Overview
Starting in January 2026, Brown CS will offer a placement exam for those students who believe they already know the content of CSCI 0220, our course on Discrete Math, Proofs, and Basic Probability. Students who score sufficiently high on the placement exam will receive a transcript notation that will satisfy a prereq that otherwise requires CSCI 0220.
Scoring high on the exam does not give credit for CSCI 0220. Students whose concentrations require CSCI 0220 will need to take another CSCI course (numbered higher than 0220) to reach the total number of course credits required for a CS-based concentration.
The exam will be given in-person. The exam lasts three hours, and will cover the content of CSCI 0220 as described below. The exam is offered immediately before the start of the semester. It will be graded quickly, so that students can adjust course selections accordingly. No makeups or alternative testing dates will be provided.
A student may take the exam at most once during their time at Brown. Those who do not achieve a high enough score to place out of CSCI 0220 will need to take the course to satisfy requirements and prerequisites.
Next Offering Logistics
- Date: Tuesday, Jan 20, 2-5pm
- Where: To be determined/announced after signups
- Registration: Fill out this form by Tuesday, Jan 13th, 2025
The CSCI 0220 instructors are preparing a notes sheet that students may reference during the exam (it will be provided in advance, once it is ready). The exam is otherwise closed book and closed notes.
How to Prepare
This Google Doc has copies of the lecture slides for CSCI 0220 and their exam review guides.
The exam will not include use of the Lean theorem prover.
FAQ
- What's the grading cutoff for passing?: We're not stating a specific number upfront. Passing will require a strong performance, on par with getting a solid A on the exam.
- I'm only arriving on campus after the scheduled time. Can I request a makeup?: No, there will be only one offering in a given semester.
- Will the exam be offered again in Fall 2026?: At this time, we are only committing to offering it annually in January. We will decide on the fall after we see how this inaugural offering goes.
- Can I get access to the lecture captures from CSCI 0220 for studying purposes?: No. The way our lecture capture software works, this would require the instructors to enable access to individual students, which is infeasible from a workload perspective.
