Foreign language placement test
Refer to the references below for proficiency tests in Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Urdu.
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 Course | Department | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| American Sign Language ASL 101 | Linguistics | has-center@uw.edu |
| Arabic ARAB 411 | Near Eastern Languages and Civilization | has-center@uw.edu |
| Bengali BENG 311 | Asian Languages & Literature | has-center@uw.edu |
| Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian BCS 401 | Slavic Languages and Literatures | has-center@uw.edu |
| Bulgarian BULGR 401 | Slavic Languages and Literatures | has-center@uw.edu |
| Burmese JSIS 486 | International Studies | jsisadv@uw.edu |
| Chinese (Mandarin) CHIN 101 or 111 | Asian Languages & Literature | has-center@uw.edu |
| Czech CZECH 401 | Slavic Languages and Literatures | has-center@uw.edu |
| Danish DANISH 101 | Scandinavian Studies | has-center@uw.edu |
| Estonian ESTO 101 | Scandinavian Studies | has-center@uw.edu |
| Finnish FINN 101 | Scandinavian Studies | has-center@uw.edu |
| French FRENCH 101 or 110 | Romance Languages and Literature (French and Italian) | has-center@uw.edu |
| German GERMAN 101 or 111 | Germanics | has-center@uw.edu |
| Greek (Classical) GREEK 101 | Classics | has-center@uw.edu |
| Greek (Modern) JSIS E 111 | International Studies | jsisadv@uw.edu |
| Hebrew (Biblical) HEBR 414 | Near Eastern Languages and Civilization | has-center@uw.edu |
| Hebrew (Modern) HEBR 411 | Near Eastern Languages and Civilization | has-center@uw.edu |
| Hindi HINDI 311 | Asian Languages & Literature | has-center@uw.edu |
| Indonesian INDON 111 | Asian Languages & Literature | has-center@uw.edu |
| Italian ITAL 101 or 111 | Romance Languages and Literature (French and Italian) | has-center@uw.edu |
| Japanese JAPAN 101 | Asian Languages & Literature | has-center@uw.edu |
| Kazakh TKIC 414 | Near Eastern Languages and Civilization | has-center@uw.edu |
| Khmer JSIS 486 | International Studies | jsisadv@uw.edu |
| Korean KOREAN 101 | Asian Languages & Literature | has-center@uw.edu |
| Latin LATIN 101 | Classics | has-center@uw.edu |
| Latvian LATV 101 | Scandinavian Studies | has-center@uw.edu |
| Lithuanian LITH 101 | Scandinavian Studies | has-center@uw.edu |
| Norwegian NORW 101 | Scandinavian Studies | has-center@uw.edu |
| Persian PRSAN 411 | Near Eastern Languages and Civilization | has-center@uw.edu |
| Polish POLSH 401 | Slavic Languages and Literatures | has-center@uw.edu |
| Portuguese PORT 101 or 110 | Romance Languages and Literature (Spanish) | has-center@uw.edu |
| Russian RUSS 101 | Slavic Languages and Literatures | has-center@uw.edu |
| Sanskrit SNKRT 301 | Asian Languages & Literature | has-center@uw.edu |
| Slovenian SLVN 401 | Slavic Languages and Literatures | has-center@uw.edu |
| Spanish SPAN 101, 110, or 121 | Romance Languages and Literature (Spanish) | has-center@uw.edu |
| Swahili SWA 101 | American Ethnic Studies | aes@uw.edu |
| Swedish SWED 101 | Scandinavian Studies | has-center@uw.edu |
| Tagalog (Filipino) TAGLG 101 | American Ethnic Studies | aes@uw.edu |
| Thai THAI 111 | Asian Languages & Literature | has-center@uw.edu |
| Turkish TKISH 411 | Near Eastern Languages and Civilization | has-center@uw.edu |
| Ukranian UKR 401 | Slavic Languages and Literatures | has-center@uw.edu |
| Urdu URDU 311 | Asian Languages & Literature | has-center@uw.edu |
| Uyghur TKC 417 | Near Eastern Languages and Civilization | has-center@uw.edu |
| Uzbek TKIC 411 | Near Eastern Languages and Civilization | has-center@uw.edu |
| Vietnamese VIET 111 | Asian Languages & Literature | has-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
| 101 | 110* | 102 | 103 | **Proficient/201** | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP100A (100-level) | 0-15 | 10-44 | 16-44 | 45-69 | 70-80 |
| 201 | 202 | 203 | 301 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP200A (200-level) | 0-75 | 76-145 | 146-165 | 166-175 |
*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
| 101 | 110 | 102 | 103 | Proficient/201* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR_TL | 0-14 | 10-30 | 15-30 | 31-56 | 57-100 |
*The student is proficient through the first year of study. May enroll in FRENCH 201 or contact the department to schedule a second-year test.
German
| 101 | 111 | 102 | 103 | Proficient* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER_TL | 0-11 | 0-35 | 12-35 | 36-56 | 57-100 |
*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
| 101 | 102 | 103 | Proficient* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT100A | 0-14 | 15-30 | 31-56 | 57-100 |
*The student is proficient through the first year of study. May enroll in ITALIAN 201 or contact the department to schedule a second-year test.
Japanese
| 111 | Interview* | Proficient* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP100A | 0-5 | 6-39 | 40-70 |
*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 & KR200A | No 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.