Prerequisites

Placement Tests

Some courses have placement tests as prerequisites. Many of these tests can be taken through the Office of Educational Assessment Testing Center or through the department directly.

How to Read Prerequisites

A prerequisite may consist of a single course, multiple courses or placement tests, or a choice of courses or placement tests.

Because of space restrictions, prerequisites are written in the most concise way possible. Certain conventions have been used for consistency and clarity.

1. The main division of prerequisites is the semicolon (;), which divides required courses or groups of courses.

   Example:

   SPAN 401 The Morphological Structure of Spanish (5)
   Prerequisite: SPAN 303; SPAN 323.

   Translation: A student must take SPAN 303 and SPAN 323 before taking SPAN 401.

   Example:

   CHEM 317 Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory (3) Prerequisite: either CHEM 165 or CHEM 312; either CHEM 242 or CHEM 347.

   Translation: A student must fulfill each of two prerequisites befo re taking CHEM 317:

   1. either CHEM 165 or CHEM 312, and
   2. either CHEM 242 or CHEM 347

2. A prerequisite may consist of two or more courses (or sets of courses) that a student may chose from. Such groups begin with the word "either" and have "or" before the last choice. Separate courses (or sets of courses) are divided by commas.

   Example:

   CHEM 237 Organic Chemistry (4)
   Prerequisite: either CHEM 155, CHEM 160, or CHEM 162.

   Translation: A student must take one of the following before taking CHEM 237: CHEM 155 or CHEM 160 or CHEM 162.

3. A prerequisite choice may consist of more than one course. These groups are defined by the use of "and".

   Example:

   CHEM 152 General Chemistry (5)
   Prerequisite: either CHEM 140 and CHEM 141, CHEM 142, or CHEM 145.

   Translation: A student must take one of the following sets before taking CHEM 152:

   1. CHEM 140 and 141 or
   2. CHEM 142 or
   3. CHEM 145

4. A course may have a combination of groups of choices and several prerequisites.

   Example:

   CHEM 241 Organic Chemistry Laboratory (3)
   Prerequisite: either CHEM 155, CHEM 160 and CHEM 161, or CHEM 162; either CHEM 224, CHEM 238, or CHEM 336.

   Translation: A student must take one of the following sets before taking CHEM 241:

   1. CHEM 155, or
   2. CHEM 160 and 161, or
   3. CHEM 162

   As well, a student must take one of the following before taking CHEM 241: CHEM 224 or 238 or 336.

   Example:

   ZOOL 438 Comparative Endocrinology (3)
   Prerequisite: either BIOL 202 or BIOL 102 with either ZOOL 301 or ZOOL 315.

   Translation: A student must take one of the following sets before taking ZOOL 438:

   1. BIOL 202, or
   2. BIOL 102 and ZOOL 301, or
   3. BIOL 102 and ZOOL 315

5. A course may have a combintation of placement tests and courses as a prerequisite.

   Example:

   MATH 124 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I
   Prerequisite: 2.5 in MATH 120, score of 68% on MATHPC placement test, score of 75% on MATHEC placement test, or score of 2 on AP test.

   Translation: A student must take one of the following before registering for MATH 124:

   1. MATH 120 with a minimum grade of 2.5
   2. MATHPC placement test with a minimum score of 68%, or
   3. MATHEC placement test with a minimum score of 75%

Office of the Registrar, 206-543-5378
registrar@u.washington.edu
Modified: May 29, 2003