diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/rdd/RDD.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/rdd/RDD.scala
index 716f2dd17733b..cb64d43c6c54a 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/rdd/RDD.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/rdd/RDD.scala
@@ -1202,7 +1202,7 @@ abstract class RDD[T: ClassTag](
    */
   def checkpoint() {
     if (context.checkpointDir.isEmpty) {
-      throw new Exception("Checkpoint directory has not been set in the SparkContext")
+      throw new SparkException("Checkpoint directory has not been set in the SparkContext")
     } else if (checkpointData.isEmpty) {
       checkpointData = Some(new RDDCheckpointData(this))
       checkpointData.get.markForCheckpoint()