Language Credit and Placement
Language Credit and Placement
Some colleges and schools require language courses as a part of their College Requirements. Language courses are not required by the Core Curriculum, but some advanced language courses can satisfy either the Liberal Arts 4 or Liberal Arts 6 requirement of the Core Curriculum.
This page explains the two ways in which incoming students who have previously studied a language are placed into an appropriate course at Notre Dame
- By an AP, IB HL, or SAT II Exam
- By an ND Language Placement Exam.
For French or Spanish: Students are required to take a departmental placement exam before enrolling in a course, including those who have never studied the language before. However, if a student has AP, IB HL, or SAT II exam credit, they do not need to take the department placement exam.
For Catalan, Creole, Italian or Portuguese: Students with no prior experience can enroll directly in beginning-level courses. Students continuing their study of one of these languages should contact the department for placement and course selection.
Placement for any language not included here is determined by the department on a case-by-case basis. As always, please contact your First Year Advisor for more information.
When registering for language courses, students must follow the placement determined by their AP, IB HL, SAT II, or placement exam score. Only the relevant language department can approve a change in placement.
Language Credit and Placement by AP, IB HL, or SAT II Examination
Students who have taken an AP, IB HL, or SAT II exam may, depending on the score, receive credit and placement from the exam. Students with language credit by exam do not need to take a Notre Dame placement exam. (Students who took the German AP, IB HL, or SAT II exam and wish to study German at Notre Dame must take the German ND placement exam.) If you took an IB HL language exam, visit the IB HL Exam Credit page.
If you took an AP or SAT II language exam, use the AP/SAT II Language Credit and ND Placement table below:
|
SAT II Subject Test Score French and French with Listening |
Advanced Placement Test Score |
Credits (Courses) |
Placement Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 790-800 | 5 | 6 (ROFR 20201 - 20202) | ROFR 30310 or 30320 |
| 690-780 | 4 | 6 (ROFR 20201 - 20202) | ROFR 20300 or 20600 |
| 590-680 | 3 | 7 (ROFR 10102 - 20201) | ROFR 20202 |
| 490-580 | 2 | 8 (ROFR 10101 - 10102) | ROFR 20201 or 20215 |
| 480 | 1 | 4 (ROFR 10101) | ROFR 10102 or 10115* or 10110* |
|
SAT II Subject Test Score German and German with Listening |
Advanced Placement Test Score |
Credits (Courses) |
Placement Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 790-800 | 5 | 7 (GE 10102 - 20201) | GE 20202 or 30000 + |
| 690-780 | 4 | 8 (GE 10101 - 10102) | GE 20201 |
| 570-680 | 3 | 4 (GE 10101) | GE 10102 |
|
SAT II Subject Test Score Italian and Italian with Listening |
Advanced Placement Test Score |
Credits (Courses) |
Placement Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 790-800 | 5 | 6 (ROIT 20201 - 20202) | ROIT 30310 |
| 690-780 | 4 | 6 (ROIT 10102-20201) | ROIT 20202 |
| 590-680 | 3 | 8 (ROIT 10101-10102) | ROIT 20201 or 20215 |
| 490-580 | 2 | 4 (ROIT 10101) | ROIT 10102 |
|
SAT II Subject Test Score Spanish and Spanish with Listening |
Advanced Placement Test Score |
Credits (Courses) |
Placement Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 790-800 | 5 (lang.) / 4 (lit.) | 6 (ROSP 20201 - 20202) | ROSP 30310 or 30320 |
| 690-780 | 4 (lang.) / 3 (lit.) | 6 (ROSP 20201 - 20202) | ROSP 20600 |
| 590-680 | 3 (lang.) / 2 (lit.) | 7 (ROSP 10102-20201) | ROSP 20202 |
| 490-580 | 2 (lang.) / 1 (lit.) | 8 (ROSP 10101-10102) | ROSP 20201 or 20215 |
| 480 | 1 (lang.) | 4 (ROSP 10101) | ROSP 10102 or 10115* or 10110* |
*If you have received credit for 10101 and you chose to take 10110 or 10115, the AP/SAT II credit that you received for 10101 will still show on your transcript, but will no longer count in the total credits required to earn the degree. This is because the course content of 10110 and 10115 incorporates the content of 10101.
Placement by Notre Dame Language Placement Exams
Students who did not take an AP, IB, or SAT II exam or did not receive a high enough score for credit and placement must take a Notre Dame Language Placement Exam. These exams are for placement only and do not confer any credit. Placement exams may only be taken once. Many placement exams take place in the summer. View the table below to identify each language department’s placement procedure.
The CSLC (Center for Study of Language and Cultures) Languages offers a language assessment service for a range of languages, including less commonly taught languages. Visit the CSLC webpage for more information.
Language Placement Exam Procedures by Department
|
Language |
Placement |
Administered by |
Contact |
|
|
Arabic (MEAR) |
CSLC (Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures) |
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|
Catalan (LLRO) |
Enroll in intro level course (LLRO 10113 Beginning Catalan) |
Department of Romance Languages |
Keith Schaefer | |
|
Chinese (EALC) |
Online Written Exam: completed and submitted by 11:59 PM, Thurs., Aug. 18 IN-person 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM, Fr., Aug 19 More detailed information, including the times and the link to the exam, will be sent to students from the registration list when it gets closer to the dates. |
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures |
||
|
Creole (LLRO) |
Enroll in intro level course (LLRO 10112 Beginning Creole) |
Department of Romance Languages |
Keith Schaefer | |
|
French (ROFR) |
Department of Romance Languages |
Keith Schaefer | ||
|
German (GE) |
Department of German and Russian Languages and Literatures |
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|
Greek (CLGR) |
Enroll in Intro Greek (CLGR 10001) |
Classics Department |
||
|
Irish (IRLL/IRST) |
Enroll in Beginning Irish 1 (IRLL 10101) |
Department of Irish Language and Literature |
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|
Italian (ROIT) |
Students with no prior experience can enroll directly into beginning-level courses. Students continuing their study of Italian should contact the Department for placement and course selection |
Department of Romance Languages |
Keith Schaefer | |
|
Korean (EALK) |
Online placement test: Friday, Aug 19 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM: Register here
More detailed information including the time and the link will be sent to students from the registration list.
|
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures |
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|
Latin (CLLA) |
Classics Department |
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|
Portuguese (ROPO) |
|
Department of Romance Languages |
Keith Schaefer | |
|
Russian (RU) |
Department of German and Russian Languages and Literatures |
Denise Della Rossa | ||
|
Spanish (ROSP) |
Department of Romance Languages |
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|
Japanese (EALJ) |
In-person or Zoom placement exam. Contact for more information. |
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures |
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