Placement and Advisory Examinations are used by UCR to assess student readiness for University work and to determine the appropriate course placement in English, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Foreign Languages. Students must satisfy placement requirements before registering for these subjects at UCR. Exam results are used for advising and placement purposes only; unit credit cannot be earned with these exams. There are four exams:

• The Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE) is used to satisfy the University of California Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) and to place first year students into an appropriate English composition course.
  
  
• The Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE) is used to place first year students into an appropriate Mathematics course.
  
  
• The California Chemistry Diagnostic Test (CCDT) is an optional placement exam that may be used for placement into the Freshman Chemistry series.

Various Foreign Language placement exams are used to determine the appropriate level of Foreign Language entry.

• The University of California contracts with Pearson Government Solutions to coordinate the administration of the UC Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE) that is given at sites across California on Saturday, May 10, 2008. The UCR English Department administers the exam to those who could not sit for the exam on May 10th.
  
  
• The UCR Learning Center administers the Mathematics Advisory Exam.
  
  
• The UCR Learning Center administers the California Chemistry Diagnostic Test.
  
  
• The Department of Hispanic Studies administers the Spanish Placement exam. All other foreign language placement exams are administered by the Department of Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages.

• Writing: All students must satisfy the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) within three quarters of full-time enrollment at UCR. Receiving a satisfactory score on the Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE) is one way to fulfill this requirement. For a full list of ways to satisfy the ELWR, please go to http://english.ucr.edu/elwr/before_enrolling.html
  
  
• Mathematics: All students who plan to enter a major that requires at least one course in Mathematics need to take the Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE) for appropriate placement. Undeclared students should consider taking the exam if a major that they are considering requires at least one course in Mathematics.

Bourns College of Engineering (BCoE): All majors require at least one course in Mathematics, therefore all BCoE students must take the Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE) for appropriate placement.

College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS): All majors require at least one course in Mathematics, therefore all CNAS students must take the Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE) for appropriate placement.

College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS): Students in the following majors/programs in the require at least one course in Mathematics and students must take the Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE): Pre-Business/Business Administration, Psychology, Liberal Studies, Economics, Economics/Administrative Studies, Economics/Law and Society, Business Economics, Political Science/Administrative Studies, Sociology/Administrative Studies, History/Administrative Studies, Art History/Administrative Studies, and some concentrations in Interdisciplinary Studies.

Students in CHASS majors other than those listed above may opt to fulfill their breadth (general education) requirement by enrolling in either a computer science or statistics course that does not require taking the Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE).

• Chemistry: The California Chemistry Diagnostic Test (CCDT) is one of several methods used for placement in chemistry courses. For a full list of ways to meet these requirements, please go here.
  
  
• Foreign Languages: The College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHASS) requires students to study a foreign language. There is no language requirement in the Bourns College of Engineering (BCOE) or for most majors in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS). Students who studied a language in high school and/or are native speakers of the language, and plan to use the language to satisfy the foreign language breadth requirement, must take a language placement examination the quarter before they plan to enroll in the language course. To determine eligibility for a Foreign Language Placement Exam, please go to http://placementtest.ucr.edu/foreign_lang/

• The Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE) will be offered state-wide on Saturday, May 10, 2008 . All incoming first year students who do not have documented satisfaction of Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) by early April, will receive an e-mail or letter requiring them to take the AWPE on May 10, 2008. It is expected that students will have taken the AWPE prior to attending their Bear Facts Orientation session. If the student student could not sit for the AWPE on May 10th, the UCR English Department will administer the AWPE the afternoon before each of the Bear Facts Orientation sessions. Students will need the placement results of the AWPE before they register at Bear Facts Orientation, so it is imperative they take the AWPE before attending Bear Facts Orientation.
  
  
• The Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE) will be given over 30 times in April, May and June on the UCR campus. In addition, there will be a number of exams given at selected sites across California in May. For exam dates, times and locations, and to register for a specific exam, please go here. It is expected that students will have taken the MAE prior to attending their Bear Facts Orientation session. The MAE will not be given in July during Bear Facts Orientation. The MAE exam is required to enroll into a UCR Mathematics course. Many disciplines, including Chemistry and Biology, require Mathematics before you can enroll into entry level courses in these fields. Students who have not taken the MAE before July may be severely limited in their registration for Fall courses during Bear Facts Orientation.
  
  
• The California Chemistry Diagnostic Test (CCDT) will be given several times in August and September. Please consult the CCDT website after July 1, 2008 for dates, times, locations, and registration for the CCDT.
  
  
• Foreign Language Placement Exams should be taken prior to the quarter in which students start a language course. For students wishing to take a language course in the Fall of 2008, the appropriate exam should be taken during the summer. Language exams will not be given during Bear Facts Orientation in July. Depending on the subject, Foreign Language Placement Exams are given by appointment either in written or computer format. Please go http://placementtest.ucr.edu/foreign_lang/ for dates, times, locations, and registration for a specific exam.

