Before You Prepare for the Exam

Before you begin your exam preparation, speak with your school’s advising or admissions department about their credit awarding policy. Check if your school awards credit for DSST exams »

The DSST exams were developed to enable schools to award credit to students for knowledge equivalent to that learned by students taking the course. The school may choose to award college credit to the student based on the achievement of a passing score. The ultimate passing score for each examination is determined by the school. The DSST program provides schools with a recommended passing score established by a national committee of college faculty who teach these courses. The DSST program is approved by the American Council on Education (ACE), and the ACE provides both a recommended passing score and a recommended number of credits that could be awarded to successful students. Some schools set their own standards for awarding credit and may require a higher score than the ACE recommendation. Make sure to obtain this information from the institution from which you expect to receive credit.

Official Test Preparation Partners

Peterson's is a longtime partner with Prometric and supplies proven test preparation for DSST tests free for military members and funded civilians. The partnership helps members of the military and their families excel in both continuing education and enhancing their future. Peterson's tools are available through the NKO, AKO, MilitaryOneSource, and many other websites. Visit Peterson's DoD website for more information.
Prometric has partnered with iStudySmart to provide practice tests and courses in subject areas that correspond with DSST exams. Practice exams in most subjects are available and will enable learners to see whether they possess the level of knowledge necessary to pass a specific DSST exam prior to actually taking it. As each DSST exam is revised, so is the corresponding fact sheet and practice exam. Visit iStudySmart.com for more information!

Prometric does not endorse any third party test preparation material outside of what's described above, nor is responsible for the test outcome. Using all or any of the provided preparation materials outlined below will put you in the best position possible to pass your exam and earn college credit. Good luck, and happy studying!

DSST Exams

All Categories

The history of the roots of the Vietnam War.

19th century European impact, twentieth-century Western influences, World Wars I & II, new nations, social and cultural changes (1900-1960) and the Middle East through the 20th century.

Deals with the history of art during various periods, e.g. Renaissance, Baroque and Realism.

Astronomy

3 Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Celestial mechanics, celestial systems, astronomical instruments, the solar system, nature & evolution, the galaxy, the universe, determining astronomical distances, and life in the universe.

Business Ethics and Society

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Moral philosophies and business ethics, social responsibilities of a business, regulation of business, employer-employee relations, ethics of information, ethics in international business, corporations and stakeholders, ecology and global business, business and government.

Business Law II

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Sales of goods, debtor & creditor relations, business organizations, property, commercial paper.

Integers, fractions, decimals, round numbers, ratios, averages, business graphs, simple interest, compound interest, annuities, net pay & deductions, discounts and markups, depreciation & net worth, corporate securities, distribution of ownership, stock and asset turnover.

Criminal Justice

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Criminal behavior, police, the court system, sentencing issues, adult prison systems and juvenile correction alternatives.

Ecological concepts (ecosystems, global ecology, food chains and webs), environmental impacts, environmental management & conservation, and political processes & the future.

Ethics in America

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Ethical traditions & analysis in various relationships, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia, affirmative action and capital punishment.

Contemporary issues in education, past and current influences on education (philosophies, democratic ideals, social/economic influences), and the interrelationships between contemporary issues and influences.

Solving quadratic inequalities, operations of functions, rational functions and exponential & logarithmic functions.

Historical development, counselor roles & functions, the counseling relationship and theoretical approaches to counseling.

Theoretical perspectives, physical anthropology, archaeology, social organization, economic organization, political organization, religion, and modernization & application of anthropology.

Here’s to Your Health

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Human development and relationships, fitness & nutrition, disease & prevention, consumer awareness, psychological disorders & addictive behaviors, intentional injuries & violence.

Training & development, performance appraisals, compensation issues, security issues, personnel legislation & regulation, labor relations and current issues.

Earth and basic facts (maps, physiography, atmosphere, soils and vegetation, water), culture and environment, settlement patterns, political geography and regional geography.

Economic issues, international business, government & business, business ownership, small business, entrepreneurship, franchise, management process, HR management, production & operations, marketing management, financial management, risk management & insurance, management and  information systems.

