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Foreign language placement test

Due to COVID19, the protocol for some Foreign Language Placement Tests may have changed. For the most up to date information regarding placement and proficiency tests please contact the appropiate department listed below or visit the UW's Testing Center website.

Proficiency tests in Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian, Spanish, Ukrainian and Urdu can be taken at the UW's Testing Center. For other languages, contact the appropriate department for placement and proficiency information. 

If you would like to take a proficiency test in a language that is not taught at UW please contact the UW Language Learning Center.

Languages taught at the UW

Language & Intro CourseDepartmentContact
American Sign Language
ASL 101		Linguisticshas-center@uw.edu
Arabic
ARAB 411		Near Eastern Languages and Civilizationhas-center@uw.edu
Bengali
BENG 311		Asian Languages & Literaturehas-center@uw.edu
Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian
BCS 401		Slavic Languages and Literatureshas-center@uw.edu
Bulgarian
BULGR 401		Slavic Languages and Literatureshas-center@uw.edu
Burmese
JSIS 486		International Studiesjsisadv@uw.edu
Chinese (Mandarin)
CHIN 101 or 111		Asian Languages & Literaturehas-center@uw.edu
Czech
CZECH 401		Slavic Languages and Literatureshas-center@uw.edu
Danish
DANISH 101		Scandinavian Studieshas-center@uw.edu
Estonian
ESTO 101		Scandinavian Studieshas-center@uw.edu
Finnish
FINN 101		Scandinavian Studieshas-center@uw.edu
French
FRENCH 101 or 110		Romance Languages and Literature (French and Italian)has-center@uw.edu
German
GERMAN 101 or 111		Germanicshas-center@uw.edu
Greek (Classical)
GREEK 101		Classicshas-center@uw.edu
Greek (Modern)
JSIS E 111		International Studiesjsisadv@uw.edu
Hebrew (Biblical)
HEBR 414		Near Eastern Languages and Civilizationhas-center@uw.edu
Hebrew (Modern)
HEBR 411		Near Eastern Languages and Civilizationhas-center@uw.edu
Hindi
HINDI 311		Asian Languages & Literaturehas-center@uw.edu
Indonesian
INDON 111		Asian Languages & Literaturehas-center@uw.edu
Italian
ITAL 101 or 111		Romance Languages and Literature (French and Italian)has-center@uw.edu
Japanese
JAPAN 101		Asian Languages & Literaturehas-center@uw.edu
Kazakh
TKIC 414		Near Eastern Languages and Civilizationhas-center@uw.edu
Khmer
JSIS 486		International Studiesjsisadv@uw.edu
Korean
KOREAN 101		Asian Languages & Literaturehas-center@uw.edu
Latin
LATIN 101		Classicshas-center@uw.edu
Latvian
LATV 101		Scandinavian Studieshas-center@uw.edu
Lithuanian
LITH 101		Scandinavian Studieshas-center@uw.edu
Norwegian
NORW 101		Scandinavian Studieshas-center@uw.edu
Persian
PRSAN 411		Near Eastern Languages and Civilizationhas-center@uw.edu
Polish
POLSH 401		Slavic Languages and Literatureshas-center@uw.edu
Portuguese
PORT 101 or 110		Romance Languages and Literature (Spanish)has-center@uw.edu
Russian
RUSS 101		Slavic Languages and Literatureshas-center@uw.edu
Sanskrit
SNKRT 301		Asian Languages & Literaturehas-center@uw.edu
Slovenian
SLVN 401		Slavic Languages and Literatureshas-center@uw.edu
Spanish
SPAN 101, 110, or 121		Romance Languages and Literature (Spanish)has-center@uw.edu
Swahili
SWA 101		American Ethnic Studiesaes@uw.edu
Swedish
SWED 101		Scandinavian Studieshas-center@uw.edu
Tagalog (Filipino)
TAGLG 101		American Ethnic Studiesaes@uw.edu
Thai
THAI 111		Asian Languages & Literaturehas-center@uw.edu
Turkish
TKISH 411		Near Eastern Languages and Civilizationhas-center@uw.edu
Ukranian
UKR 401		Slavic Languages and Literatureshas-center@uw.edu
Urdu
URDU 311		Asian Languages & Literaturehas-center@uw.edu
Uyghur
TKC 417		Near Eastern Languages and Civilizationhas-center@uw.edu
Uzbek
TKIC 411		Near Eastern Languages and Civilizationhas-center@uw.edu
Vietnamese
VIET 111		Asian Languages & Literaturehas-center@uw.edu

If you are fluent in a language that is not offered at the UW, it is still possible for you to demonstrate proficiency, and thus meet the language requirement of many majors, as noted above. Contact the College of Arts and Sciences for more information.

Spanish

 101110*102103**Proficient/201**
SP100A (100-level) 0-1510-4416-4445-6970-80
 201202203301
SP200A (200-level) 0-7576-145146-165166-175

*The student must also have taken two years of high school Spanish to be eligible for SPAN 110.

**The student is proficient through the first year of study. May enroll in SPAN 201, or may take
the second-year test to attempt to place higher.

French

 101110102103Proficient/201*
FR_TL0-1410-3015-3031-5657-100

*The student is proficient through the first year of study. May enroll in FRENCH 201 or contact the Testing Center to schedule a second-year test.

German

 101111102103Proficient*
GER_TL0-110-3512-3536-5657-100

*The student may enroll in GERMAN 201. A student who wants to attempt to place higher may contact Germanics, 206-543-4580, 340 Denny Hall.

Italian

 101102103Proficient*
IT100A0-1415-3031-5657-100

*The student is proficient through the first year of study. May enroll in ITALIAN 201 or contact the Testing Center to schedule a second-year test.

Japanese

 111Interview*Proficient*
JP100A0-56-3940-70

*Students must complete the Interview on the Asian Languages & Literature website.

**The student is proficient through the first year of study. For placement in the second year or above, contact Asian Languages and Literature: 225 Gowen or 206-543- 4996 for an advising appointment.

Chinese

Placement

• Students with any background in Chinese, formal or informal, who wish to take Chinese language courses must fill in and submit an online questionnaire for placement. You can find a link for the online questionnaire on the Asian Languages and Literature homepage.

• The Asian Languages and Literature Department uses this questionnaire to accurately place students in Mandarin Chinese courses. If you do not see the questionnaire when you go to one of the above websites, the questionnaire has been “closed”. This means that the department is no longer placing students in Chinese language courses.

• After completing and submitting the questionnaire, an instructor in Asian Languages and Literature may interview you for placement. If you do not receive an interview, you will be given an add code for a particular Chinese language course.

Proficiency

• The Asian Languages & Literature department administers a proficiency test once each quarter. Please check the Asian Languages & Literature “Placement and Proficiency” webpage for the time and location of the next test.

• Contact the department to register, 206-543-4996. Early registration is recommended.

Korean

 Both levels
KR100A & KR200ANo score is reported, only course placement

Vietnamese

Placement

The Vietnamese instructor will conduct individual placement tests in her office (Gowen Hall M233) before/during the start of each quarter's registration period. Please see the Asian L&L placement webpage for the upcoming test dates.

Proficiency

The Asian L&L department administers a proficiency test once/quarter. Please see the Asian L&L placement webpage for the upcoming test date.