• To take the Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE) on Saturday, May 10, 2008 , students must have a ticket that allows them access to a designated testing center; for information about obtaining your ticket, please call 800-839-8507. The ticket will be sent either from the UC President's Office or from Pearson, the company in charge of administering the examination.
  
  
• If student missed the May 10 AWPE, they should register for a make-up exam through the UCR ELWR.
  
  
• Register for the Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE) over the web at http://placementtest.ucr.edu/mae/index.html.
  
  
• Please consult the California Chemistry Diagnostic Test (CCDT) website after July 1, 2008, for dates, times locations and registration for the CCDT.
  
  
• Depending on the subject, Foreign Language Placement Exams are given by appointment either in written format or by computer. Please go to http://placementtest.ucr.edu/foreign_lang/ for dates, times, locations, and registration for a specific exam.

• There is a $65 fee for the Analytical Writing Placement Examination (AWPE). For the May 10 exam, students receive a fee card by e-mail or in the mail. They can go online and pay the fee with a credit card. For all exams after May 10, students receive a fee card at the exam that they must mail in with their payment. This fee will be waived if the student has already received a waiver of UC application fees.
  
  
• There is a $20 fee for the Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE). Students sign a fee payment authorization at the exam and the cost is billed to the student's account in August. No fee payment is made at the time of the exam.
  
  
• There is a $20 fee for the California Chemistry Diagnostic Test (CCDT). Students sign a fee payment authorization at the exam and the cost is billed to the student's account in August. No fee payment is made at the time of the exam.
  
  
• There is a $20 fee for each Foreign Language Placement Exam. Continuing students agree to pay the fee at the same time they register for an exam and the cost is billed to their account after they complete the test.  Incoming first-year students agree to pay the fee at the same time they register for an exam, but the cost is not billed to their account until mid-August.  Non-students are expected to pay for the test at the exam.

• About a month after taking the state-wide Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE) on May 10, 2008, students will receive a letter telling them whether their essay did or did not satisfy the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR). For those who did not satisfy the ELWR, UCR's English Department will determine which English course is appropriate for the student and will inform them by e-mail to their UCR WebMail account by July 1.
  
  
• The Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE) results will be sent to the student through postal mail or e-mail using the student's UCR Web Mail account. (If you do not know your UCR Web Mail account, please go “here”). Students may pick up their results in person at the Learning Center during normal business hours but to do so, a photo ID is required and exam results are released only to the student who took the exam. Since MAE results are part of a student's confidential academic record, by federal law, the Learning Center cannot give out results by telephone, FAX, or to a person other than the student taking the exam.
  
  
• The California Chemistry Diagnostic Test (CCDT) results will be sent to the student within a week of the exam through postal mail or e-mail using the student's UCR WebMail account. (If you do not know your UCR WebMail account, please go “here”). Students may pick up their results in person at the Learning Center during normal business hours but to do so, a photo ID is required and exam results are released only to the student who took the exam. Since CCDT results are part of a student's confidential academic record, by federal law, the Learning Center cannot give out results by telephone, FAX, or to a person other than the student taking the exam.
  
  
• For Foreign Language Exams, those taking the computer based tests see their placement when they finish the test.  Those taking the written tests can, with identification, receive their placement from the Department of Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages within three days following the exam. 

• Sample essays for the Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE) are available at http://www.ucop.edu/sas/awpe/sample.html.
  
  
• A practice exam for the Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE) is available at http://mdtp.ucsd.edu/crtest/.
  
  
• Sample questions for the California Chemistry Diagnostic Test (CCDT) are available here.
  
  
• There are no sample questions or exams for the Language Exams.

• The Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE) may not be taken a second time unless the student is exercising Option 7 of [Ways to Satisfy the Entry Level Writing Requirement Before Enrolling Full-Time at UCR].
  
  
• The Mathematics Advisory Exam (MAE) may not be taken a second time; however, under select circumstances, as when students do not me et the requirements for entry level Mathematics courses, the student will retake the MAE exam after successfully completing Community College coursework. For more information, please go here.
  
  
• The California Chemistry Diagnostic Test (CCDT) may not be taken a second time.
  
  
• Foreign Language Placement Exams should be taken the quarter before students plan to enroll in the language course. These may not be taken a second time .

Please arrive on time! Once an exam begins, no one is allowed to enter the examination room. Traffic through Southern California is often heavy and there is construction close to UCR, so students should organize and plan accordingly to allow sufficient ti me to reach the test site.

Bring Photo Identification. Students need to present photo identification at check in, or they will not be admitted to the exam.

Bring two (#2) pencils and a black-ink pen. For the Chemistry Exam, non graphing calculators are permitted. No calculating devices of any kind are permitted for the Mathematics exam.

Parking. For exams administered on the UCR campus, parking permits are required. Upon entering campus, students should follow the signs reading “Placement Exams” to the parking attendant who will provide complimentary parking permit and direct them to a parking lot and testing rooms. If students arrive before or after a parking attendant is available, a parking permit may be purchased at the UCR main entrance Kiosk booth on West Campus Drive , across from the Administration Building.