Challenge Exams

Challenge Exams are available to students to demonstrate proficiency and potentially earn credit for select foundational core courses at Mines.  Students should review eligibility criteria necessary to participate in the challenge exam for any of the listed courses as well as the study materials for each exam before registering.

General Information

1. Eligibility:
   1. Incoming and transfer students in their first twelve months at Mines are eligible to take Challenge Exams. Some exams may have additional eligibility criteria, such as prerequisite credits or AP scores, determined by the respective department offering the exam. Students should review the eligibility criteria necessary to participate in the challenge exam for any of the listed courses.
   2. Students are granted only one attempt for a challenge exam per course.
   3. Students must have appropriate credit, pre-requisite course work, or AP scores to qualify for the exam.
2. Exam Availability: Challenge Exams are provided at the discretion of each department at the beginning of Fall term. Not every foundational course may have a Challenge Exam available.
3. Passing Requirements: To earn credit for a course via a Challenge Exam, students must pass with the equivalent of a 70% grade or better. Passed exams will be recorded with a grade of EX and will not affect GPA. For students who fail to pass the challenge exam, there will be no record on their transcript.
4. Information and Adjustments: Departments will provide information about students who pass exams to the Registrar’s Office before Census Day to make necessary adjustments to student’s schedule.
5. Important Considerations:
   1. Challenge Exams cannot be used to receive credit for upper-division courses.
   2. Challenge Exams are not available to students if they have declined AP or IB credit for the course or they have already received credit for the course.