Language Requirement and Placement Information

Students earning a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) must complete two-semesters of a language other than English. Languages available include: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish in the global language departments or programs; or Ancient Greek and Latin in Classical Studies. Language placement should be completed before classes begin. Follow the placement procedure below for any language(s) you studied in high school.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

Students earning a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) must complete two-semesters of a language other than English. To fulfill the requirement, both semesters must be taken in the same language. Students may complete this requirement with a language they have studied previously or they may begin a different language at the elementary level. Students taking a language studied previously should begin their language study at the appropriate level, according to a placement procedure or online test.

• International students whose first language is not English may be certified as meeting this requirement through the Office of the Registrar, and in consultation with the director of English for Academic Purposes
• Transfer students may fulfill one semester through transfer credit

 Full text of the language requirement is available in the University catalog.

GENERAL PLACEMENT INFORMATION

Language placement is required as part of registration. Complete the placement procedure for the language(s) you have studied before classes begin.

If you have studied A language before, follow these placement instructions:

If you studied Chinese, French, German, Italian, or Spanish, you are required to complete the online multiple-choice placement test for that language before submitting course requests.

To access the online placement test for these languages, use this link to the Emmersion test portal. Take the test in a quiet setting, preferably not on a mobile phone. The final screen of the placement test will display your score and which course you should take if you continue studying the language. Make a note of this information. You may retrieve this information by logging back into your account. 

If you begin language study at an intermediate or advanced level, you may be eligible for retroactive credit in earlier language courses upon completion of more advanced courses with grade C or better.

If your placement is FREN110 or HISP140, this is a review of elementary French or Spanish and can fulfill one semester of the language requirement. See additional information in the table below.

Placement results are intended to guide your course requests. You will have the opportunity to speak with language faculty members, and to learn about language programs, when you come to campus for orientation.

For Ancient Greek, Japanese, and Latin see the placement guide and contact information for the professor listed if you have questions. See table below.

To begin a language you have not studied, you should request the beginning level course:

• Chinese - CHIN161, Elementary Chinese I
• French - FREN101, Elementary French I
• German - GRMN111, Elementary German I
• Greek – GRK101, Introduction to Ancient Greek I
• Italian - ITAL171, Italian Through Culture I
• Japanese – JPAN 151, Elementary Japanese I
• Latin – LAT123, Elementary Latin I
• Spanish - HISP131, Introduction to the Spanish Speaking World I

Studying a language from the beginning means that completing the second semester at the 100-level in the spring will complete the language requirement (CHIN162, FREN102, GRMN112, GRK102, ITAL172, JPAN152, LAT124, HISP132).

WE’RE HERE TO HELP

For questions about the online placement and login contact Heidi Albin Menzel, heidialbinmenzel@depauw.edu. For general questions contact the Global Language Coordinator at cjgomolka@depauw.edu or the professor listed for the specific language.