Overview

For students coming in with prior experience or who are looking to graduate early, proficiency exams offer a way to skip classes. Proficiency exams are generally offered at the beginning of each semester and are graded on a pass-fail basis with no penalty for failing (although if you fail the same exam several times, you may be blocked from attempting the exam again). Exams are typically three hours, and consist of a mixture of multiple-choice and free-response questions—they feel similar to AP exams. Proficiency exams are offered for many introductory courses, and students should contact their department if they have exceptional circumstances that would warrant a proficiency exam for an advanced course.

Generally, academic advisors prevent students from registering for courses that depend on them passing a proficiency exam until they have actually passed the exam. While this can be stressful, this is not a reason to avoid taking proficiency exams: advisors will help students register for the classes they need after they pass their proficiency exams.

Below is a list of proficiency exams with active wiki pages.

• CS124
• CS128
• PHYS211