The College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP®) offers you the opportunity to receive college credit for what you already know by earning qualifying scores on any of the 33 CLEP examinations. CLEP exams allow people who have acquired comprehensive subject knowledge through independent or prior study, on-the-job training, or cultural pursuits to show that they have acquired college-level material.
Eligibility
- Adults returning to school
- Military service members
- Traditional-age college students
- Home-schooled students
- Speakers of world languages looking to fulfill their language requirements
- International students who want to translate their overseas courses into credit at U.S. colleges
- Applicants for master’s degree programs looking to fulfill undergraduate prerequisites
- Professionals wanting to advance in their careers
Hours and Locations
Currently, CLEP exams are given at the Rio Tempe, the Communiversity at Surprise and Luke AFB testing centers.
See the full list of College Closures and Limited Service Days
Testing Hours for Tempe & Surprise
No appointment is needed, all testing is on a walk-in basis. You must arrive with ample time to complete your test; we close promptly at our closing time.
Monday–Thursday: 8:00am to 9:00pm (last exam administered at 6:00pm)
Friday: 8:00am to 5:00pm (last exam administered at 2:00pm)
Testing Hours for Luke AFB
No appointment is needed, all testing is on a walk-in basis. You must arrive with ample time to complete your test; we close promptly at our closing time.
Monday-Friday: 8:00am to 4:00pm (last exam administered at 2:00pm)
Fees and Methods of Payment
- $80 CLEP fee that is paid on the day of the test.
- $20 Rio Salado College administration fee that is paid on the day of the test.
- $10 fee for each optional essay. If your institution does require the optional essay, it must be ordered and paid for in advance and may take up to 2-3 weeks from when they are ordered. To order an optional essay, please call 480-517-8560. MCCD accepts College Composition (ENG101) which has an essay component and does not require ordering it in advance or an extra fee.
The preferred method of payment for all transactions is by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express). Checks and money orders made payable to College-Level-Examination-Program for the exam fee and made payable to Rio Salado Community College for the proctoring fee are also acceptable. Cash is not an acceptable form of payment. Exam fees are subject to change without prior notice.
General Information:
Information for Candidates
Picture Identification
Picture identification is required. Candidates must present two forms of identification in order to be admitted to a CLEP testing room.
Primary Identification
The primary form must be a valid and government-issued identification document(s), with a signature and photograph. The ID document must be an original document; photocopied documents are not acceptable.
- Current driver's license
- State or federal ID
- Current passport
- Tribal ID card
- A naturalization card or certificate of citizenship
- National ID
Secondary Identification
The secondary ID must have either a photo OR a signature. However, you may be required to provide a secondary ID with BOTH a photo and signature if the test administrator questions your primary ID document and/or if your primary ID document is otherwise acceptable but does not bear your full name, photograph or signature. Secondary ID documents may not be used to resolve last name discrepancies.
- A current student ID with a photo or signature
- A military ID
- An unused ID from the primary choices
Titles & Descriptions
CLEP offers 33 exams in five subject areas, covering material taught in courses that you may generally take in your first two years of college. Most CLEP exams are designed to correspond to one-semester courses, although some correspond to full-year or two-year courses.
Exams are approximately 90 minutes long, with the exception of College Composition, which is 120 minutes. Exams contain mainly multiple-choice questions. College Composition and a few other exams contain other types of questions and essays.
CLEP Exam titles and descriptions
Study Materials
Scores
All examinations are scored on a scale of 20-80. You will receive a copy of your exam score immediately upon completion of the exam unless you have taken College Composition. For this exam you will receive a combined score after the essay has been scored, usually three to four weeks after your test date.
For more information, you can visit the CLEP Collegeboard page on scores.
Credit and Transcripts
In order to receive credit, score reports must be received by the credit granting institution directly from the College Examination Board. Additional CLEP transcripts may be ordered directly from CLEP online or at 800-257-9558.
Credit received through CLEP is transferable within the Maricopa Community Colleges, but may not necessarily transfer to other colleges and universities. Read the MCCCD policy on credit by examination. It is the applicant's responsibility to consult with the institution that will be receiving the test scores to ensure that the proper tests are taken and to verify the schools' acceptance of the examination.
Credit awarded for CLEP will appear on the college transcript in the section "Credit Awarded by Advanced Standing" and will have a "CL" in the note column. To view this credit, please login to your Student Center at my.maricopa.edu.
Repeating Tests
You may not repeat an examination of the same title within six months of the initial testing date. If you retake the examination within the six-month period, your administration will be considered invalid, your score will be canceled and any test fees will be forfeited.