Calculus Credit by Examination

Students who plan to take the exam should 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 222 formula sheet PDF
• 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.
  • Exams and solutions for MATH 221, 222, and 234 may also be found here

We offer the credit exams because we recognize that there are a number of situations in which a student may have engaged in formal study of all the content of one or more of our calculus courses but not have transferable credit for these courses. However, not all prior calculus preparation is adequate for success on the credit exams.

• If you took an AP Calculus course but did not take the exam or did not score high enough on the exam to earn credit at UW-Madison but feel you know the material well, the credit exams may be a good option for you.
  • Students completing AP Calculus AB have seen all the content for the MATH 221 credit exam.
    • If you have transfer credit for MATH 222 but are missing credit for MATH 221 because a prior college/university awarded calculus credit for your AP Calculus AB score but UW-Madison does not, please consult an academic advisor in your intended major(s) to determine if you need to establish credit for MATH 221. If you do, the credit exam may be a good option.
  • Students completing AP Calculus BC have seen most of the content of both the MATH 221 and MATH 222 credit exams. MATH 222 introduces vectors, a topic which is not part of the AP calculus curriculum. See the topic list linked above for more details.
• If you studied calculus and completed an A-level exam for which UW-Madison did not award credit for a calculus class, please review the topic lists linked above for MATH 221 and MATH 222. You may have previously studied all the content for these exams and be appropriately prepared to take them.
• If you studied calculus in high school (in the US or another country) in a context where you did not earn college credit for your calculus course, you may be prepared for one or more credit exams. Please see the lists of topics above. If you have previously studied all the topics for a particular course, you may wish to consider the credit exam.
• If you have taken a college calculus course before:
  • If your course is not in Transferology, please submit syllabi for reevaluation. You may be able to receive equivalent transfer credit and not need the credit exams.
  • If your course transferred as MATH 211 and the reason provided for why it was not equivalent to MATH 221 was “missing applications of integration beyond area”, then you may wish to consider the MATH 221 credit exam, as you can likely review that one topic and be appropriately prepared for the credit exam.
  • If your course transferred as MATH 211 and the reason provided was “missing calculus of trigonometric functions”, then your course was missing a significant amount of content from MATH 221 and is truly directly equivalent to MATH 211. You are expected to know topics such as the derivatives of sine and cosine for the MATH 221 credit exam. If you have not studied this content, we do not suggest the credit exam.
  • If your course transferred as electives and the reason provided was “missing calculus of exponential and logarithmic functions”, you are missing a significant amount of content from MATH 221. If you have not studied this content, we do not suggest the credit exam. If you took a second calculus course in which you learned the derivatives of exponential and logarithmic functions and used them in integrals, then you have likely seen all of the content of MATH 221 and could consider the MATH 221 credit exam.
  • If your multivariable calculus course did not transfer as MATH 234 because it was missing line/surface integrals, your course was missing a significant amount of content from MATH 234. These are big ideas that are a significant component of the MATH 234 credit exam. If you have not studied this content, we do not suggest the credit exam. If you studied some of this material and the transfer evaluation said only that you were missing Stokes’s Theorem and/or the Divergence Theorem, you may consider the credit exam but will need to do very well on the remainder of the exam in order to pass.

If you have transfer coursework and are unsure why your course didn’t transfer as MATH 221/222/234, please email placement@math.wisc.edu and we can clarify it for you.

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.

Calculators & Formula Sheets

The use of calculators or notecards is not permitted on the exams.

A formula sheet will be provided for the MATH 222 credit exams. The MATH 221 and 234 credit exams will not have a formula sheet provided.

Restrictions/Policies

Please refer to the full list of general credit by exam policies and restrictions.

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 were previously enrolled in at UW-Madison beyond the initial semester DR deadline. For example: if you are currently enrolled in MATH 221 for Fall 2024, you are still eligible to take the MATH 221 credit exam for Fall 2024, provided you were not enrolled in the course in a previous semester past that semester’s initial drop deadline. If you were enrolled in MATH 221 for Fall 2024 past the initial semester drop 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 drop 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.

Spring 2025 Exams Date/Time (times all in CT, or Central Time) will be posted in November

• Students taking more than one exam will begin the second exam two hours after the start of the first, and if applicable, the third two hours after the start of the second.
• Note: students who have conflicts with the exams and would like to request a later start are encouraged to contact the Calculus Coordinator, Dr. Soledad Benguria to discuss whether a late start accommodation is possible. This should be done as soon as possible.

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 (campus map)

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.

Payment information will be sent to students after the exam.

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.
• Students requesting McBurney accommodation should register at least 48 hours before the exam time. The department may not be able to fulfill accommodation requests made in the two days before the exam.

More Information:  Email placement@math.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.