EECS offers Advanced Standing Exams (ASEs) for two subjects, 6.100A Introduction to Computer Science and Programming In Python, and 6.1200 Mathematics for Computer Science.
6.100A Advanced Standing Exam
For more information, see the 6.100A ASE website.
6.120 Advanced Standing Exam
Starting in January 2026, EECS will be offering an Advanced Standing Examination for 6.1200 Mathematics for Computer Science. (Note that EECS tends to call this course “6.120”, omitting the final 0 for simplicity. But MIT’s systems refer to it as 6.1200, so you will find it in the Catalog and in Registrar websites as 6.1200. Here is more explanation of the Course 6 numbering system.)
Some common questions about the 6.120 ASE are answered below. For other questions, please email 6.120-ase@mit.edu.
When and where is the next 6.120 ASE?
The next 6.120 ASE will be Monday January 26, 2026, 1pm-4pm, on the third floor of Walker Memorial (50-340). Because MIT closed for snow, the ASE has been rescheduled to Thursday January 29, 1pm-4pm, still on the third floor of Walker Memorial (50-340).
The exam can only be taken in-person, on campus. It is not offered remotely, and no conflict times are available.
Am I eligible to take the ASE?
You are allowed to take the ASE if you’ve never taken the ASE before and you’ve never been enrolled in 6.1200 (or its equivalent Math number 18.062) beyond the first week of a semester. If either of these is not true, you risk your score not being counted by the Registrar.
Note that enrollment in other classes, including more advanced classes that take 6.1200/18.062 as a prerequisite, has no effect on your eligibility for the ASE. Petitioning to substitute other classes for 6.1200 also has no effect on your eligibility.
How do I sign up to take the ASE?
To sign up, submit this application form no later than Friday January 16, 2026, at 5pm (Boston time).
(Note that the Registrar’s page about ASEs has an “ASE Petition” form. You should not use the ASE Petition form. Use the Google form linked just above.)
When the ASE be offered in the future?
EECS plans to offer the ASE before every spring semester, during the last week of January. It is not currently offered in the summer or before the fall semester.
What topics does the ASE cover? How can I prepare for it?
6.120 Spring 2024 is available on MIT OpenCourseWare.
Who oversees the ASE?
The ASE is overseen by the EECS department’s Theory of Computation group, who are collectively responsible for all the undergraduate theoretical computer science courses in Course 6, including 6.120, 6.121, 6.122, and 6.140.
Why was the 6.120 ASE created?
We created the 6.120 ASE for the same reason as other Advanced Standing Exams, because many students enter MIT with prior experience in discrete mathematics and writing proofs, and the 6.120 ASE allows them to demonstrate that understanding and earn MIT credit for it.
Before the creation of the ASE, courses with a 6.120 prerequisite often enforced this prerequisite in an ad hoc fashion. The ASE creates a clear and consistent system.
How does the 6.120 ASE affect 6.121?
Starting spring 2026, 6.121 Introduction to Algorithms will expect students to have passed either 6.120, or 6.120A plus a probability course, or the 6.120 ASE. The content and level of 6.121 itself will not change as a result of the ASE.
How does the 6.120 ASE affect 6.120?
The content and level of 6.120 will not change as a result of the ASE.
Why do we need 6.120? Where is the material used in the Course 6 curriculum?
6.120 provides a mathematical foundation which many Course 6 classes rely on, not only 6.121. As an incomplete list of examples, graphs and probability appear throughout machine learning and artificial intelligence, graphs and state machines are formalisms used to reason about computer systems, architecture, and compilers, number theory and modular arithmetic are at the core of cryptography, and proficiency with proofs is needed by many courses which touch on the foundations of computation, communication, statistics, optimization, and more.