Hardware, software licensing & development tools, development life cycles, data management, connectivity, privacy concerns, intellectual property, telecommunications law, network etiquette, artificial intelligence and globalization.

Overview of the U.S. criminal justice system, police systems in the U.S., police organization, management & issues; and U.S. law and precedents.

Dimensions & approaches to religion, primal religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Shintoism, Hellenic & Roman Traditions, Scientology.

Ethical issues, biological development, perception, learning & memory, cognition & language; social, emotional, and personality development, social behaviors, family life cycle, adjustment to life stresses, bereavement and loss.

Telecommunications, network security, systems analysis and design, business decision making, knowledge management, data warehousing and data mining.

Money and Banking

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Role & kinds of money, commercial banks & other financial intermediaries, central banking, Federal Reserve System, money & macroeconomics, U.S. monetary policy, the international monetary system.

Scientific approaches, research designs, data collection methods, individual processes & characteristics, interpersonal & group processes, organizational processes, change & development processes.

Personal Finance

3 Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Credit & debt, major purchases, taxes, insurance, investments and others.

Physical Geology

3 Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, weathering, groundwater, glaciers, oceanic systems, deserts, winds, hydrologic cycle, internal Earth processes, mineral & energy resources, environmental geology.

Principles of Finance

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Financial statements & planning, time value of money, working capital management, valuation and characteristics, capital budgeting, cost of capital, risk and return.

Accounting cycle and classification, transaction analysis, accruals and deferrals, cash & internal control, current accounts, long- & short-term liabilities, capital stock and financial statements.

Newton’s Laws of Motion, energy & momentum, thermodynamics, wave and optics, electricity and magnetism, chemistry, properties of matter, atomic theory & structure, chemical reactions.

Principles of Public Speaking, audience analysis, purposes of speeches, structure/organization, content/supporting materials, research, language & style, delivery, communication apprehension, listening & feedback, criticism & evaluation. Record an impromptu persuasive speech that will be scored.

Principles and concepts underlying higher-order statistics, continuous & discrete distributions, use of predictive statistics using the linear model and confidence intervals.

Management functions, planning, organization & staffing, directing at the supervisory level, legal issues, stress management, union environments, quality concerns.

Russia under the old regime,  the Revolutionary Period, New Economic Policy, Pre-war Stalinism, Second World War, Post-war Stalinism, Krushchev Years, Brezhnev Era, and reform and collapse.

Formerly “Drug and Alcohol Abuse.” Substances such as anabolic steroids, over the counter medications, dependency/addiction, societal effects, screening, diagnosis and neurological factors.

Technical Writing

3 Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Theory & practice of technical writing, purpose, content, organizational patterns of common types of technical documents, elements of various technical reports, technical editing.

The Civil War from pre-secession (1861) through Reconstruction.

Knowledge of basic facts related to the aftermath of the World War II and rebuilding of Europe, national political systems, issues and policies in Western European societies.

Business

Business Ethics and Society

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Moral philosophies and business ethics, social responsibilities of a business, regulation of business, employer-employee relations, ethics of information, ethics in international business, corporations and stakeholders, ecology and global business, business and government.

Integers, fractions, decimals, round numbers, ratios, averages, business graphs, simple interest, compound interest, annuities, net pay & deductions, discounts and markups, depreciation & net worth, corporate securities, distribution of ownership, stock and asset turnover.

Training & development, performance appraisals, compensation issues, security issues, personnel legislation & regulation, labor relations and current issues.

Economic issues, international business, government & business, business ownership, small business, entrepreneurship, franchise, management process, HR management, production & operations, marketing management, financial management, risk management & insurance, management and  information systems.

Hardware, software licensing & development tools, development life cycles, data management, connectivity, privacy concerns, intellectual property, telecommunications law, network etiquette, artificial intelligence and globalization.

Telecommunications, network security, systems analysis and design, business decision making, knowledge management, data warehousing and data mining.

