Exam Timetable

The timetable is newly created each term, based on student enrolments and programs, after census date. It is not possible to give an indication when an exam will be held, and plans should not be made during the exam session until after the release of the final exam timetable.

The release dates for provisional and final exam timetables are listed on the Dates for exams page.

The exam timetable is released via myUNSW and is personalised for each student. You must view your personal timetable and attend the time, date and exam venue that appears on myUNSW. Your exam timetable is published on myUNSW in April for Term 1, July for Term 2, and October for Term 3.

Students who do not attend the correct venue disadvantage fellow students and may face Academic Misconduct.

If your timetable doesn’t have an exam time, duration or location and instead says “Please consult school for exam time and duration” and “Internal exam – Consult school”, you need to contact your school (lecturer or Course Authority) for more information. Contact details can be found on Moodle or in your Unit Outline.

Alternative examinations may need to be provided if you are unable to attend the scheduled examination. An alternative examination may be the same examination but scheduled at a different time or, if this is not feasible, a different examination that is comparable in content and difficulty.

An examination may be rescheduled with the approval of the Examinations Team and the responsible academic member when:

• an alternative examination is recommended by the Disability Unit for a student with disabilities
• you have two centrally organised examinations scheduled at the same time
• your religious faith prohibits you from sitting an examination at the scheduled time
• you are a student in the Elite Athletes and Performers Support Program and have sporting or performance commitments which conflict with a scheduled examination
• short term events, beyond your control, affect your preparation for the examination.

Timetable Clash

If you have a timetable clash, the Examinations Team will reschedule your examination and notify you approximately 1 week prior to the commencement of the exam period of the arrangements for your clashing exams.

When the same examination is rescheduled for the morning or afternoon of the same day, you will remain under supervision for the whole day and will need to bring your lunch and any study materials with you. During this period, you will not be permitted to use any electronic devices capable of transmission including computers, mobile phones, tablets and smart watches.

Religious Reasons

UNSW recognises that there are students whose religious faith may prohibit them from sitting examinations at certain times. Wherever possible, the University will attempt to accommodate students so that they may fulfil both their religious and university obligations. 

For more information see Alternative arrangements for religion

• Last week of a teaching period
  Examinations cannot be scheduled in the final week of a standard teaching period if it is worth more than 20% of the assessment in a course.
• Study break period
  Examinations cannot be scheduled in the study break period.
• School (internal) exams
  Schools usually hold their exams during scheduled class time. Any formal assessment scheduled by schools during the examination period must be included on the UNSW exam timetable.
• Alternative venues
  With due notice, UNSW has the right to conduct exams in alternative suitable space either on, or within a reasonable distance of, the campus. If an exam cannot be held because of unforeseen circumstances (e.g. a bomb threat or fire/storm damage to an exam room), the exam may be rescheduled within that designated exam period. It is recommended that students be available for the duration of the exam period.
• Maximum exams per day
  Students should not normally be required to sit more than 2 exams in a day.
• Duration
  The duration of a centrally administered examination is 2 hours.

Along with information about your final exam, the myUNSW exam timetable may also include information about your supplementary exam timetable (if and when approved), along with the closing time and duration for all of your exams.

Your Timetable can be found at myUNSW: https://student.unsw.edu.au/exam-timetable

Each term you will get an email to let you know to check your exam timetable.

If you aren't sure if you have assessments in the exam period, you can check your course outlines on Moodle.

After the timetable has been released if a student does not have an exam they will get a message saying "No Exams Recorded", as documented below. If you believe an exam is missing after the release of the final timetable, please contact [email protected]

Once the provisional timetable has been released, students* will more than likely see all of their exam details, except for the location (that will be released with the final timetable).

* Students with an Equitable Learning Plan (ELP) may have to wait a bit longer to see the exact details of their exam, as we add the provisions and locations.

The eight* columns of your timetable are as follows:

Example (of a final timetable, complete with location):

Course – the course you are enrolled in relating to this exam.

Exam opens – this is the time your exam starts, or opens (depending on the duration) and includes reading or extra time. You should be ready at least 15 minutes before this time, either on-campus or at home.

Exam closes – this is the time your exam finishes, or closes (depending on the duration).

Note, if your exam opens at 9:45am and closes at 12pm with a duration of 2 hours + 15 minutes, then those are your start and end times. If you start late, your exam will still end at 12pm.

Exam duration – this is the duration of your exam.

Your duration may or may not contain a + 10 or 15 minutes. This is reading or extra time and does not count towards a student's ELP. Reading time (10 minutes) will mean a student will be unable to start their exam until the end of reading time, and extra time (15 minutes) is there to cover any technical issues that may occur. Students can work during their extra time.

Note, if your exam opens at 8am and closes at 8pm with a 1-hour duration, then the exam will be open for 12 hours and you can start any time after 8am and as long as you start before 7pm you will get your 1-hour exam time. If you start at 8am, your exam will finish at 9am, and if you start at 7:30pm your exam will still finish/close at 8pm.

Paper # - the paper number for the exam. Some courses have two+ exams per Term.

Exam Platform – this is the exam delivery, whether it is on, for e.g., Moodle or Inspera, or offline (pen and paper).

Location – this is where you will take your exam, either on campus in a room, or if it says your exam platform again, that means you will take your exam online, remotely. If your location is Inspera, please see here for more information.

Note, if your timetable has a room as a location, then you are expected to come to campus for your exam.

Materials – these are the only provisions that you can bring into your exam, besides a pen, pencil, eraser, or ruler. You should also bring your mobile phone, which is to be turned off and stored under your desk, and a laptop if the platform is Inspera.

* However, if you have Equitable Learning Services (ELS) provisions, then your timetable may include the extra column in the following image, Approved Extra Time (the extra time is in addition to the normal exam duration):

Some exams such as fully online invigilated exams may have different requirements. Please
consult your course outline for specific information about these.

From Term 2 2022, some students will be required to return to campus for an invigilated exam. 

For more information on how and where you will take your exams, please visit the Exam Delivery page.