Advising Center

Placement Assessments

To determine which placement assessments you need to take, review the information below or complete Which Placements do I Need to Take? (Google Form).

Writing Placement Assessment

This assessment is used to place students into ENG 100 or 100T, the Written Communication requirement at UH Hilo. Students who have not taken the SAT or ACT, please take the online Writing Placement Assessment.

The assessment is not required for students who have submitted SAT or ACT scores to Admissions, students who've earned college credit for ENG 100 or ESL 100, and/or students who scored a 4 or 5 on the AP Language and Composition or AP Literature and Composition exam.

Mathematics Placement Assessment

This assessment is used to place students into courses in the pre-calculus through calculus sequence. Please refer to the table below for the list of majors requiring a math course in this sequence, and take the online Math Placement Assessment, if applicable.

Please note the following:

  • You can only take this assessment once.
  • Chemistry 161 requires a math placement into MATH 140 or higher.
  • General-Undeclared students are advised to follow placement recommendations for majors they are interested in pursuing.
  • The Mathematics Department does not currently accept COMPASS, ACCUPLACER, or placement exam scores from other institutions.
Majors Requiring Math Placement Degree
Accounting BBA-ACC
Aeronautical Science BS-AERS
Agriculture BS-AG
Astronomy BS-ASTR
Biology BA/BS-BIOL
Business Administration BBA-GBUS
Chemistry BA-CHEM
Computer Science BS-CSCI
Data Science BS-DSCI
Environmental Science BS-ENSC
General-Undeclared BA-GEN
Geology BA/BS-GEOL
Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences - Allied Health BA-KES
Marine Science BA/BS-MARE
Mathematics BA-MATH
Natural Science BA-NSCI
Physics BA-PHYS

Interest Areas

Students who have one of the following interest areas may wish to take the Math Placement Assessment, regardless of selected academic major.

Interest Area Common Majors
Pre-Engineering BS-CSCI, BA-PHYS
Pre-Medicine BA/BS-BIOL, BS-CHEM
Pre-Pharmacy BA/BS-BIOL, BS-CHEM
Pre-Veterinary BA-AG, BA/BS-BIOL

Language Placement Assessments

Students who have previously studied, or have previous knowledge of, Japanese or Hawaiian language should inquire about the appropriate placement assessment if interested in by-passing first year language courses:

  • Hawaiian Language Placement Assessment

    • Poʻalima, 3 Ianuali, MH 2025; 9:00am, Zoom
      • Kau kupulau 2025: Inā he haumāna kaiapuni ʻoe a i ʻole ua komo mua ʻoe i nā papa ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, e kāinoa no a hana i ka Hōʻike Ana Mākaukau ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi i ʻike ʻoe i kāu papa ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi kūpono mua ma Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani. Kāinoa.
      • Spring 2025: If you are a Hawaiian immersion student or you have taken Hawaiian language courses prior to UH Hilo and would like to enroll in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi beyond KHAW 103, please register for the Hawaiian Language Placement Assessment. Registration required.
  • Japanese Language Placement Assessment