Enrollment and Placement

You do not need any prior knowledge of a language to start learning it at the University of Rochester. If you are interested in learning a language that you have no experience with, register for an elementary I course section. There is no need to take a placement test. If the class requires enrollment in the recitation section, remember to sign up for this, too, and chose the recitation that best fits your schedule if multiple sections are available. Please note: Some languages/sections require you to register for a specific recitation section.

If you have prior experience with the language or if it is spoken in your family, you are required to take the placement test. Consult the placement guidelines below for details.

It is strongly recommended that you take the placement test before arriving on campus so you can register for the appropriate section. However, you may take the placement test upon arrival and choose your section at that time as well. For in-person placement tests, make sure to contact the specific program and schedule a day and time for the test.

Placement tests are generally valid for the academic year. Contact the program you are interested in for details or more information.

Placement Guidelines

American Sign Language (ASL)

Placement test mode: In-person (Zoom available upon request)

Placement link and other information: 

  • No link available
  • Classes are offered by the ASL Program

AP/IB score credit: N/A

Contact: Guillaume Chastel, guillaume.chastel@rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Ancient Greek

Placement test mode: In-person (Zoom available upon request)

Placement link and other information: 

AP/IB score credit: N/A

Contact: Nicholas Gresens, nicholas.gresens@rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Arabic

Placement test mode: In-person (Zoom available upon request)

Placement link and other information: 

AP/IB score credit: N/A

Contact: Afrah Alfatli, aalfatli@ur.rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Chinese

Placement test mode: Online

Placement link and other information:

AP/IB score credit:

  • AP score or 4 may grant credit for CHIN 151 with credit for CHIN 102 upon completion of CHIN 151 with a grade of B+ or higher
  • AP score of 5 may grant credit for CHIN 152 with credit for CHIN 151 upon completion of CHIN 152 with a grade of B+ or higher
  • You’re required to contact the placement advisor prior to register for class

Contact: Gouming Tian, gtian2@ur.rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

French

Placement test mode: Online

Placement link and other information:

AP/IB score credit:

  • AP score 4 or 5 may grant credit for FREN 153 upon completion of FREN 200 with a grade of A or A-
  • Placement test is mandatory

Contact: Carole Nasra, cnasra@ur.rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

German

Placement test mode: Online

Placement link and other information:

AP/IB score credit:

  • AP score or 4 may grant credit for GRMN 151 with credit for GRMN 152 upon completion of GRMN 152 with a grade of B+ or higher
  • AP score of 5 may grant credit for GRMN 151 and GRMN 152 upon completion of GRMN 200 with a grade of B+ or higher

Contact: Lisa Cerami, lcerami3@ur.rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Hebrew

Placement test mode: In-person (Zoom available upon request)

Placement link and other information: 

AP/IB score credit: N/A

Contact: Michela Andreatta, michelaandreatta@rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Italian

Placement test mode: Online and in-person (Zoom available upon request)

Placement link and other information:

AP/IB score credit:

  • AP score or 4 may grant credit for ITAL 152 with credit for ITAL 151 upon completion of ITAL 152 with a grade of B+ or higher
  • AP score of 5 may grant credit for ITAL 200 with credit for ITAL 152 upon completion of ITAL 200 with a grade of B+ or higher

Contact: Teresa Murano, tmurano@ur.rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Japanese

Placement test mode: Online

Placement link and other information:

AP/IB score credit:

  • AP score of 4 may grant credit for JPNS 152
  • Credit granted for 151 upon completion of 152 with grade of B+ or higher
  • AP score of 5 may grant credit for JPNS 201
  • Credit for 151 and 152 with completion of 201 with grade B+ or higher
  • Note: Credit will not be granted for students that don’t place in JPNS 152 or higher
  • Placement test is mandatory

Contact: Mariko Tamate, mariko.tamate@rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Korean

Placement test mode: Online

Placement link and other information:

AP/IB score credit: N/A

Contact: Myounghee Cho, myounghee.cho@rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Latin

Placement test mode: In-person (Zoom available upon request)

Placement link and other information: 

AP/IB score credit:

  • Credit for LATN 102 for AP score of 4 or 5

Contact: Nicholas Gresens, nicholas.gresens@rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Polish

Placement test mode: In-person (Zoom available upon request)

Placement link and other information: 

AP/IB score credit: N/A

Contact: Małgorzata Wojciechowska, wmalgorz@UR.Rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Portuguese

Placement test mode: In-person (Zoom available upon request)

Placement link and other information:

AP/IB score credit: N/A

Contact: Teresa Valdez, tvaldez@ur.rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Russian

Placement test mode: Online

Placement link and other information:

AP/IB score credit: N/A

Contact: Laura Givens, laura.givens@rochester.edu

Deadline: First day of classes

Spanish

Placement test mode: Online

Placement link and other information:

AP/IB score credit:

  • AP score or 4 may grant credit for SPAN 152 with credit for SPAN 151 upon completion of SPAN 152 with a grade of B+ or higher
  • AP score of 5 may grant credit for SPAN 200 with credit for SPAN 151 and SPAN 152 upon completion of SPAN 200 with a grade of B+ or higher
  • International Baccalaureate score of 5 may grant credit for SPAN 152 with credit for SPAN 151 upon completion of SPAN 152 with a grade of B+ or higher
  • International Baccalaureate score of 6+ may grant credit for SPAN 200 with credit for SPAN 151 and SPAN 152 upon completion of SPAN 200 with a grade of B+ or higher
  • Placement test is mandatory

Contact: Kirt Komocki, kkomocki@ur.rochester.edu

Deadline: Ideally, students will take the placement before the registration period begins.