Money and Banking

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Role & kinds of money, commercial banks & other financial intermediaries, central banking, Federal Reserve System, money & macroeconomics, U.S. monetary policy, the international monetary system.

Scientific approaches, research designs, data collection methods, individual processes & characteristics, interpersonal & group processes, organizational processes, change & development processes.

Personal Finance

3 Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Credit & debt, major purchases, taxes, insurance, investments and others.

Principles of Finance

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Financial statements & planning, time value of money, working capital management, valuation and characteristics, capital budgeting, cost of capital, risk and return.

Accounting cycle and classification, transaction analysis, accruals and deferrals, cash & internal control, current accounts, long- & short-term liabilities, capital stock and financial statements.

Management functions, planning, organization & staffing, directing at the supervisory level, legal issues, stress management, union environments, quality concerns.

Humanities

Ethics in America

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Ethical traditions & analysis in various relationships, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia, affirmative action and capital punishment.

Dimensions & approaches to religion, primal religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Shintoism, Hellenic & Roman Traditions, Scientology.

Principles of Public Speaking, audience analysis, purposes of speeches, structure/organization, content/supporting materials, research, language & style, delivery, communication apprehension, listening & feedback, criticism & evaluation. Record an impromptu persuasive speech that will be scored.

Math

Solving quadratic inequalities, operations of functions, rational functions and exponential & logarithmic functions.

Principles and concepts underlying higher-order statistics, continuous & discrete distributions, use of predictive statistics using the linear model and confidence intervals.

Physical Science

Astronomy

3 Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Celestial mechanics, celestial systems, astronomical instruments, the solar system, nature & evolution, the galaxy, the universe, determining astronomical distances, and life in the universe.

Ecological concepts (ecosystems, global ecology, food chains and webs), environmental impacts, environmental management & conservation, and political processes & the future.

Here’s to Your Health

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Human development and relationships, fitness & nutrition, disease & prevention, consumer awareness, psychological disorders & addictive behaviors, intentional injuries & violence.

Physical Geology

3 Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, weathering, groundwater, glaciers, oceanic systems, deserts, winds, hydrologic cycle, internal Earth processes, mineral & energy resources, environmental geology.

Newton’s Laws of Motion, energy & momentum, thermodynamics, wave and optics, electricity and magnetism, chemistry, properties of matter, atomic theory & structure, chemical reactions.

Social Sciences

The history of the roots of the Vietnam War.

19th century European impact, twentieth-century Western influences, World Wars I & II, new nations, social and cultural changes (1900-1960) and the Middle East through the 20th century.

Deals with the history of art during various periods, e.g. Renaissance, Baroque and Realism.

Criminal Justice

3 Upper Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Criminal behavior, police, the court system, sentencing issues, adult prison systems and juvenile correction alternatives.

Contemporary issues in education, past and current influences on education (philosophies, democratic ideals, social/economic influences), and the interrelationships between contemporary issues and influences.

Historical development, counselor roles & functions, the counseling relationship and theoretical approaches to counseling.

Earth and basic facts (maps, physiography, atmosphere, soils and vegetation, water), culture and environment, settlement patterns, political geography and regional geography.

Overview of the U.S. criminal justice system, police systems in the U.S., police organization, management & issues; and U.S. law and precedents.

Ethical issues, biological development, perception, learning & memory, cognition & language; social, emotional, and personality development, social behaviors, family life cycle, adjustment to life stresses, bereavement and loss.

Russia under the old regime,  the Revolutionary Period, New Economic Policy, Pre-war Stalinism, Second World War, Post-war Stalinism, Krushchev Years, Brezhnev Era, and reform and collapse.

Formerly “Drug and Alcohol Abuse.” Substances such as anabolic steroids, over the counter medications, dependency/addiction, societal effects, screening, diagnosis and neurological factors.

Knowledge of basic facts related to the aftermath of the World War II and rebuilding of Europe, national political systems, issues and policies in Western European societies.

Technology

Technical Writing

3 Baccalaureate

Factsheet

Theory & practice of technical writing, purpose, content, organizational patterns of common types of technical documents, elements of various technical reports, technical editing.