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.
Exams and Assessments
Biology Placement Exam
This optional exam is recommended for students interested in taking a research-oriented introductory biology course sequence. The exam focuses both on content knowledge and problem solving related to key concepts in molecular biology. Successful scores on the placement exam enable registration into the Research Track Introductory Series starting with BIO239 offered each Spring quarter. The Research track series (BIO239/240/241) covers a similar range of topics as the main sequence (BIO201/202/203) and emphasizes learning and understanding how new discoveries in biology are made, through reading historical and contemporary primary literature. For more details on this program, see the Biological Sciences website at https://biosci.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/research-track.html.
Any student interested in taking this exam should sign up by July 10 through this link: https://forms.office.com/r/nPfExkQrEb. The exam will be offered July 14–27 and can be accessed via Canvas.
- Access the optional Biology Placement Exam under the courses section on Canvas.
- The Canvas site will become available on July 11. If you have signed up for the exam and do not see the site when you log into Canvas after July 11, please email biosci@northwestern.edu for assistance.
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 nor earned AP Chemistry credit. 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
The Language Placement Exam is required for any transfer student who plans to continue their study in a language other than English or needs to verify their proficiency in a language other than English. For information about the Language Placement Exam, proficiency requirements, AP exam score applicability, and language study at Northwestern, see the Weinberg College language requirement webpage.
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.
- Access the Department of Mathematics Placement Exam under the courses section on Canvas.
- If you do not see the exam when you log into Canvas, please email calculus@math.northwestern.edu for assistance.
Computer Science Placement Exam
This exam is optional for transfer students. 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 is optional and used to verify whether students are prepared to begin their CS coursework at a point beyond the foundation courses. For more information and to sign up for this exam, visit the First-Year McCormick website.
- Sign-up for this exam by July 31.
- Exam will be given online on August 14 at 10 am CDT.
- Questions can be directed to advising@cs.northwestern.edu
Exam Accommodations
If you need accommodations for an online placement exam or assessments, 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.