Language Credit and Placement
This page explains the ways in which incoming students who have previously studied a language can be placed into an appropriate course at Notre Dame. Language placement is determined in one of two ways:
- Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or SAT II Exam
- ND Language Placement Exam
AP, IB, or SAT II Exams
Students who have taken an AP, IB, or SAT II exam may, depending on the score, receive credit and placement from the exam. For most languages, students who have earned Advanced Credit through one of those exams do not need to take a Notre Dame placement exam.
Students must follow the placement determined by their AP, IB, or SAT II credit. Only the relevant language department can approve a change in placement.
Students with Advanced Credit for German, Chinese, or Japanese who wish to study the language at Notre Dame must take the relevant Notre Dame placement exam even though they have Advanced Credit.
Notre Dame Language Placement Exam
Students with experience in a language but who did not take an AP, IB, or SAT II exam or did not receive a high enough exam score to earn credit 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 unless the department specifies otherwise. First-year students are advised to take the placement exam in the summer before registering for courses, unless they are absolutely certain they will not be taking a language course in the fall semester.
Students must follow the placement determined by their placement exam score. Only the relevant language department can approve a change in placement.
Less Commonly Taught Languages
The Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures (CSLC) offers beginning and intermediate courses in less commonly taught languages such as Swahili, Quechua, and Hindi. Students can register for the Beginning I courses in these languages without a placement exam.
Languages at Notre Dame
Choose a language below to learn about credit-granting exam scores, placement exam procedures, and more.
Arabic
Students interested in studying Arabic who do not have prior experience in the language can enroll directly into MEAR 10001: First-Year Arabic I.
Students who have experience in Arabic but no Advanced Credit for language courses should contact the department to determine placement.
Students who have Advanced Credit for Arabic language courses will use that credit as placement into the next-level course at Notre Dame.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Ghada Bualuan
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Arabic
Email: gbualuan@nd.edu
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Chinese
Students interested in studying Chinese who do not have prior experience in the language can enroll directly into beginning-level courses.
Students who have experience in Chinese but no Advanced Credit for language courses must take the departmental language placement exam. Email the departmental contact to arrange a placement exam.
Students who have Advanced Credit for Chinese language courses are still asked to take the departmental language placement exam. Email the departmental contact to arrange a placement exam.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Yongping Zhu
Chinese Language Program Coordinator
Email: yzhu8@nd.edu
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Creole
Students interested in studying Creole who do not have prior experience in the language should enroll in LLRO 10112: Beginning Creole.
Students who have experience in Creole should contact the department for placement and course selection.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Keith Schaefer
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Romance Languages and Literatures
Email: kschaef2@nd.edu
French
Students interested in studying French who do not have prior experience in the language must take the departmental language placement exam before enrolling in a French course. If you plan to enroll in ROFR 10101: Beginning French I or ROFR 10115: Accelerated Beginning French in the spring semester of your first year, email the departmental contact after you take the placement exam to request permission to register for the course.
Students who have experience in French but no Advanced Credit for French language courses must take the departmental language placement exam before enrolling in a French course. If you are placed into ROFR 10101: Beginning French I or ROFR 10115: Accelerated Beginning French and plan to enroll in the spring semester of your first year, email the departmental contact after you take the placement exam to request permission to register for the course.
Students who have Advanced Credit for French language courses will use that credit as placement into the next-level course at Notre Dame.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Claire Reising
Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies, French
Email: creisin2@nd.edu
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*If you receive Advanced Credit for ROFR 10101 and choose to take 10115, the Advanced Credit you received for 10101 will still show on your transcript but will no longer count toward the total credits required to earn your degree. This is because the course content of 10115 incorporates the content of 10101.
German
Students interested in studying German who do not have prior experience in the language should enroll in GE 10101: Beginning German I.
Students who have experience in German but no Advanced Credit for German language courses must take the departmental language placement exam. If you plan to enroll in a German class after taking the placement exam, email Professor Denise Della Rossa (ddellaro@nd.edu), Director of Undergraduate Studies for German, to confirm your language placement.
Students who have Advanced Credit for German language courses are still asked to take the departmental language placement exam. If you plan to enroll in a German class after taking the placement exam, email Professor Denise Della Rossa (ddellaro@nd.edu), Director of Undergraduate Studies for German, to confirm your language placement.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Denise Della Rossa
Director of Undergraduate Studies, German
Email: ddellaro@nd.edu
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Greek
Students interested in studying Greek who do not have prior experience in the language should enroll in CLGR 10001: Beginning Greek I.
