Chemistry Placement Requirement

About the Chemistry Placement Requirement

About the Chemistry Placement Requirement

To enroll in general chemistry (CHE 2A or 4A), all students must earn a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement or complete CHE 1/1V with a C- or higher. The information below provides a general overview of the Chemistry Placement, including upcoming exam testing dates. There is information about the Chemistry Placement specifically for incoming students here, and General Chemistry FAQs here. If you still have questions after reviewing this webpage, please email chemplacement@ucdavis.edu.

  • Qualifying Score for CHE 2A and 4A
  • All students who plan to enroll in CHE 2A must earn a 24 or higher on the Chemistry Placement or a C- or higher in CHE 1/1V. All students who plan to enroll in CHE 4A must earn a 28 or higher on the Chemistry Placement or a C- or higher in CHE 1/1V. Students who do not fulfill one of these requirements will be administratively dropped from their course by the Department of Chemistry.

    CHE 2A and 4A are both general chemistry courses but are required for different majors. CHE 4A is intended for students in the following majors: Chemistry (American Chemical Society emphasis), Chemical Physics, and Chemical Engineering. CHE 2A is intended for a number of other majors. If you're unsure which general chemistry class you need to take, if any, please visit your major's webpage and direct any questions to your major advisor: https://www.ucdavis.edu/academics/majors

    Students who do not earn a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement should consider registering for CHE 1/1V in Summer or Fall. A grade of C- or higher in CHE 1/1V allows enrollment in general chemistry in lieu of a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement. Students may also take the ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry course in preparation to take/retake the Chemistry Placement. The ALEKS program is meant to prepare students to re-take the Chemistry Placement; completion does not exempt from the Chemistry Placement.
  • New Student Orientation Placement Testing

  • Incoming first-year students will take the Chemistry Placement during an assigned week-long Orientation Testing Window based on admitted college:
     

    Orientation 2023 Testing Window
    College of Engineering May 8-15, 2023
    College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences May 8-15, 2023
    College of Biological Sciences May 15-22, 2023
    College of Letters & Science May 22-29, 2023
    Emails will be send out to UC Davis email accounts with additional information in early May. After this Orientation testing window, the next opportunity for incoming first-year students to take the Chemistry Placement will be during the Fall Testing Window:
     
    Fall 2023 Testing Window
    Fall (window #1) September 6-12, 2023
    Fall (window #2) September 27-October 3, 2023

    Students enrolled (or waitlisted) in CHE 2A or 4A for Fall, but who have not yet received a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement or a C- or higher in CHE 1/1V, will be sent exam instructions via email the days leading up to the first Fall Testing Window. 

    The exam can be taken one time during each testing window. As with any exam, if special accommodations are needed, please contact the Student Disability Center.

    Students who are not enrolled in CHE 2A or 4A during Summer or Fall, but wish to take/retake the Chemistry Placement, may request access to the exam by completing our online Manual Registration Form.  The registration form will open on the first day of each Chemistry Placement testing window and close the second to last day of each testing window. The manual registration form to take the placement exam is for UC Davis students who are not enrolled in CHE 2A or 4A during Summer or Fall. All students enrolled in CHE 2A and 4A will receive an email with instructions and do not need to manually register.

  • Continuing Student Placement Testing

  • Continuing students who enroll in CHE 2A in Summer Session 1, but who have not yet received a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement or a C- or higher in CHE 1/1V, will be able to take the Chemistry Placement during the Summer Session Testing Window (note: incoming first-year students are not eligible to take the Chemistry Placement during this testing window). Furthermore, students who enroll in CHE 2A or 4A in Fall or Winter, but who have not yet received a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement or a C- or higher in CHE 1/1V, will have a chance to take the Chemistry Placement prior to, or at the start of, the quarter they are taking general chemistry.  The following table shows the testing window dates based on which quarter the student registers for general chemistry:
     
    Testing Windows 2023-24
    Summer Session 1 June 19-27, 2023
    Fall (window #1) September 6-12, 2023
    Fall (window #2) September 27-October 3, 2023
    Winter (window #1) December 13-19, 2023
    Winter (window #2) January 8-16, 2024
    Students enrolled (or waitlisted) in CHE 2A or 4A for during one of these terms, but who have not yet received a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement or a C- or higher in CHE 1/1V, will be sent exam instructions via email in the days leading up to the first date of the testing window. 
  • Petition to Retake the Chemistry Placement (4x) 
  • After three attempts a petition is required to take the Chemistry Placement for a fourth time. Email chemundergrads@ucdavis.edu to inquire about the petition process.


