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Should I be taking Math 96? 

Math 96 is an Intermediate Algebra course for business and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) majors who need to take Math 116 (College Algebra) or Math 104 (Trigonometry). Some other courses (mostly science) require Math 96 as a prerequisite.

For students who are majoring in humanities (English, History, Art) and most social sciences (Psychology, Political Science) only need to take Math 118 or Math 119 as their transfer math course and can take Math 92 instead of Math 96. If you want to learn more about Math 92, click here.

The choice of math pathway is largely determined by major, but requirements vary by transfer institution and other required courses. Please see a counselor or consult assist.org before selecting a math class.

What should I know coming into Math 96?

Math 96 is the second course in a two-course sequence starting with Math 46 (Beginning Algebra & Geometry). You can check out our annotated sample challenge exam here to see what content your professor will have expected you to have seen prior to Math 96. 

What if i don't remember the topics on that Math 46 challenge exam?

Not to worry, the math department has lots of options for you to choose from:

• If you feel like you could benefit from a review and are a good independent learner, you can sign up for our refresher course, Math 15B, which will cover the prerequisite content in a self-paced online course. You can take this while you stay in your Math 96 course! No need to change your schedule. 
• If you want some help, but don't feel like you'd stay on top of an online course, you could take Math 96X.  This is our Math 96 in a learning community with a semester-long on-campus Math 15B. This class meets for 3 additional hours per week where the content needed will be seemlessly reviewed.
• If the questions on that challenge exam didn't look at all familiar to you OR you prefer to learn in a slower paced environment, you may want to consider taking Math 46 (Beginning Algebra). This will give you a semester to learn those skills in a class with the guidance of instructor and then you can take Math 96 the following semester.

What will I learn in Math 96?

You can see the topics you will cover in Math 96 on the annotated sample challenge exam here. 

WHAT IF I Already know this stuff?

Great! You just looked through the sample challenge exam. To challenge your math placement and move to a higher course, you just need to take and pass the actual challenge exam. If this is before the semester starts, you should contact the assessment office. If the semester has already started, you'll want to contact the math department chair.

You may want to check out all the challenge exams before starting the process. You may want to challenge a course higher than Math 96.

What class should I take next?

After Math 96, you are able to enroll in Math 104, Math 116, Math 118, or Math 119. Most business majors and some biology majors will take Math 116 while most STEM majors will take Math 104 (to eventually take Math 150/151. Some majors require another Math course AND Math 119 (Statistics), we recommend you take the other math course first as it will use the algebra learned in Math 96!

Example: Business majors may need Math 116/121 and Math 119. We would recommend taking Math 116 (College Algebra) and Math 121 (Applied Calculus) before or concurrently to taking Math 119.