language other than English, your language level must be assessed prior to continuing study of the language. Prior knowledge can come from studying in high school, speaking at home, living abroad, or self-study.

Online placement tests are available for most languages offered at Northwestern; however, in some cases, your AP/IB exam score can be used in lieu of the placement exam.

Each language program has different requirements. Please check the AP/IB Language Credit table and the placement test information at Language Placement.

You are also encouraged to visit the Weinberg Language Resource Center website to learn more about languages offered at Northwestern.

If you have no prior knowledge of the language you intend to take at Northwestern, the language placement exam is not required. Please enroll in the first-quarter course of the first-year sequence, which may be only offered in the fall quarter. Please check each department's annual course offering schedule. Links are found in the table under Languages Offered at Northwestern. Please note that you are not allowed to self-place into and enroll in a beginning-level language class if you have prior knowledge of the language. Doing so is considered a violation of academic integrity. Please take the placement exam.

See the For New Undergraduate Students page for more information.

Exams and Assessments

Initial Chemistry Assessment

This assessment is required for transfer students who plan to take General Chemistry at Northwestern and have never taken any college-level chemistry courses. The assessment can be found under the courses section on Canvas. Every student receives access to the assessment via Canvas and is invited by email. For more information, visit the Department of Chemistry website.  

Chemistry Placement Exam

This placement exam is required if you have taken college-level chemistry before and are seeking to receive other than generic CHEM 1XX credit. If you are planning to take Organic Chemistry at Northwestern, you need to take this placement exam. Transfer students who are required to take this exam do not need to take the Initial Chemistry Assessment. The Department of Chemistry Placement Exam can be found under the courses section on Canvas. Every student receives access to the exam via Canvas and is invited by email. For more information, visit the Department of Chemistry website. 

Language Placement Exam

Policies and procedures for language placement vary by department and apply to students with prior knowledge of languages other than English, acquired through high school study, home use, self-study, etc. Language Placement Exams are not administered via Canvas.

Mathematics Placement Exam

This placement exam is required for all transfer students who plan to take a calculus course at Northwestern. Every student receives access to the exam via Canvas and is invited by email. For more information, visit the Department of Mathematics website.

Computer Science Placement Exam

The Computer Science Placement Exam is completely optional. You may choose to take this placement exam if you have substantial Computer Science (CS) background covering the topics of the CS foundation courses AND are planning to pursue formal CS study through a CS major or minor at Northwestern. 

This exam will be used to verify whether students are prepared to begin their CS coursework at a point beyond the foundation courses. Placing out of a course does not earn you credit for that course; you will have to replace the credit with an extra 300-level CS course. 

The CS Placement Exam will be taken in-person on Thursday, September 17th. Students that have signed up for the exam will receive additional information, including the time and location, before Wildcat Welcome.  

For more information and to sign up for this exam, visit the First-Year McCormick website.

Please email advising@cs.northwestern.edu and sara@northwestern.edu if you have any questions. 

Exam Accommodations

If you need accommodations for an online placement exam or assessment, plan to initiate the AccessibleNU (ANU) application process four weeks in advance of your placement test. Please note that language placement exams are not timed.

Canvas Invitations

Canvas is commonly used at Northwestern for accessing course materials, turning in assignments, viewing grades, and handling other academic tasks. You'll use Canvas this summer if certain online placement exams and assessments are required for you. Every incoming student is emailed an invitation to join the Canvas exam page even if no exams or assessments are required.