    Petitions will be reviewed by select faculty members in the Department of Chemistry. Approval (or denial) of a fourth attempt of the Chemistry Placement will be shared via email to the student the week prior to the beginning of the exam testing window.

  • CHE 1/1V: Preparation for General Chemistry
  • As another option to help students qualify for General Chemistry is CHE 1/1V: Preparation for General Chemistry.  CHE 1V is the remote-only version of the class, CHE 1 is fully in-person.  Students who complete CHE 1/1V with a C- or higher can enroll in CHE 2A/4A without a qualifying Chemistry Placement score. 

    CHE 1V is offered in Summer Session and may be a good option for incoming first-year students who are not able to earn a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement but want to enroll in CHE 2A or 4A in Fall. Additional information about the CHE 1V summer course can be found here:

    https://chemistry.ucdavis.edu/summer-sessions-prep-general-chem

    Detailed Course Description: CHE 1/1V is a one-quarter online preparatory course which provides an introduction to basic ideas of chemistry in the context of real-world issues which include, air and water pollution, acid rain, global warming, and sustainability challenges.

    The main goal of this course is to provide students the necessary skills and chemistry knowledge to succeed in the General Chemistry series as well as in more advanced chemistry courses. While accomplishing this important goal, the students will also explore chemistry and chemical principles in the context of real-world scenarios. The course also aims to help students gain an appreciation for the beauty and workings of chemistry and how it relates to the world in which they live in. Also, upon completion of this course, the students will develop a background that enables them to assess the benefits and risks associated with the decisions they make in their professional and personal lives. 

    Course Credit & Offering: CHE 1/1V provides 3 units of academic credit and is offered in Summer Session and Fall. 

  • ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course
  • ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is an option for students who want to better prepare for taking/retaking the Chemistry Placement. Completion of ALEKS does not exempt from the Chemistry Placement.

    ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is designed to test for individualized knowledge gaps and to fill the gaps through computerized adaptive learning software. Students take an initial assessment which the software uses to gauge your current content mastery level. Your mastery level may go up or down based on your subsequent interactions with the software. The goal of this preparatory course is to fill the "pie chart" to 100%, which is the mastery level. 

    ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is open to all students. In this way, ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course may also be used to refresh skill sets in general chemistry or supplement one's learning of general chemistry.

    Access to ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course

    The ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is designed to prepare students to take/retake the Chemistry Placement or as a means of refreshing one's skill set in general chemistry. To fully appreciate the preparatory course and its benefits, students who opt to take this online, self-paced, minimally supervised course are encouraged to earn a mastery score by filling their “pie chart” to 100%. The topics in the course were selected by faculty members in the Department of Chemistry who teach general chemistry.

    Additional information about ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course:


    -Course Credit. ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is a not-for-credit course. There is no course registration number associated with this option.

    -Cost. An approximate fee of $35.29 will be billed to your UC Davis account as part of the Inclusive Access Program for digital course materials (much like online textbooks or online homework). Billing generally occurs after financial aid funds have been distributed to students. 

    -Completion Time. Since ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is an adaptive learning program, time to completion will vary based on a student's interactions with the course. Time to complete the course ranges from 8 hours to 120 hours, with an average of 25 hours, of work in the online modules. The student license to access the course is twelve weeks, starting when students first complete their registration. It is the student's responsibility to complete ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course before his or her license expires, or before the specified deadline to finish, whichever occurs first. 

    -Enrollment. Students may enroll in ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course via Canvas. After enrolling via Canvas, students will be able to read more about the online course and how it works prior to giving billing consent. Once billing consent is given, students are to follow the prompts to begin the problem modules.

    Access to the ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course: You can sign up for the course at the following link: https://canvas.ucdavis.edu/enroll/EBPX67

    -Recommendations. Taking ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is recommended for students who have reliable internet access from a computer or tablet (sorry, no smart phones), have the time management skills necessary to complete an online, self-paced course, and feel that limited interaction with peers and an instructor is sufficient. Students are encouraged to create an "ALEKS Notebook" to take notes on how to complete problems and to review notes prior to taking the periodic assessments in the course. Students should set aside time each day towards completing the course. Additionally, students are encouraged to consult outside resources (i.e. Chemistry LibreTexts) before clicking the "explain" button. Frequent use of the "explain" button will extend the time spent in the program. Long gaps between sessions to solve problems can trigger a re-assessment of a student's mastery level.

    -Supervision. ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is minimally supervised by a designated faculty member in the Department of Chemistry. Students taking the course will be able to communicate with other students and the faculty member via an online forum.

    Deadlines to access the ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course for Winter 2024:

    -First Day to Sign Up: Friday, October 20
    -Last Day to Sign Up:     Friday, December 22
    -Last Day to Complete Online Course: Friday, January 5