Computer Science Placement Exam

All students required to take ECS 36A are required to either take a placement exam or ECS 32A. Please click here for information regarding the ECS 32 and 36 series. ECS 36A is not required for every student. Please see the link above to help determine if the 36 series is right for you.

The Computer Science Placement Exam determines your level of programming skill. All students who register for ECS 36A are required to pass the Computer Science Placement Exam or have a C- or better in ECS 32A or ECS 10. Students enrolled in ECS 36A without satisfying the prerequisite requirements will be administratively dropped from the course by the Computer Science Department on the first day of instruction.

The Computer Science Placement Examination is only available online. There will be one testing window per year and a student may only take it once per testing window. As with any exam, if you need special accommodations due to a disability, please contact the UC Davis Student Disabilities Center.

Frequently Asked Questions

•  When and how can I see my score?

• The results are available to you immediately upon completing the exam. Please click the “view score” button after submitting. Please take a screenshot of your score, because you will not be able to access it in the future.

•  How do I study for and prepare for the exam?

• There is no study guide for the exam. The exam is written in a pseudocode and covers basic concepts such as conditional statements and loops. The exam is meant to gauge if you have any sort of programming experience and if you should start in ECS 32A or 36A. Please do not worry too much about preparing for the exam and be sure to take it prior to your fall registration.

•  I already took ECS 32A. Do I need to take this exam? 

• No, this exam is only for ECS 36A placement. If you have already taken the prerequisite course for ECS 36A (ECS 10 or ECS 32A with C- or better) or have already taken the equivalent course (ECS 30), then there is no need for you to take the exam.

•  The link won’t grant me access. Is there something wrong with my account?

• The exam is tied to your UC Davis account, which is operated by Google. Please make sure you’re not logged into your personal Google account. You may need to log out of your personal account, open the exam in another browser, or open it in incognito mode.

•  I won’t be able to take the exam prior to registration. What should I do?

• Please try to take the exam as soon as you can. In the meantime, decide on which course to enroll in based on your current experience and comfortability with programming. Taking ECS 32A first will not significantly impact your graduation timeline.

•  If I need to switch courses, will I automatically be enrolled in the correct course?

• No, students should unenroll from the incorrect course and enroll or waitlist in the correct one as soon as they can. There is no automatic enrollment in courses based on placement exam results. Students will be dropped from ECS 36A if they do not have the prerequisite or qualifying exam score.

•  I took the exam and placed in ECS 32A. Can I retake the exam?

• No, students may only take the exam once per exam window. You will need to take ECS 32A or wait until next summer to take the exam again. This exam is to ensure you have adequate programming experience to succeed in ECS 36A. Taking ECS 32A will not significantly impact your graduation timeline.

•  I placed into ECS 36A, but Schedule Builder is saying I’m missing the prerequisite. Is there something wrong?

• No, there is nothing wrong. Unfortunately, our exam could not be connected to the prerequisite system. You must fill out a prerequisite petition in order to register. Submitting a petition will allow you to enroll. As long as you have a passing score, there shouldn’t be an issue approving your petition. Visit our prerequisites webpage if you need information on how to submit a prerequisite petition.