Calculus Guidelines for 2025-2026, Class of 2029

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 for IDEAS Students & 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 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 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:

  • 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)

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.