Credit Exams Policies & Restrictions
Students may take up to two exams in one semester. Students who wish to apply to take more than two exams in one semester should send their request to the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies at enrollment@math.wisc.edu and include the following:
A detailed description of why they must take three exams in one semester
Students must explicitly describe how their time to degree will be impacted if they are not able to take three exams
Documents showing their experience with each course’s material
Students may not take four exams in a single term.
Students may not take a credit exam for a specific course more than once.
Students must meet the requisites for the course for which they wish to take the credit exam. The only exception is that students may take sequential exams. For example, a student who has met the requirements for MATH 221 may take the exams for MATH 221 and 222 in the same exam session.
Students may not attempt a credit exam for any course they were previously enrolled in at UW-Madison beyond the initial semester DR deadline. For example: if you are currently enrolled in MATH 221 for Spring 2026, you are still eligible to take the MATH 221 credit exam for Spring 2026, provided you were not enrolled in the course in a previous semester past that semester’s initial drop deadline. If you were enrolled in MATH 221 for Spring 2026 past the initial semester drop deadline and were hoping to take the MATH 221 credit exam in a future semester, you would not be eligible to do so.
- Note regarding MATH 217: students who were enrolled in MATH 217 past the initial semester drop deadline are NOT permitted to take the MATH 221 calculus credit exam, as students who complete MATH 171 and 217 have completed the equivalent to MATH 221. Questions regarding this can be sent to enrollment@math.wisc.edu.
Please refer to the full list of general credit by exam policies and restrictions here.