The Office of Undergraduate Education has created a remote math placement test called the Math Directed Self Placement (DSP).

The Math DSP is an online questionnaire that will guide students through a series of questions that help students identify which math course is right for them to start with. The process may take up to 30 minutes and students can take the math DSP online from their home. Students will be asked a series of questions to get them to reflect on their background in mathematics along with a series of problems they will need to complete. Based on students’ responses to the questions and their answers for each problem, students will receive an initial recommendation for which math course they should start with. The main goal of the Directed Self-Placement is to determine the best math course students should begin with in order for them to be most successful at the University of Washington, Tacoma.  

Take the Math Directed Self Placement

What to do next after you submit your Math DSP: 
Please wait 1 or 2 business days for our office to review your submission and have the scores entered into the system.

UW Tacoma Math Pathways
Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Math Directed Self Placement free? 

Yes
How long is the process? 

The placement can take between 30-60mins

Is the Math Directed Self Placement the only method used at this point? 

Yes,  Math Directed Self Placement is the only method we are using at this time. However, we also accept Accuplacer score reports from other universities/colleges.

What do I do after I submit my math DSP? 

Please wait 1-2 business days for our office to review your submission and have the scores entered into the system.  

When is the Math Placement Test is Needed

You will need to take the math placement test if you have not yet completed the prerequisites for these courses at the college level:
• Intermediate Algebra (eg. TMATH 098).
• Statistics course (eg. TMATH 110 or THLTH 320).
• Precalculus (eg. TMATH 115, TMATH 116 & TMATH 120) or any further courses in the Calculus series.
Other college courses with college level math prerequisites.

You are exempt from taking the math placement exam if you:
• Have already earned college credit (2.0 GPA or higher) in Intermediate Algebra, Precalculus or Calculus.
• Received a Calculus AP score of 2 or higher in either Calculus AB or BC (must have a subscore of 3, 4, or 5 on BC test).
• Earned a IB Mathematics score of 4 or higher.

If you are uncertain about whether you need to take a placement test, please contact your Academic Advisor at the University Academic Advising for more information. For prerequisites and registration restrictions, consult the UW Tacoma Mathematics course description page

Math courses