Calculus Credit by Examination

Students who plan to take the exam will already have studied all the topics that may appear on the exam. The following resources may help in reviewing before the exam:

• MATH 221 list of topics
• MATH 222 list of topics
• MATH 234 list of topics
• Calculus Pages
  
• A collection of course reserves and past exams for MATH 221, 222, and 234 administered by the Math Department is maintained by the Astronomy, Math and Physics library.

General Information

The Mathematics Department offers exams to students who want to earn credit for MATH 221, MATH 222, and/or MATH 234. The exams are offered the first week of the fall and spring semester.

These exams are intended primarily for freshmen who have taken substantial calculus courses in high school, or for transfer students who did not get transfer credits for a calculus course taken at another institution, and who desire to establish college credits for MATH 221, MATH 222, or/and MATH 234. It is open to undergraduate students only.

Students who have been, or will be granted calculus credit by other means—such as through AP exams, transfer credit, etc.—do not need to take these exams.

Students can sign up for any credit exam but cannot get “backwards” or retroactive credit for prerequisite calculus courses if credit for those courses is not established by some means. Example: a student that passes the MATH 222 exam but does not pass the MATH 221 exam or have MATH 221 established somehow will not automatically be granted MATH 221 credit.

In such a case where a student establishes credit for a calculus course but not the prerequisite calculus courses, no fees are refunded, and it is up to individual programs/departments to decide how to treat students if they pass higher exams without credit for lower exam courses. Example: a student that established credit for MATH 222 via the credit exam but has not established MATH 221 credit may be required by a program/department to complete MATH 221 for course enrollment prerequisites or major requirements.

The use of calculators or notecards is not permitted on the exams. You will NOT be provided with a formula sheet during the exam.

Restrictions/Policies

The full list of general credit by exam policies and restrictions can be found here: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1005

Here are two important restrictions:

• Students may not take a credit exam for a specific course more than once.
• Students may not attempt a credit exam for any course they are enrolled in—or were previously enrolled in—at UW-Madison beyond the initial semester add deadline. For example: if you are currently enrolled in MATH 221 for Fall 2020, you are still eligible to take the MATH 221 credit exam for Fall 2020, provided you were not enrolled in the course in a previous semester past that semester’s initial add deadline. If you were enrolled in MATH 221 for Fall 2020 past the initial semester add deadline and were hoping to take the MATH 221 credit exam in a future semester, you would not be eligible to do so.
  • Note regarding MATH 217: students who were enrolled in MATH 217 past the initial semester add deadline are NOT permitted to take the MATH 221 calculus credit exam, as students who complete MATH 171 and 217 have completed the equivalent to MATH 221. Questions regarding this can be sent to placement@math.wisc.edu.

Fall 2023 Exams Date/Time (times all in CT, or Central Time):

• MATH 221: TBD
• MATH 222: TBD
• MATH 234: TBD

Two hours are allowed to complete each exam. Students that register for multiple exams will take the subsequent exam immediately after the prior one. Example: a student who registers for the MATH 221 and 222 exams will begin the MATH 221 exam at 4:00 PM and will take the MATH 222 exam immediately after completing the MATH 221 exam.

Modality: The calculus credit exams are taking place in-person and on campus.

Room/Location: TBD

Food: Students are welcome to bring snacks to eat in the room during the exam, but are not allowed to leave the classroom to get food between exams. We suggest bringing something along to eat.

Identification: You will need your student ID (or, if unavailable, a picture ID) in order to submit the exam. Please bring a (digital or printed) copy of your registration confirmation email in case it’s asked for.

Registration & Fees: Students must register in order to take the exam. The registration deadline is 24 hours before the exam. There will be a $135 fee for each exam. This fee is non-refundable. (The fee is waived for Banner, FASTrack, Bucky’s Tuition Promise and Pell students.) The Bursar’s Office will add this as an additional charge to a student’s account distinct from regular tuition and fees. Failure to appear at the exam location during the specified time will result in the forfeiture of this fee.

Registration Link: Calculus Credit Exam Registration Form

• Note: to access the form, you must sign in with your UW-Madison NetID.

Registration Cancellation: below is the policy on cancelling one’s registration for a calculus credit exam. Note that if a student wishes to cancel their exam registration, we suggest they do it as soon as they are sure they wish to cancel:

• Students that would like to cancel their registration for an exam at least 24 hours prior to the beginning of the credit exams should email placement@math.wisc.edu. Students who email at least 24 hours prior to the exams and notify the Math Department of their cancellation will not be charged a fee for the exam.
• Students that would like to cancel their registration within 24 hours of the exam due to an unforeseeable and unavoidable situation should email placement@math.wisc.edu with a reason why they are cancelling on short notice. Their request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Students in this case who have their cancellations approved will not be charged a fee for the exam.
• Students that do not email to request a cancellation prior to the exam and do not show up to the exam will still be charged a fee for the exam.

More Information: Kyle Martinez (klmartinez@wisc.edu)

Passing Scores: A student needs to get at least a 75% on the exam to get credit for the course.

Exam Results: Results will be sent to the student’s official @wisc.edu address before the add/drop deadlines.

Enrollment: The Math Department will enter enrollment permissions allowing a student with a passing credit exam score to enroll in a subsequent MATH course for the same semester. (E.g., if a student passes the MATH 221 credit exam, they will be allowed to enroll in MATH 222 for the same semester since they will receive MATH 221 credit.) The Math Department is happy to waive prerequisites based on credit exam scores, though we do not reserve seats.

• Note that if a student needs the credit exam course as a prerequisite for a course outside the MATH subject (e.g., a student passes the MATH 222 credit exam and would like to enroll in COMP SCI 310, which requires MATH 222 as a prerequisite), that course’s department will need to make the determination on whether they can waive the prerequisite before credit officially posts. The Math Department will send students that passed the exam(s) a confirmation email that credit will be posted in the near future.