Chemistry & Biochemistry

ONLINE Chemistry Placement Assessment
Spring 2026, Summer 2026, and Fall 2026 for CHEM 200 & 202

Overview

The purpose of the ONLINE Chemistry Placement Assessment is to determine which Chemistry class you can enroll in during registration. According to the SDSU General Catalog, enrollment in Chemistry 200 or Chemistry 202 requires satisfying one of the following prerequisites:

1. Completion of Chemistry 100 (Introduction to General Chemistry with Laboratory) with a grade of C or better,
OR

2. Satisfaction of the Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning Assessment Requirement and passing the Chemistry Department Placement Assessment.
If you passed the AP or IB Chemistry exams, please see the section below the final table for more information.

Assessment and Registration Details

Students who plan on taking Chem 200 or 202 any semester in 2026 — but who have not taken Chem 100—are strongly encouraged to register for the online Chemistry Placement Assessment.

We recommend you take the placement assessment a FULL SEMESTER before you plan on taking Chem 200 or 202. This will allow you enough time to take CHEM 100 in case you need it before entering Chem 200 or 202. For example, if you plan to take Chem 200 in Fall 2026, be sure to take the placement exam before June 17th. This will allow you to take Chem 100 in the summer if you need it and be ready for Chem 200 in the Fall. The Chemistry Placement Exam covers high school-level general chemistry and simple algebra, including topics such as matter, nomenclature, calculations, chemical reactions and related concepts. It also reviews basic algebra skills needed for chemistry, such as scientific notation, unit conversions, and significant figures. The Placement Assessment will have two parts: Math and Chemistry assessment portions. PASS/FAIL: Pass requires 71% on Math Skills Assessment AND 75% in Chemistry Concept Skills Assessment. Additionally, we provide you with a Chemistry prep, free of charge. The Chemistry prep is optional and is provided to help you review before taking the actual assessment. It becomes accessible during the 7-day window of the assessment.

The exam is offered every semester with at least two chances to take it in each semester. The table below gives the registration dates and the week that the assessment will be available to you. Please sign up for one assessment time using this google form.

Note that the assessment is ONLINE and is not proctored, but we emphasize that it is not beneficial to cheat – if you take Chem 200 or 202 without the proper chemistry and math background, you stand a good chance of doing poorly in the course and would then need to repeat it.

Assessment Cohort	Registration Deadline	Time Frame of the Assessment
Cohort 1	September 24, 2025 at 08:00 am	October 1 at 10:00 am — October 8 at 10:00am
Cohort 2	October 23, 2025 at 08:00 am	October 29 at 10:00 am — November 5 at 10:00am
Cohort 3	November 12, 2025 at 08:00 am	November 19 at 10:00 am — November 26 at 10:00 am
Cohort 4	December 10, 2025 at 08:00 am	December 17 at 10:00 am — December 24 at 10:00 am
Cohort 5	December 24, 2025 at 08:00 am	December 31 at 10:00 am — January 7 at 10:00 am
Cohort 6	March 18, 2026 at 08:00 am	March 25 at 10:00 am — April 1 at 10:00 am
Cohort 7	April 1, 2026 at 08:00 am	April 8 at 10:00 am — April 15 at 10:00 am
Cohort 8	April 29, 2026 at 08:00 am	May 6 at 10:00 am — May 13 at 10:00 am
Cohort 9	May 6, 2026 at 08:00 am	May 13 at 10:00 am — May 20 at 10:00 am
Cohort 10	May 13, 2026 at 08:00 am	May 20 at 10:00 am — May 27 at 10:00 am
Cohort 11	May 27, 2026 at 08:00 am	June 3 at 10:00 am — June 10 at 10:00 am
Cohort 12	June 10, 2026 at 08:00 am	June 17 at 10:00 am — June 24 at 10:00 am
Cohort 13	June 24, 2026 at 08:00 am	July 1 at 10:00 am — July 8 at 10:00 am
Cohort 14	July 8, 2026 at 08:00 am	July 15 at 10:00 am — July 22 at 10:00 am
Cohort 15	July 22, 2026 at 08:00 am	July 29 at 10:00 am — August 5 at 10:00 am

Who needs to take the Chemistry Department Placement Assessment?

SDSU recommends that students in the following majors enroll in Chemistry 200 (General Chemistry) or Chemistry 202 (General Chemistry for Engineers) during their first semester at SDSU.

MAJOR	COURSE
Athletic Training	CHEM 200
Biology	CHEM 200
Chemical Physics	CHEM 200 or CHEM 202
Chemistry	CHEM 200
Engineering (Aerospace, Civil, Construction, Environmental, Mechanical)	CHEM 200 or CHEM 202 for most majors (Go to the SDSU General Catalog and mymap for requirements specific to your major)
Environmental Sciences	CHEM 200
Geological Sciences (with emphasis in engineering geology, environmental geosciences, geology, geophysics, and hydrogeology)	CHEM 200 for most majors (Go to the SDSU General Catalog and mymap for requirements specific to your major)
Kinesiology (pre-physical therapy)	CHEM 200
Microbiology	CHEM 200
Physical Science	CHEM 200
Physics	CHEM 200

Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) credit

If you received a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP Chemistry Exam, you should receive credit for Chemistry 200 and 201 and should not need to take the Chemistry Department Placement Assessment.

If you received a score of Higher 5-7 on the IB Chemistry exam, you should receive credit for Chemistry 100 and should not need to take the Chemistry Department Placement Assessment. Passing a high school chemistry class, even an AP or IB class, does not fulfill the required prerequisite(s).

If you intend to enroll in Chemistry 100 your first semester rather than Chemistry 200 or 202, you do not need to take the Chemistry Department Placement Assessment.

Students Requesting Accommodations

Students requesting accommodations for the Chemistry Department Placement Assessment should have their accommodations approved by SDSU Student Disability Services (SDS). SDS information can be found at their website.

Information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

For more information, please contact cos-chem.placementexam@sdsu.edu. All communication regarding the Chemistry Placement Assessment must be conducted through official SDSU email accounts. To ensure a prompt response, please include "Chemistry Placement Assessment" in the subject line and provide your full name, Red ID, and cohort number in the message.

Emails sent from non-SDSU addresses will not receive a response.