DSST exams let you earn college credit for knowledge gained outside the traditional classroom. The program began in 1974 as testing for military service members and has been open to civilians since 2006, including college students, adult learners, high school students and military personnel.
DSST originated with DANTES (Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support), a Department of Defense division. Prometric acquired the program in 2004 and owns and administers it today. DANTES still funds exams for eligible military members and spouses.
There are more than 30 DSST exams, covering upper- and lower-level subjects in areas such as social sciences, history and business. Exams are priced at $100 each (plus any test center administration fee), far less than tuition for a typical three-credit college course.
Prepare for a test
Before you start preparing, talk with your school’s advising or admissions office about its credit-awarding policy. Preparation resources for DSST test takers include:
- Online test prep materials – DSSTPrep
- Online test prep materials – EBSCO LearningExpress (free for veterans, service members and families through the DoD MWR Digital Library)
- Online test prep materials – Peterson’s
- Online practice exams – Prometric