Calculus Placement

Please note this important information: 

• A solid high school pre-calculus course is necessary background for calculus at Lehigh. Students need a strong foundation in functions and trigonometry to really thrive in calculus.
• Calculators are not permitted in exams or quizzes in Lehigh calculus courses.
• There are different calculus sequences at Lehigh so please carefully note which calculus sequence is the correct choice for your degree program.
• Only certain majors require calculus and there is no college-wide calculus requirement.  Students need to earn 3 credits of mathematics (MA) to satisfy the college requirement, but should not feel that they must take the most demanding course for which they meet the placement guidelines.  

Every student who intends to take an introductory Calculus class (MATH 051, 075, 081, or 021) will be required to use a Calculus placement tool, ALEKS from McGraw-Hill. ALEKS will administer an assessment that will provide a score and Calculus placement as well as topics and areas where students can improve, and provide modules for students to work through. Students are able to take the ALEKS assessment multiple times for a better score to improve their Calculus placement. ALEKS is available by navigating directly to go.lehigh.edu/ALEKS. 

Calculus Courses & Required ALEKS Scores: 

MATH 000: Preparation for Calculus - 2 credits in semester

• ALEKS score of 60 or lower; Please note: ALEKS is not required for entrance into MATH 000.
• This course is for students who need more preparation before moving on to an introductory Calculus course, such as MATH 021, 081, or 051.
• Description: Intensive review of fundamental concepts in mathematics utilized in calculus, including functions and graphs, exponentials and logarithms, and trigonometry.
• The credits for this course do not count toward graduation, but do count toward GPA and current credit count.

MATH 000 will be offered during Summer Session II this Summer 2025, beginning June 30th. If you are pursuing a major that will require you to take multiple semesters of calculus but are not prepared to take Calculus I in your first semester, you should consider taking MATH 000 as early as possible. Please reach out to fysenroll@lehigh.edu for more information about enrolling in MATH 000 this summer. Students who are eligible for Financial Aid will have a reduced or completely covered cost of summer tuition for MATH 000. 

MATH 051: Survey of Calculus I - 4 credits (for majors in biology, pre-health track, architecture, earth & environmental science, some economics majors)

• ALEKS score of 61or greater required
• Those with scores in the lower range might consider the MATH 075/076 sequence, but only if MATH 020 sequence is required, and students should keep in mind that 075/076 covers the material in greater depth than MATH 051 despite the slower pace.
• Description: Limits. The derivative and applications to extrema, approximation, and related rates. Exponential and logarithm functions, growth and decay. Integration. Trigonometric functions and related derivatives and integrals.

MATH 075: Calculus I, Part A - 2 credits 

• ALEKS score of 61or greater required
• If you need MATH 021 but your ALEKS score is not quite high enough, then you are advised to register for MATH 075 and the next semester MATH 076.  These are courses that break the material of MATH 021 into two 2 credit courses over two semesters.  Completing MATH 075 & 076 substitutes for completing MATH 021.
• Description: Covers the same material as the first half of MATH 021. Meets three hours per week, allowing more class time for each topic than does MATH 021.

MATH 081: Calculus I with Business Applications - 4 credits

• ALEKS score of 70 or greater required
• Open only to students in the *College of Business. CAS students may request special permission to enroll by emailing inadvise@lehigh.edu.
• Students who may transfer to the College of Business are required to have credit for or take and pass with C- or better either MATH 081 or MATH 021. MATH 051 is not accepted for Business.
• Description: Limits and continuity; exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions; derivatives; extrema; approximations; indefinite and definite integrals. Applications with emphasis on business and economics.

MATH 021: Calculus I - 4 credits (for majors in astrophysics, most chemistry majors, computer science, mathematics, physics, the BS in economics; MATH 021 is an option for statistics & data science majors)

• ALEKS score of 76 or greater required
• Description: Functions and graphs; limits and continuity; derivative, differential, and applications; indefinite and definite integrals; trigonometric, logarithmic, exponential, and hyperbolic functions.

Please note:

• If your calculus placement is MATH 021 you may choose MATH 051 or 081 (with additional college permission) instead.
• MATH 021 serves as a replacement for MATH 081 or MATH 051 but not vice-versa.
• MATH 081 or MATH 021 satisfy College of Business calculus requirements but MATH 051 does not.
• College of Arts & Sciences students require special permission to enroll in MATH 081 and may email inadvise@lehigh.edu.
• Students seeking placement into calculus II or higher must provide credentials to Registration & Academic Services (this includes approved TR, IB, or AP credit) prior to registration. No change in registration will be allowed until the proper credentials arrive, and the deadline is the 10th day of class (Friday, September 5, 2025). No exceptions will be made.
• The Mathematics Department offers an anticipatory exam for students who feel that they have mastered the material of Math 21, Math 22, or Math 23, but do not have the credentials for approved credit. Please be aware that the success rate on this exam is typically very low. You may contact LUMath@lehigh.edu for information on the contents of this exam.

AP Credit Information:

A score of 4 or 5 in the AB advanced placement exam OR a 4 or 5 on the AB subscore of the BC exam = *MATH 021 (4 credits)

A score of 4 or 5 on the BC advanced placement exam = *MATH 021 & 022 (8 credits)

*Receiving credit for MATH 021 exempts a student from having to take MATH 051 or 081

*Receiving credit for MATH 022 exempts a student from having to take MATH 052

IB Credit Information: Students are awarded four credits for MATH 021 for a score of 5 or higher on the high-level IB Mathematics Exam.

Students with questions about calculus placement should contact inadvise@lehigh.edu.