Placement Exams

Initial Chemistry Assessment

Students planning to take any Northwestern chemistry course must take an initial Chemistry Assessment, even if they have taken AP or IB examinations in chemistry. 

• The exam is administered on Canvas. Invitations to the Canvas site will be sent directly to students starting on June 1. 
• Access the Initial Chemistry Assessment under the courses section on Canvas.
• If you do not see this exam when you log into Canvas after June 1, please email chemhelp@northwestern.edu for assistance.
• For more information on the initial assessment and courses for first-year students, visit the Department of Chemistry website.

Chemistry Placement Exam

This placement exam for Chemistry is required in addition to the initial chemistry assessment for students planning to take Accelerated General Chemistry (CHEM 171), Organic Chemistry (CHEM 215), or Organic Chemistry for Majors (CHEM 217), regardless of any credit earned through AP or IB examination. The exam is administered on Canvas.  Invitations to the Canvas site will be sent directly to students starting June 1.

• If you do not see this exam when you log into Canvas after June 1, please email chemhelp@northwestern.edu for assistance.
• Complete by July 31.

Math Placement Exam

The exam is required for all Weinberg students planning to take any Northwestern calculus course, even students with high AP or IB scores.  The exam is administered on Canvas. Invitations to the Canvas site will be sent directly to students starting on June 1. 

• Access the Math Placement Exam under the courses section on Canvas.
• If you do not see this exam when you log into Canvas after June 1, please email calculus@math.northwestern.edu for assistance.
• Complete by July 31.
• For more information, visit the Department of Mathematics website.

Biological Sciences 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 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. 

Policies and procedures for language placement vary by department.  To determine whether you need to take a placement exam, check the information for that language on the Language Resource Center’s Language Placement page. Be sure to read all the information carefully.

Please note that:

• With the exception of Hindi and Urdu, all language placement exams are administered online and must be completed by July 31.
• Hindi and Urdu placement tests will be conducted in-person during Wildcat Welcome.  Students taking the Hindi or Urdu placement test must create an online profile before taking the test.  Please see the Hindi and Urdu placement test information. 
• Online placement exams in Japanese and Korean are only available from July 1 to July 31. 
• Students who miss the July 31 placement deadline may not be able to register for classes in the language they are planning to study