Physics Placement Exams

Physics offers placement exams for students with significant prior coursework in these areas who want to begin their study at Wellesley with upper level courses. Relatively few students will have the background needed to do this, so please give some thought to whether these exams will serve your needs. Sign up for any of these exams using the placement exam sign up form on MyWellesley. These exams are given during orientation.

In Physics, the usual first courses are PHYS 104/106.  PHTS 107/108 are introductory courses for students with a stronger math and physics background.

- To begin with PHYS 108 instead of 107, students with strong math and physics backgrounds should take the Physics placement exam during orientation (for placement into PHYS 108).

- To begin instead with a 200-level course in Physics (skipping the introductory courses entirely), students with strong math and physics backgrounds should also take the Physics exemption exam during orientation (for exemption from PHYS 107/108).

More information about whether these Physics exams are right for you is available online here, and more about choosing your first course in Physics is available online here.