Office of the University Registrar

Course Placement

Placement is an assessment of a student’s level of preparation in a subject. The purpose of placement is to help students enroll in the courses in which they 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 they already have college credit for English composition.

Calculus and General Chemistry - Students who intend to pursue a science or engineering major or who intend to go on to a health profession after completing the bachelor’s degree probably need to take these courses. A number of business and technical majors require calculus. Students 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 they already have college credit for English composition, students are placed based on their 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.

Introductory Calculus (MAC 2233 and MAC 2311)

The Department of Mathematics offers two introductory calculus courses: MAC 2233 Survey of Calculus 1 and MAC 2311 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1. To determine which course, if either, is required, students should check the requirements for their major.

To assess his or her background and to determine the appropriate course in which to enroll, every student who intends to take MAC 2233 or MAC 2311 must complete the mathematics placement exam or have one of the alternative placement scores listed below already on file at UF. The placement exam will determine whether a student has adequate background for potential success in calculus at the college level.

To enroll in MAC 2233, students must earn a math placement score of at least 50%, except for students who have one of the alternative placement scores listed below already on file at UF. Students who do not achieve the minimum score of 50% must satisfy one of the following before taking MAC 2233:

  • a minimum grade of C in MAC 1140, or
  • a minimum grade of C in MAC 1147

The recommended prerequisite for MAC 2233 is MAC 1140 and a math placement score of 35% is recommended before enrolling in MAC 1140.

Students who earn only a C or C+ in these courses may need substantial review of precalculus to succeed in introductory calculus at the college level.

To enroll in MAC 2311, students must earn a math placement score of at least 65%, except for students who have one of the alternative placement scores listed below already on file at UF. Students who do not achieve the minimum score of 65% must satisfy one of the following before taking MAC 2311:

  • a minimum grade of C in MAC 1147, or
  • a minimum grade of C in both MAC 1140 and MAC 1114

The recommended prerequisite for MAC 2311 is MAC 1147 and a math placement score of 50% or higher is recommended before enrolling in MAC 1147. Students with scores between 35% and 50% should enroll in MAC 1140 and then MAC 1114. Students with scores below 35% should begin in MAC 1105.

Students who earn only a C or C+ in these courses may need substantial review of precalculus to succeed in introductory calculus at the college level.

Alternative Placement Scores: Students with the alternative placement scores listed below already on file at UF should also complete the mathematics placement exam to determine whether they are prepared for UF’s MAC 2233 or MAC 2311. Such students, however, are not required to achieve the minimum score(s) identified above. Students with one of the alternative scores listed below should try their best on the placement assessment, for a low score could predict potential trouble in calculus at UF. Alternative placement scores include:

  • a score of A-E on the AICE Further Mathematics, Mathematics A or Mathematics AS level exams,
  • a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP Calculus AB or Calculus BC exam, or
  • a score of 4, 5, 6 or 7 on the IB Mathematics exam

General Chemistry Placement Requirements

The general chemistry sequence CHM 2045/2045L and CHM 2046/2046L meets the preprofessional requirements for a broad range of science and engineering majors. Students who enroll in general chemistry courses 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. Students who enroll in and successfully complete CHM 1025 and either MAC 1140 or 1147 can enroll in CHM 2045 the next semester.

To assess their backgrounds and to determine whether to take CHM 1025 or CHM 2045, students must 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.

Students wishing to enroll in CHM 2047, the one-semester General Chemistry, and its corequisite the lab CHM 2047L must meet all three of the following conditions:

  • AP or IB credit in chemistry or a very strong high school background in chemistry,
  • a high score on the AP, IB or SAT subject test in chemistry, and
  • approval of the Honors Program office or the Department of Chemistry

Foreign Languages Placement Requirements -
French, German, Latin, Spanish

Students who have previous background in one of these languages and who wish to enroll in the same language at UF must demonstrate placement. Such students should take the SAT subject placement exam for the appropriate language (unless the student has passing AICE, AP or IB scores for that subject). Students should consult the placement charts for SAT Subject Tests, AICE, AP, CLEP or IB to determine placement based on their scores.

In general, language placement is determined by a combination of placement scores and high school background in the language.