Course Placement
Placement is an assessment of your level of preparation in a subject. The purpose of placement is to help you enroll in the courses in which you are most likely to be successful. The following commonly taken courses require placement:
Who needs to review placement requirements for these courses?
English Composition - All students, unless you already have college credit for English Composition.
Calculus and General Chemistry - If you intend to pursue a science or engineering major or you intend to go on to a health profession after completing the bachelor’s degree, you probably need to take these courses. A number of business and technical majors require calculus. You should check the information on majors of interest to determine if calculus and/or general chemistry are required.
College-level foreign language is required by several programs: Liberal Arts and Sciences and the B.A. programs in Fine Arts have a proficiency requirement; students in Journalism and Communications may choose between foreign language proficiency or a quantitative option. Building construction majors must complete one semester of Spanish. (After taking placement test: If no background, BCN students take SPN 1130; with background but not able to place into SPN 1180, they will take SPN 1134.)
English Composition Placement Requirements
Unless you already have college credit for English composition, you are placed based on your SAT or ACT verbal score.
- Students with a 640 (or lower) on the verbal portion of the SAT and/or a 28 (or lower) on the verbal portion of the ACT must enroll in ENC 1101.
- Students with a 650 (or higher) on the verbal portion of the SAT or a 29 (or higher) on the verbal portion of the ACT may enroll in any 1000/2000-level composition course beyond ENC 1101. These students should not enroll in ENC 1101.
- Students with college credit for English Composition (from AICE, AP, CLEP, IB or dual enrollment) should consult an adviser to determine if additional courses are needed to meet degree requirements.
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Calculus 1 (MAC 2233 and MAC 2311) Placement Requirements
The Department of Mathematics offers two Calculus 1 courses: MAC 2233 Survey of Calculus 1 and MAC 2311 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1. To determine which calculus course (if either) is required for a major, please check the requirements for that major. If you are interested in pursuing a postbaccalaureate health profession such as dentistry, medicine, optometry or veterinary medicine you should typically take calculus, regardless of major.
The Department of Mathematics encourages you to take the placement exam (ALEKS) even if you have met one of the prerequisites for MAC 2233 or MAC 2311. ALEKS scores are a very effective means of helping you determine the course in which you are most likely to be successful.
ALEKS is designed to determine whether you have adequate background for potential success in calculus at the college level. You can take the placement exam at a charge of $10 each time, and retakes are permitted. As a result, scores will be rigidly enforced for students who do not meet any other prerequisite for MAC 2233 or MAC 2311.
- The minimum score to register for MAC 2233 is 50%.
- The minimum score to register for MAC 2311 is 75%.
Please read the complete information about the mathematics placement exam.
General Chemistry Placement Requirements
The general chemistry sequence CHM 2045/2045L and CHM 2046/2046L meets the preprofessional requirements for many science and engineering majors. If you enroll in general chemistry courses you must have a functional command of high school chemistry and Algebra 2.
Students with weak backgrounds must enroll in CHM 1025 Introduction to Chemistry to prepare for CHM 2045 General Chemistry. If you enroll in and successfully complete CHM 1025 and MAC 1140 or MAC 1147, you can enroll in CHM 2045 the next semester.
To assess your background and to determine whether to take CHM 1025 or CHM 2045, complete the Chemistry Readiness Assessment (ChRA).
- Students must enroll in CHM 1025 if their scores are 5 or less on either the math portion or the chemistry portion of the ChRA.
- Students may enroll in CHM 2045 if their scores are 6 or greater on both the math and chemistry portions of the ChRA. Students must also have credit for MAC 1140, MAC 1147 or MAC 2311 to enroll in CHM 2045.
Passing AP and IB scores may also be used for placement. Students with AP or IB credit in chemistry should consult the course equivalency charts and then discuss their next chemistry course with an adviser.
If you wish to enroll in CHM 2047, the one-semester General Chemistry, and its co-requisite laboratory CHM 2047L, you must meet the following conditions:
- AICE, AP or IB credit for at least CHM 2045 and laboratory, and
- Approval of the Honors Program office or the Department of Chemistry.
Foreign Languages Placement Requirements - French, German, Latin and Spanish
If you have previous background in one of these languages and you wish to enroll in the same language at UF, you must demonstrate placement. You should take the SAT subject placement exam for the appropriate language (unless you have passing AICE, AP or IB scores for that subject). Please consult the placement charts for SAT Subject Tests, AICE, AP, CLEP or IB to determine placement based on your scores.
In general, language placement is determined by a combination of placement scores and high school background in the language.
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