COMPUTER SCIENCE PLACEMENT EXAMS

Most students will start the major sequence with CSCI-UA.0101 Introduction to Computer Science and MATH-UA.0121 Calculus I . Some students need preparatory courses before beginning the major, others will have advanced placement credit or transfer credit that enables them to skip certain courses in the major sequence.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT

The college will give credit for the following scores on the advanced placement test:

Subject Test Score Credit
Computer Science A 4 CSCI-UA.0101
Computer Science A 5 CSCI-UA.0101

International Baccalaureate

The College recognizes, for advanced standing credit, higher-level examinations passed with grades of 6 or 7. No credit is granted for standard-level examinations. Official reports must be submitted to the Undergraduate Admissions Processing Center for review.

If you have scored 600 or higher and the exam score is on your NYU transcript, you may register for CSCI-UA.0201 Computer Systems Organization .

PLACEMENT INFORMATION

Students with no programming knowledge who are considering a major or minor in computer science should begin with Introduction to Computer Programming (No Prior Experience) (CSCI-UA 2). Students with experience using variables, conditionals, and loops to write small programs (in any programming language) should enroll in Introduction to Computer Programming (Limited Prior Experience) (CSCI-UA 3), as should students with a score of 1 or 2 on the AP Computer Science exam. Students with any AP score in Computer Science are not permitted to register for CSCI-UA 2; Albert will block them from doing so. Students with any AP score in Computer Science are allowed to register for CSCI-UA 3, but if they have a score of 4 or 5 they will forfeit the credits. Students may not receive credit for both CSCI-UA.0002 and CSCI-UA.0003.

Students considering the major or minor who have no AP credit or previous coursework but have gained a good knowledge of programming on their own and believe they can skip CSCI-UA 3 are strongly advised to take a Placement Exam for possible waiver from CSCI-UA 3 and admission to CSCI-UA 101.

In all cases, all students interested in taking Introduction to Computer Science (CSCI-UA 101) must first either (1) complete CSCI-UA 2 or 3 with a grade of C or higher, (2) pass the departmental placement exam, or (3) present a score of 3 on the Computer Science AP Exam. CSCI-UA.0101 Introduction to Computer Science assumes that students have computing experience including an elementary understanding of programming. Although it is the first course in the major, it moves quickly and a student who is entirely unfamiliar with computing will have difficulty keeping pace. 

Students with a 4 or 5 on the AP Computer Science exam are encouraged to skip Introduction to Computer Science (CSCI-UA 101) and enroll in Data Structures (CSCI-UA 102). Any student with an AP Computer Science score of 4 or 5 who chooses to enroll in CSCI-UA 101 as a refresher will forfeit the AP credits.

TRANSFER PLACEMENT INFORMATION

Transfer students should have their transfer credits in computer science and mathematics evaluated during the first semester of enrollment in NYU's College of Arts & Science. Students should bring copies of their transcripts, along with copies of the descriptions of the courses to the department.

If you are a transfer student who has not studied C, C++, Java, JavaScript, or Python you must make an appointment with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to discuss your options.

Review the Placement Exams section below for information on how to place into different courses.

PLACEMENT EXAMS

  1. Students that take a placement exam and pass, DO NOT EARN CREDIT. If the course that you are placing out of is required for the CS major or minor, the course must be replaced with a CS 400 level elective with the CSCI-UA designation (or approved equivalent) in our department.
  2. Students only have one opportunity to take and pass the placement exam.
  3. Reply 48 hours before you are ready to take the exam.
  4. The minimum passing grade is 70 out of 100.
  5. Please answer EACH question, yes, partial credit is given.
  6. The exams range from 55 minutes to 75 minutes.

All of our PLACEMENT EXAMS are ONLINE, unless otherwise listed and are only available for the following:

  1. Python to test out of CSCI-UA 0002 and into CSCI-UA 101, Introduction to Computer Science
  2. Java to test out of CSCI-UA.0002 and into CSCI-UA.101, Intro to Computer Science
  3. ORAL JavaScript exam to test out of CSCI-UA.0002 and into CSCI-UA.101, Introduction to Computer Science
  4. ORAL C++ exam to test out of CSCI-UA.0002 and into CSCI-UA.101, Introduction to Computer Science
  5. Web Design to test out of CSCI-UA 0004
  6. Java to test out of CSCI-UA 101 and into CSCI-UA 102, Data Structures
  7. Java to test out of CSCI-UA 102 and into CSCI-UA 201, Computer Systems Organization
  8. C++ to test out of CSCI-UA 102 and into CSCI-UA 201, Computer Systems Organization

Please review the link below for SAMPLE questions:
https://cs.nyu.edu/home/undergrad/placement.html

Please use the following for the CSCI-UA 102, Data Structures Placement Test to review:
https://cims.nyu.edu/~joannakl/cs102_f18/daily.html

Results are usually ready 3-5 business days after the exam date.

Some of the programming questions can be overly simplified by using functions included in modules (like Counter). These questions explicitly state that you should not use these modules. Please be wary of such simple solutions to questions as they will be marked incorrect.

If you would like to take this exam, please complete the form below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1MST3PV0DVzhPYOABVDAwP2zlmttYVIDvabJWYvefOr8/

  • PLACING OUT OF CSCI-UA.0002, INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING

    If you wish to place out of CSCI-UA.0002 (Introduction to Programming), into CSCI-UA.0101 (Introduction to Computer Science), and you have experience with computer programming using C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Python or Matlab you should take the NYU Computer Science Placement Exam for Freshmen, even if you are a sophomore or junior. See the separate web page on the NYU Computer Science Placement Exam for Freshmen ( Sample Placement Exams ) You may use either C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Python or Matlab to answer the questions.

  • PLACING OUT OF CSCI-UA.0101, INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE

    If you have taken the AP exam in Computer Science (the A version) administered by the ETS and received a 4 or a 5 as your grade, you do not need to take this placement exam and you may register for CSCI-UA.0102 right away.

    If you wish to place out of CSCI-UA.0101 (Introduction to Computer Science), into CSCI-UA.0102 (Data Structures), and have taken a college level class studying Java at a reasonably advanced level (including arrays, functions, objects, object oriented design, interfaces and polymorphism), you may take the NYU Computer Science Placement Exam. Students may only use Java to answer the questions. Sample questions are provided on the Sample Placement Exams page.

    Note that the next level course is given in Java. Students taking CSCI-UA.0102 are expected to know Java.

  • PLACING OUT OF CSCI-UA.0102, DATA STRUCTURES

    If you wish to place out of CSCI-UA.0102 (Data Structures), into CSCI-UA.0201 (Computer Systems Organization), and have taken a college level class studying data structures in C++ or Java at a reasonably advanced level (including recursion, linked lists, stacks, queues, binary trees and merge sort) you may take a placement exam. Students may use either C++ or Java to answer the questions.

  • PLACING OUT OF CSCI-UA.0004, WEB DESIGN PLACEMENT

    If you wish to place out of CSCI-UA.0004 (Introduction to Web Design) and you have either taken a college level course that included working with images and using HTML5/CSS3 to build a comprehensive website; or you have working experience in this field.