Academic Advisement
Prior to each registration period, faculty advisers, academic advisers, and Adult and Continuing Education advisers are available to help students plan their programs.
Although advisers will lend assistance, the responsibility for academic planning rests primarily with the student. A student should become familiar with the requirements for the program in which he or she are registered and initiate conferences with the appropriate adviser. Before registering, however, students must submit their course selections to their advisers for approval.
Placement Testing
The University is committed to helping each student achieve academic success. Through careful advisement and review of prior academic record, a student may take placement tests in subjects such as writing, mathematics, and possibly a second language. The purpose of placement testing is to ensure new students enroll in coursework for which they are prepared. Pace uses several factors, including AP credit, transfer credit, and placement tests administered prior to Orientation to make sure you take appropriate classes.
All placement testing is online and can be accessed via computer through the Pace website (https://www.pace.edu/new-student-experience-transitions/placement-testing). Read carefully below to see which of our online placement tests you should take. Consult with an advisor if you have questions about which tests you need to take.
English
Incoming first-year students must take the online English placement test. This test requires students to write an essay.
Transfer students who have been notified should take the English Placement Test.
- New York City Transfer Students: If you are required to take a placement test, you will be notified by the Office of Undergraduate Admission. The placement test should be taken at least two days prior to the Transfer Orientation date for which you have registered.
- Westchester Transfer Students: If you are not receiving Pace credit for an English class from another institution, you will need to take the English placement test. If you don't know if you need to take the English placement test, consult with your Academic Advisor.
All students will be evaluated on their ability to organize and develop ideas, to sustain an argument, and to use correct spelling and grammar. Students may place out of ENG 110 Composition, which starts the core course of study, after evaluation of appropriate transfer credit or AP credit, writing sample, and verbal SAT scores by the English department on each campus.
Please note: Students admitted to Pace through the Challenge to Achievement at Pace (CAP) Program will be placed into required English classes solely on the results of their performance on Pace University’s English Placement Exam. Any previously earned credit for college-level English courses, or successful completion of exams through the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP), the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, will be accepted only as credits toward the General/Open Electives component of the chosen degree program.
English as a Second Language (ESL) Placement
The English Placement Test determines where an ESL student begins in the sequence of ENG 099A Introduction to Academic Writing - ESL (noncredit), ENG 100A Academic Writing - ESL, (4 elective credits), ENG 110A Composition - ESL (3 credits) and ENG 120A Critical Writing - ESL (4 credits). The test results will also suggest which other courses and how many credit hours the student may attempt. These courses are intended primarily for students who have attended secondary school in countries where English is not the first language.
Mathematics
Incoming first-year students will take the online mathematics placement test to determine the appropriate mathematics course to take in their first semester. Questions range from word problems to trigonometry and pre-calculus. Students may use calculators.
Even if a student has pending AP credit or college transfer credits, they should take the mathematics placement test. Mathematics placement will be reevaluated upon receipt of official AP scores or appropriate college transcripts.
Transfer students who have been notified should take the Mathematics placement test.
- New York City Transfer Students: If you are required to take a placement test, you will be notified by the Office of Undergraduate Admission. The placement test should be taken at least two days prior to the Transfer Orientation date for which you have registered.
- Westchester Transfer Students: Please contact your Advisor for information. If your Advisor has told you to take the Mathematics placement test, please take the test.
Modern Languages
All students with two or more years of high school study in Chinese, French, Italian, Russian, or Spanish who plan to continue their study of the same language in their first semester must take the online placement test prior to Orientation to determine the appropriate level of college study. The test may only be taken once. Test scores remain valid for one year.
Students with less than two years of high school study in a language will automatically be placed in the 101-level course in their chosen language and don't need to take the placement test.
Students who demonstrate proficiency in a second language by taking the SAT II exam prior to enrollment will be exempt from having to take a foreign language course as part of their Core Curriculum requirement. Students who qualify for this exemption will not be granted college credit.
International students who have graduated from a high school where English is not the language of instruction are exempt from the second language requirement.
If you have questions please contact the Center for Academic Excellence at (212) 346-1386 for the NYC campus or (914) 773-3510 for the Pleasantville campus.
Accommodated Placement Testing
If you have a disability that requires accommodations, please contact the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) on the campus you will be attending prior to your Orientation. SAS recommends contacting the office as soon as you register for Orientation.
- New York City Campus Student Accessibility Services: (212) 346-1526
- Pleasantville Campus Student Accessibility Services: (914) 773-3710
College Credit and Advanced Placement (AP) Course Equivalency
If you have taken college courses for credit or have participated in a dual enrollment or Bridge program, please be sure to have all official college transcripts forwarded to the Office of Undergraduate Admission for evaluation. Prior credit will only be evaluated once your official transcript has been received. A minimum score of 4 is required on all AP exams with the exception of the Computer Science A and Computer Science AB exams: a score of 3 or above is acceptable for these.
Speech Clinic Referrals
Students who do not achieve minimum departmental standards inSPE 100 Voice and Diction for Non-Native Speakers, SPE 101C Fundamentals of Speech Communication (CAP), SPE 102 Speech Communication II or SPE 102A Public Speaking - ESL may be referred to the Speech and Hearing Center for a speech evaluation. Referred students may be assigned to Speech Clinic (SPE 050, 052) for individual or group remedial speech services. An assigned student must register for Speech Clinic in the semester following the referral. A grade of Incomplete-Referral (IR) with a provisional letter grade is given to students in the course from which they were referred. The I-R grade is removed when the student registers for the Speech Clinic. However, they may be required to take more than one semester of the Speech Clinic.