The university participates in the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), which is administered by the College Entrance Examination Board. Credit also is granted through the Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES), a program made available by the Education Testing Service (ETS).
Credit granted by examination is applicable to a St. Edward’s University degree program but may not necessarily be transferable to another institution. Examination credit counts in neither the residence hours nor honors calculations. It is necessary to make arrangements to complete all CLEP, DSST, PEP and challenge exams prior to certification for graduation. All examination credit appears on the transcript as CR and does not affect the GPA in any way.
The university also offers placement exams, which a student might take to be placed in an appropriate course, rather than taking a course in which they have already mastered the necessary skills. For example, a student who feels that they have enough knowledge to take a higher level of a modern language rather than starting in the introductory course can take the modern language placement exam to determine the appropriate course to take.
St. Edward’s University offers a variety of exams for students here on campus:
You can take CLEP exams to receive college credit for a course and help accelerate your education. Talk with your Success Coach to see how taking a CLEP exam might impact your degree plan. First-time freshmen must take at least one semester of freshman writing on campus regardless of their CLEP College Composition score.
Students taking the CLEP exam on-campus must register and pay exam fees to both CLEP ($89) and St. Edward’s University ($35). View instructions on how to sign up for a CLEP exam on our Registration and Payment page.
View our CLEP Equivalent Courses to see what score you'll need to gain credit for a particular course.
You can take DSST exams to receive college credit for a course and help accelerate your education. Talk with your Success Coach to see how taking a DSST exam might affect your degree plan.
Students taking a DSST exam must register with St. Edward’s University prior to the testing date. On the day of the exam, students must pay both the St. Edward’s University administration fee ($35) and DSST’s exam fee ($100). View instructions on how to sign up for the DSST exam on our Registration and Payment page.
View our DSST Equivalent Courses to see what score you'll need to gain credit for a particular course.
You can take the Modern Language Placement Exam, usually during Orientation, to determine which modern language course you should take so you are not taking a class in which you have mastered the needed skills. This is limited to students at St. Edward’s only. For more details about qualifying for testing or to schedule an exam, please contact the School of Arts and Humanities.
This exam is taken by incoming first-year students prior to Orientation to determine which math course they will need to select their first semester at St. Edward's. This is limited to students at St. Edward’s only, and no credit is awarded for taking this exam. You will receive information about how to take the ALEKS assessment when you register for Orientation.