Placement in mathematics courses.

Information for all students

Mathematics is part of the program of most undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky. Course prerequisites help to determine the courses a student is eligible to take.  In addition to exam scores, placement should be based on a student's background, interests, and likely major. 

Students who wish to take an introductory mathematics course are given an initial placement based on their ACT or SAT scores. Students with a Math ACT of 29 and below (Math SAT 680 and below) are encouraged to take the ALEKS placement exam in order to obtain more information about their readiness  If a student would like to take a course that is not allowed by their initial placement, they may use the review modules within ALEKS to earn placement into a different course. More information about the ALEKS exam is available at http://www.uky.edu/AE/placement-faqs. Advisers can provide help in choosing the appropriate mathematics course for a major. 

Placement in Calculus courses for students with AP credit.

Students who earn a score of 3,4 or 5 on an AP Calculus exam earn credit for one or more of our first-year Calculus courses, MA 113 Calculus I or MA 114, Calculus II. Students who have credit, but plan to take additional mathematics sometimes choose to repeat a course for which they have credit in order to develop a solid foundation for further study. The department does not recommend that students who earn a score of 3 on an AP Calculus exam use the credit to satisfy prerequisites for the next course. Detailed recommendations are available: pdf file.

Historical information

Placement guidelines from 2011 are available to assist in interpreting scores on our previous placement exams. pdf file.