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When should I take a placement exam?

Students should take the online placement immediately prior to the registration period or immediately prior to setting up the oral proficiency and written follow-up exam for placing out (see below)

How can I place into a language course at Northeastern?

Students with prior experience learning or speaking the language that they wish to study must take a placement exam before registering for a class in that language. Results of the exam will indicate the appropriate course level at which the student should enroll.

If you wish to place into a Spanish language course, please refer to the Spanish Placement Test Information page.

If you wish to place into a Chinese, French or Italian language course:

  • Please start by taking the online placement test. The links to the Chinese, French and Italian online placement tests are now available in the Student Hub.
  • Once you have received the results of your exam, you may enroll at that level if you placed at the Elementary 1 level (1101). If you placed at any level above Elementary 1, please contact the Department directly at wlc@northeastern.edu to seek assistance with your registration. You will be asked to provide your name, your NU ID#, your score on the placement exam, and the course in which you have been placed.

If you feel that you have been placed at the wrong level, you should contact Professor Dong at h.dong@northeastern.edu for Chinese, Professor Ziane at s.ziane@northeastern.edu for French, Professor Maiellaro at l.maiellaro@northeastern.edu for Italian or Professor Yelin at b.yelin@northeastern.edu for Spanish or Portuguese to set up an oral interview.

For languages other than Chinese, French, Italian or Spanish, please contact the World Languages Center:  wlc@northeastern.edu

For American Sign Language, please contact the ASL program: asl@northeastern.edu


What is the language requirement for students pursuing a B.A. at Northeastern?

Students pursuing a B.A. at Northeastern are required to take three courses to complete the language requirement. The first two courses are language courses (1101 & 1102); the third course can either be a language course (2101) or a related culture course from an approved list (please consult with your advisor). Students must complete each course with a grade of ‘C’ or better. Courses being used to satisfy the language requirement may not be taken pass/fail.


How can I place out of the language requirement at Northeastern?

Please note that you may only attempt to place out once. If you would like to try to place out of part or all of the language requirement you must:

  1. Start by taking the online placement test. The links to the Chinese, French, Italian and Spanish online placement tests are now available in the Student Hub.
  2. Set up an oral proficiency and written follow-up exam by contacting:
  3. Receive a waiver. You may receive a waiver depending on the results of each exam:
    • If you place into 2101 on both exams, you will receive a waiver for 1101 and 1102.
    • If you place into 2102 or higher on both exams, you will receive a waiver for 1101, 1102 and 2101.
  4. Complete additional coursework if necessary:
    • If you receive a waiver for 1101 and 1102, you may take 2101 or a related culture course (from the approved list).
    • If you receive a waiver for 1101, 1102, and 2101, you have completed the language requirement.

IMPORTANT:

You cannot place out of part or all of the language requirement without completing both the online exam and the spoken/written follow-up exam and receiving a waiver from the WLC.  

Students looking into satisfying the language requirement using a language of which they are a native speaker should contact the department at wlc@northeastern.edu.