CTS Quick Prep: Certification Overview and Study Drills - Chicago

The course will introduce helpful test taking strategies and provide the opportunity to evaluate sample questions approved by SMEs and Instructors.

Course Description

*This course is day one of a two-day event, AVIXA Pop-Up: Chicago. You do not have to register for the whole event to take this course. To learn more, visit avixa.org/events.
Register by August 24 for the early bird discount. Price increases on August 25.

Early bird:

Non-member: $1049 USD

Member: $799 USD

Regular:

Non-member: $1249 USD

Member: $999 USD

CTS Quick Prep: Certification Overview and Study Drills helps learners prepare for the CTS exam by presenting details regarding the certification and recertification process as well as provides a review of core concepts rooted in the CTS JTAs. The course will introduce helpful test taking strategies and provide the opportunity to evaluate sample questions approved by SMEs and Instructors.

Note: This course is NOT designed to be a comprehensive exam preparation course. This course includes an overview of key exam features, the exam content outline, and practice drills. Participants should not expect to receive enough instruction to sit for the CTS exam without any other education and/or AV industry experience. Learners should be advised that this is an exam study course, not a content introduction course. 

Registration Coming Soon

Who should take this course:

Professionals who are looking to earn the CTS and:

  • Have experience in audiovisual design

  • Assess client needs

  • Prepare AV design documents

  • Coordinate and collaborate with other trades to create AV systems that satisfy client requirement

Or have taken the following prerequisites:

  • CTS 1

  • CTS 2

Course features:

8-hour, instructor led course with breaks. 6-hours of seat time. Major course components include:

  • Explore the details of the CTS exam structure and scoring

  • Describe how recertification works

  • Learn test taking strategies

  • Review the importance of AV Standards and AV Math

  • Identify the key features of the project lifecycle and Duties A-D

  • Practice drills with over 50 practice questions approved and vetted by experts in the AV industry

Course Goals:

This expedited course is designed to assist learners in the preparation required to successfully pass the CTS exam. Completion of this program in no way guarantees participants will pass the CTS exam, nor will this program cover all the topics listed in the exam content outline.

Candidates should review the CTS candidate handbook for a complete list of eligibility requirements for the CTS exam before enrolling in this course.

Training Information

Tracks

General Knowledge

Dates and Times

23 September 2026
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Central Daylight Time

Location

Shure, Inc., 5800 W. Touhy Ave. , Niles, IL 606714

Language

English

View the Cancelation Policy.

Instructor

Greg Carstens

Greg Carstens

Staff Instructor/Technical Advisor, AVIXA

Greg is a 20+ year veteran of the AV industry, having started his career in the production equipment sales side and quickly branching into AV and commercial installations. He worked in parallel with other low-voltage trades, often working in access control, security, and nurse call systems. For most of the past ten years, Greg has worked in higher education with campus technology departments, designing classrooms, auditoriums, and various types of conference systems.   Greg has presented at a number of conferences in the past focusing on campus standards development and other areas on in-house integration topics.  He's helped publish several universities' AV standards.  
Greg holds Crestron's Masters in Commercial Architecture, Level 3 Dante, QSC Level 2 and Video level 1.  Greg holds CTS-D and CTS-I certifications and has been active with AVIXA’s Standards Steering Committee and other Standards task forces.  Formal education includes an undergraduate degree in Business Administration with and Emphasis in Entrepreneurial Management and a Masters of Engineering in Engineering Management.  Greg is a US Army Veteran and was a Combat Communications Specialist during his time in uniform.