Students who have experience in Greek but no Advanced Credit for language courses should contact the department to determine appropriate placement.
Students who have Advanced Credit for Greek language courses will use that credit as placement into the next-level course at Notre Dame.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Tadeusz Mazurek
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Classics
Email: tmazurek@nd.edu
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Irish
Students interested in studying Irish who do not have prior experience in the language should enroll in IRLL 10101: Beginning Irish I.
Students who have experience in Irish should contact the department to determine appropriate placement.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Amy Mulligan
Associate Professor, Irish Language and Literature
Email: amullig2@nd.edu
Italian
Students interested in studying Italian who do not have prior experience in the language can enroll directly into beginning-level courses.
Students who have experience in Italian but no Advanced Credit for language courses should contact the department to determine appropriate placement.
Students who have Advanced Credit for Italian language courses will use that credit as placement into the next-level course at Notre Dame.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Alessia Blad-Miller
Director, Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures
Email: ablad@nd.edu
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Japanese
Students interested in studying Japanese who do not have prior experience in the language can enroll directly into beginning-level courses.
Students who have experience in Japanese but no Advanced Credit for language courses must take the departmental language placement exam. Email the departmental contact to arrange a placement exam.
Students who have Advanced Credit for Japanese language courses are still asked to take the departmental language placement exam. Email the departmental contact to arrange a placement exam.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Noriko Hanabusa
Japanese Language Program Coordinator
Email: hanabusa.1@nd.edu
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Korean
Students interested in studying Korean who do not have prior experience in the language can enroll directly into beginning-level courses.
Students who have experience in Korean must take the departmental language placement exam. Email the departmental contact to arrange a placement exam.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Yeonhee Yoon
Korean Language Program Coordinator
Email: yyoon3@nd.edu
Latin
Students interested in studying Latin who do not have prior experience in the language should enroll in CLLA 10001: Beginning Latin I.
Students who have experience in Latin but no Advanced Credit for Latin language courses should take the departmental language placement exam.
Students who have Advanced Credit for Latin courses will use that credit as placement into the next-level course at Notre Dame.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Tadeusz Mazurek
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Classics
Email: tmazurek@nd.edu
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Portuguese
Students interested in studying Portuguese who do not have prior experience in the language should enroll in ROPO 10103: Brazilian Portuguese Language and Culture I or ROPO 10105: Portuguese for Spanish Speakers I as appropriate.
Students who have experience in Portuguese should contact the department to determine appropriate placement.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Marcio Bahia
Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies, Portuguese
Email: mbahia@nd.edu
Russian
Students interested in studying Russian who do not have prior experience in the language can enroll directly in beginning-level courses.
Students who have experience in Russian but no Advanced Credit for Russian language courses should take the departmental language placement exam.
Students who have Advanced Credit for Russian language courses will use that credit as placement into the next-level course at Notre Dame.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Tetyana Shlikhar
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Russian
Email: tshlikha@nd.edu
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Spanish
Students interested in studying Spanish who do not have prior experience in the language must take the departmental language placement exam before enrolling in a Spanish course. If you plan to enroll in ROSP 10101: Beginning Spanish I (4 credits) or ROSP 10110: Beginning Spanish (6 credits) in the spring semester of your first year, email the departmental contact after you take the placement exam to request permission to register for the course.
Students who have experience in Spanish but no Advanced Credit for Spanish courses must take the departmental language placement exam before enrolling in a Spanish course. If you plan to enroll in ROSP 10101: Beginning Spanish I (4 credits) or ROSP 10110: Beginning Spanish (6 credits) in the spring semester of your first year, email the departmental contact after you take the placement exam to request permission to register for the course.
Students who have Advanced Credit for Spanish courses will use that credit as placement into the next-level course at Notre Dame.
Departmental Contact:
Professor Keith Schaefer
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Romance Languages and Literatures
Email: kschaef2@nd.edu
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*If you receive Advanced Credit for ROSP 10101 and choose to take 10110, the Advanced Credit you received for 10101 will still show on your transcript but will no longer count toward the total credits required to earn your degree. This is because the course content of 10110 incorporates the content of 10101.