Social Sciences and History
Description of the Examination
The Social Sciences and History examination covers a wide range of topics from the social sciences and history disciplines. While the exam is based on no specific course, its content is drawn from introductory college courses that cover United States history, Western civilization, world history, government/political science, geography, sociology, economics, psychology, and anthropology.
The primary objective of the exam is to give candidates the opportunity to demonstrate that they possess the level of knowledge and understanding expected of college students who meet a distribution or general education requirement in the social sciences/history areas.
The Social Sciences and History examination contains 120 questions to be answered in 90 minutes. Some of them are pretest questions that will not be scored. Any time candidates spend on tutorials and providing personal information is in addition to the actual testing time.
Note: This examination uses the chronological designations B.C.E. (before the common era) and C.E. (common era). These labels correspond to B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (anno Domini), which are used in some textbooks.
Knowledge and Skills Required
The Social Sciences and History examination requires candidates to demonstrate one or more of the following:
- Familiarity with terminology, facts, conventions, methodology, concepts, principles, generalizations, and theories
- Ability to understand, interpret, and analyze graphic, pictorial, and written material
- Ability to apply abstractions to particulars and to apply hypotheses, concepts, theories, and principles to given data
The content of the exam is drawn from the following disciplines. The percentages next to the main disciplines indicate the approximate percentages of exam questions on those topics.
| 40% | History
Requires general knowledge and understanding of time- and place-specific human experiences. Topics covered include political, diplomatic, social, economic, intellectual, and cultural material. |
| 17% | United States History
Covers the colonial period, the American Revolution, the early republic, the Civil War and Reconstruction, industrialization, the Progressive Era, the First World War, the 1920s, the Great Depression and the New Deal, the Second World War, the 1950s, the Cold War, social conflict-the 1960s and 1970s, the late twentieth century |
| 15% | Western Civilization
Covers ancient Western Asia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome as well as medieval Europe and modern Europe, including its expansion and outposts in other parts of the world |
| 8% | World History
Covers Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America from prehistory to the present, including global themes and interactions |
| 13% | Government/Political Science, including
Comparative politics International relations Methods United States institutions Voting and political behavior |
| 11% | Geography, including
Cartographic methods Cultural geography Physical geography Population Regional geography Spatial interaction |
| 10% | Economics, including
Economic measurements International trade Major theorists and schools Monetary and fiscal policy Product markets Resource markets Scarcity, choice, and cost |
| 10% | Psychology, including
Economic measurements Aggression Biopsychology Conformity Group process Major theorists and schools Methods Performance Personality Socialization |
| 10% | Sociology, including
Economic measurements Demography Deviance Family Interaction Major theorists and schools Methods Social change Social organization Social stratification Social theory |
| 6% | Anthropology, including
Cultural anthropology Ethnography Major theorists and schools Methods Paleoanthropology |
Study resources
To prepare for the Social Sciences and History exam, you should consult several introductory college level textbooks. Visit your local college bookstore to determine which textbooks are used by the college for history, sociology, western civilization, and other related courses. When selecting a textbook, check the table of contents against the "Knowledge and Skills Required" for this test.
The materials suggested for preparing for other CLEP exams may also be helpful. Study resources for the subject examinations in American Government, History of the United States I and II, Principles of Macroeconomics and Principles of Microeconomics, Introductory Sociology, and Western Civilization I and II are particularly relevant and can be found in the Study Resources section for each of these exams. In addition, many college faculty members post their course materials on their school websites, and there are a number of educational websites that contain useful resources organized by subject.
