- The Three Segments at a Glance
- Eligibility and Delivery Before You Study
- Segment 1: Part Modeling and Design Intent
- Segment 2: Configurations and Feature Changes
- Segment 3: Assemblies, Mates and Interference
- How Segment Scoring Works
- Technical Questions Versus Scored Instructions
- Sequencing Your Preparation Across the Segments
- Where Candidates Lose Points in Each Segment
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The three domains are the issuer's actual exam segments, and they are unweighted: no percentage split is published.
- You must pass all three segments: 75/105, 77/104 and 77/109 points, within 200 total minutes.
- Academic candidates need CSWA-Academic held at least 30 days and a school that sponsors the exam.
- Each documented segment includes one five-point instruction item, so following the written directions is itself scored.
The Three Segments at a Glance
The Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional - Academic (CSWP) exam, issued by SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes), is a hands-on CAD modeling test with multiple-choice and numeric responses. Unlike many certification blueprints, it does not divide its content into percentage-weighted knowledge areas. The three content areas on this page are the issuer's real exam segments, and the issuer publishes no weights for the topics inside them. Anyone claiming that a topic is "20% of the exam" is inventing a number, so plan by segment rather than by an imagined percentage.
| Domain | Segment time | Points to pass | Core theme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Segment 1 | 70 minutes | 75 of 105 | Parts from drawings, equations, design intent |
| Segment 2 | 50 minutes | 77 of 104 | Configurations, design tables, feature changes |
| Segment 3 | 80 minutes | 77 of 109 | Assemblies, mates, interference, subassemblies |
The segment times add up to the 200 minutes of total working time, and the timer cannot be paused. For a broader view of how demanding that clock is, see How Hard Is the CSWP Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Eligibility and Delivery Before You Study
Knowing the domains matters less if you cannot get a seat, so settle the administrative questions first. This site covers the academic credential specifically, which is distinct from the unrestricted commercial CSWP. The academic route is arranged through a qualified educational institution and proctored in that environment.
- Prerequisite: the dedicated academic instructions require CSWA-Academic certification held for at least 30 days. Recommended preparation, such as roughly 100 classroom hours and tutorial review, is guidance rather than a mandatory training-hour requirement. Some general SOLIDWORKS pages word prerequisites differently, but the dedicated academic instructions and your school's approved route govern. The full picture is in CSWP Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
- Fee: US$0 for eligible students whose school is an Academic Certification Provider with an active subscription and meets regional license requirements. This is school-sponsored eligibility, not an unconditional free retail exam. Details are in CSWP Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
- Testing platform: SOLIDWORKS through Tangix/VirtualTester, with current delivery instructions using the VirtualTester Web Client. Candidates need Internet access and working SOLIDWORKS software, version 2015 or later.
- Format choice: your instructor chooses whether you take the three segments separately or as one combined exam.
Segment 1: Part Modeling and Design Intent
Segment 1 gives you 70 minutes and requires 75 of 105 points. It is the segment where raw modeling fluency and attention to the drawing matter most, because you build parts from dimensioned drawings and then answer numeric questions about the results.
Domain 1: Segment 1
Creating parts from drawings and keeping the model flexible under change.
- Building parts directly from drawings, including correct origin placement and orientation
- Linked dimensions and equations that tie one dimension to another
- Changing parameters and geometry, then reading the updated result
- Mass properties, such as mass, volume, surface area and center of mass, reported to the requested precision
- Maintaining design intent so that edits rebuild the way the drawing implies
Why Segment 1 punishes small inaccuracies
The numeric answers depend on every earlier dimension being right. A part that looks correct but sits slightly off its stated origin, or uses the wrong material density or unit system, will produce a wrong mass-properties answer even though the geometry appears fine. Candidates who build from the drawing quickly but skip a check on units and material tend to discover the problem only when their answer fails to match any option.
Equations and linked dimensions
Expect to drive one dimension from another, then change a driving value and report how a dependent quantity responds. Practice setting up global variables and equations cleanly, and practice reading which dimension is driven and which is driving. The sample guide linked from the issuer covers Segment 1 only, so treat it as a style reference rather than a full picture of the exam. Keep the CSWP Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts handy for quick reference on mass-property settings.
Segment 2: Configurations and Feature Changes
Segment 2 is the shortest at 50 minutes and requires 77 of 104 points. The time pressure per task is tighter, which makes workflow efficiency the deciding factor.
Domain 2: Segment 2
Managing variations of a part and modifying existing models without breaking them.
- Configurations created manually and through design tables
- Design tables that control dimensions, suppression states and other configuration-specific values
- Mass properties checked per configuration
- Changing and rearranging features in the FeatureManager tree
Configurations and design tables
You will typically be asked to produce multiple variations of one part and report a value, such as mass, for a particular configuration. The skill is not just knowing that design tables exist; it is understanding how a change made in one configuration propagates, which values are configuration-specific, and how suppression states alter the geometry that mass properties are calculated from.
Rearranging and editing features
Feature-order questions test whether you understand parent-child relationships. Reordering a feature or changing a sketch plane can produce rebuild errors, and a good candidate recognizes which edits are safe and which break dependencies. Practice diagnosing a rebuild error rather than only avoiding it, because exam files may arrive with deliberate problems to resolve.
Key Takeaway
In Segment 2, always check mass properties for the specific configuration the question names. A correct model reported from the wrong active configuration is one of the most common ways to lose points on otherwise sound work.
Segment 3: Assemblies, Mates and Interference
Segment 3 is the longest at 80 minutes and requires 77 of 109 points. It moves from single parts to assembled products, and it is where assembly-management habits separate prepared candidates from those who only model parts well.
Domain 3: Segment 3
Building and analyzing assemblies with correct mating and motion behavior.
