College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
Students may elect to take one of the nationally standardized CLEP tests, which allow them to earn college credit. CLEP credits can satisfy prerequisites or reduce the number of courses needed for a degree. Before registering for a test, students must determine whether the credits may be applied to a specific program at SPS by petitioning to the Student Affairs Committee. CLEP credit does not satisfy the writing requirement. CLEP credit cannot be applied to majors or minors, or language requirements. SPS accepts up to 11 units of credit from CLEP tests.
CLEP test applications and information about testing sites are available from both SPS offices. Additional information on CLEP can be found on the College Board website. The SPS CLEP code is 1578.
CLEP score reports are accepted via mail at this address:
Northwestern University School of Professional Studies
Wieboldt Hall, Sixth Floor
339 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Attn: [Program - CLEP]
The following charts list each exam, the minimum score required to receive credit, the units earned for successful completion of the exam and the equivalent SPS course that the student will earn credit. Please note, that "1xx" indicates the equivalent of a 100-level SPS course in which there is not an exact SPS equivalent.
Business
Exam |
ACE |
Units | SPS Equivalent Course |
Financial Accounting | 50 | 1 | ACCOUNT 201 |
Information Systems and Computer Applications | 50 | 1 | COMP SCI 1xx |
Introductory Business Law | 50 | 1 | BUS LAW 201 |
Principles of Management | 50 | 1 | ORG BEH 1xx |
Principles of Marketing | 50 | 1 | MKTG 201 |
Composition and Literature
Exam |
ACE |
Units | SPS Equivalent Course |
American Literature | 50 | 2 | ENGLISH 270 |
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature | 50 | 2 | ENGLISH 113 |
English Composition with Essay | 50 | 2 | No credit given |
English Composition without Essay | 50 | 2 | No credit given |
English Literature | 50 | 2 | ENGLISH 1xx |
Freshman College Composition | 50 | 2 | No credit given |
Humanities |
50 | 2 | Hum 1xx |
World Languages
Exam |
ACE |
Units | SPS Equivalent Course |
French Language: Levels 1 and 2* | 50 | 2 | FRENCH 101-A,-B |
French Language: Levels 1 and 2** | 59 | 3 | FRNECH 101-A,-B,-C |
German Language: Levels 1 and 2* | 50 | 2 | GERMAN 101-A,-B |
German Language: Levels 1 and 2** | 60 | 3 | GERMAN 101-A,-B,-C |
Spanish Language: Levels 1 and 2* | 50 | 2 | SPANISH 101-A,-B |
Spanish Language: Levels 1 and 2** | 63 | 3 | SPANISH 101-A,-B,-C |
* Level 1: equivalent to the first two quarter (or 2 units) of college-level language course work
** Level 2: equivalent to the first three quarters (or 3 units) of college-level language course work
CLEP credits do not satisfy the writing requirement and cannot be applied to the major, minor, or language requirement.
History and Social Sciences
Exam |
ACE |
Units | SPS Equivalent Course |
American Government | 50 | 1 | POLI SCI 220 |
History of the United States I: Early Colonization to 1877 | 50 | 1 | HISTORY 210-A |
History of the United States II: 1865 to the Present | 50 | 1 | HISTORY 210-B |
Human Growth and Development | 50 | 1 | PSYCH 218 |
Introduction to Educational Psychology | 50 | 1 | PSYCH 1xx |
Introductory Psychology | 50 | 1 | PSYCH 110 |
Introductory Sociology | 50 | 1 | SOCIOL 110 |
Principles of Macroeconomics | 50 | 1 | ECON 201 |
Principles of Microeconomics | 50 | 1 | ECON 202 |
Social Sciences and History | 50 | 2 | SOCIOL 1xx |
Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648 | 50 | 1 | HISTORY 201-A |
Western Civilization II: 1648 to Present | 50 | 1 | HISTORY 201-B |
Science and Mathematics
Exam |
ACE |
Units | SPS Equivalent Course |
Biology | 50 | 2 | BIOL SCI 170 |
Calculus | 50 | 1 | MATH 220 |
Chemistry | 50 | 2 | CHEM 201 |
College Algebra | 50 | 1 | MATH 101 |
College Mathematics | 50 | 2 | MATH 1xx |
Precalculus | 50 | 1 | MATH 113 |
Natural Sciences | 50 | 2 | NSCI 1xx |