- Inserting and replacing parts within an assembly
- Basic mates and advanced mates, including limit and mechanical mates
- Rigid and flexible subassemblies, and how flexibility changes motion
- Collision detection and interference detection
- Coordinate systems used to report positions and properties
- Mass properties of the assembly, often relative to a defined coordinate system
Mates and the cost of an over-defined assembly
Mate choice affects both the final position of components and how the assembly behaves when you move it. Over-defined or conflicting mates can produce silent positioning errors that change a reported answer. Learn to read the mate list critically, and to know when a component is fully defined versus free to move.
Flexible subassemblies and interference
Flexible versus rigid subassemblies is a conceptual point that the exam probes through behavior: does a subassembly articulate when you drag a component, or does it move as a single body? Interference and collision detection add numeric questions, such as the volume of interference or whether a given position causes contact. Know where these tools live and how to set their options before the clock starts.
Coordinate systems and assembly mass properties
Assembly-level answers frequently depend on reporting values relative to a particular coordinate system. A correct assembly with the output coordinate system left at its default will give a different center of mass than the one the question asks for. Make selecting the output coordinate system a deliberate step every time.
How Segment Scoring Works
Each segment has its own point threshold, and all three must be passed. The academic overview also describes a 70% passing grade, but that is a summary rather than an exact replacement for the segment-specific thresholds, and a blanket 75% is not supported. Work to the published point totals for each segment. A full explanation is in CSWP Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
| Scenario | What happens |
|---|---|
| Separate segments, one failed | Segments you passed are retained; you retake only the failed one |
| Combined exam, any segment failed | You must retake the entire combined exam |
| Any retake | At least 14 days must pass, and another exam credit is needed through your school or purchase route |
That asymmetry is worth discussing with your instructor. Separate segments let you bank a pass and reduce the cost of a failure, while the combined exam asks you to be strong in all three areas on the same day. Published population pass rates were not verified, so be skeptical of any figure presented as a pass rate; see CSWP Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows for how to interpret what is and is not known.
Technical Questions Versus Scored Instructions
One of the least understood features of the exam is that not every scored item is a technical question. The issuer's 2025 academic lessons for Segments 1, 2 and 3 document 11, 12 and 14 displayed items respectively. Each segment includes one five-point instruction item, which makes 37 displayed items overall: 34 technical items and three scored instructions.
The practical consequence is that a five-point item can be earned simply by following the stated instructions, such as using the specified file-handling or setup steps. Skipping the opening instructions to rush into modeling can forfeit those points before a single feature is built. Read every instruction item as carefully as you read a drawing.
Sequencing Your Preparation Across the Segments
Because the segments build on each other, preparation works best in the same order the exam presents them. This is the one place a schedule is worth using, and it is tied directly to the content above.
Segment 1 foundations
- Rebuild drawing-based parts, checking origin, units and material each time
- Practice equations and linked dimensions until edits rebuild predictably
Segment 2 workflow speed
- Create configurations and design tables under a 50-minute limit
- Practice reordering features and fixing rebuild errors
Segment 3 assemblies
- Assemble with mixed basic and advanced mates, then test rigid versus flexible behavior
- Run interference checks and report mass properties from a chosen coordinate system
Timed integration
- Attempt full segments with the clock running and no pausing
- Review every wrong numeric answer for its upstream cause
Segment 3 gets its own full week because it has the most time and the most conceptual surface area. For a broader planning framework, the CSWP Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt expands on how to structure practice, and the CSWP practice test hub offers additional question-style rehearsal.
Where Candidates Lose Points in Each Segment
Most failures trace to a small set of recurring errors rather than a lack of CAD ability. Diagnosing them in advance is more valuable than memorizing sample answers.
- Segment 1: wrong units or material density, incorrect origin placement, and misread drawing dimensions that quietly corrupt every downstream numeric answer.
- Segment 2: reporting mass from the wrong active configuration, mistaking suppressed features for deleted ones, and breaking parent-child relationships when reordering.
- Segment 3: over-defined mates, default coordinate systems left in place for output, and confusion about which subassemblies are flexible.
- All segments: skipping the scored instruction item, and spending too long on one task when the timer cannot be paused.
A useful habit is to treat any mass-properties mismatch as a diagnostic puzzle: check units, then material, then configuration or coordinate system, then the feature that last changed. This approach turns a wrong answer into a findable cause instead of a reason to rebuild from scratch.
Certificates for customer and student certifications do not expire, according to the issuer's 2020 program Q&A, which means the effort you invest in the three segments yields a lasting credential. If you are weighing what it can do for your career, see Is the CSWP Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026; note that salary evidence is better framed by job role than by any claimed pay premium for an academic certification.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The three domains are the issuer's actual exam segments, and no percentage weights are published. Each segment has its own time limit and point threshold, so prepare for all three rather than favoring one based on an assumed weight.
Segment 1 requires 75 of 105 points, Segment 2 requires 77 of 104, and Segment 3 requires 77 of 109. All three must be passed. The academic overview mentions a 70% passing grade, but the segment-specific point thresholds are the figures to work toward.
It depends on how your instructor arranged the exam. Passed separate segments are retained, so you retake only the one you failed. If you took the combined academic exam and failed, you must retake the entire combined exam. Retakes require at least 14 days and another exam credit.
CSWA-Academic is a required prerequisite, held for at least 30 days, but it is not sufficient preparation on its own. The CSWP segments go deeper into equations, configurations, advanced mates and interference detection. A CSWA-only course is not equivalent evidence of CSWP preparation coverage. See CSWP Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling for planning your timeline around school availability.
Total working time is 200 minutes, split into 70, 50 and 80 minutes for Segments 1, 2 and 3. The exam timer cannot be paused, so practice completing full segments within their limits before you sit for the real thing.