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• Everything you need to know about the CAS Language Requirement

WHY STUDY LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE?
Learn more about MLCL programs »

SPANISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN, LINGUISTICS:
DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE STUDIES »

Placement Tests, Transfer Credit, AP

Placement examinations are required of any student whose most recent language course was not completed at Boston University. Placement exams DO NOT by themselves fulfill the language requirement.

Please contact MLCL at 617-353-2642 or mlcl@bu.edu for information about placement tests or visit the Information Office at 718 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 103B.

Interpreting placement test results

Chinese

Please contact Xiaoyang Zhou to set up a specific time to take the exam. The exam will be held in Professor Zhou's office at 718 Commonwealth Avenue.

German

Contact Beate Alhadeff if you have questions about the test.

Hebrew

Take the Hebrew placement test online here! See Shalva Klement if you have further questions.

Japanese

Important Note: The test takes about 45 minutes and you may arrive any time between 4:30 and 5:45 to start the test. Contact Etsuko Okita Snyder if you have further questions.

Other Languages

Please consult with any faculty member in the language if you have questions about placement.

Q I feel insecure about my background in a language. My placement test tells me that I’m at a certain level, but I’d feel more comfortable taking a lower level instead. Can I?

AThis is almost always a really bad idea. Read why.

Transfer Credit

Students who have taken language courses at other colleges than Boston University should see the foreign language advisor, Paula Hennessey, in CAS 105, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, 353-2400, before selecting a BU course. This is in addition to the need to take the a placement test (credit and placement are two different things). Enrolling in a course equivalent to one you’ve already taken elsewhere would mean forfeiting credit, so be sure to ask Ms. Hennessey first!

AP Equivalencies

NB: These guidelines apply to students entering BU beginning September 2008; students enrolled before this date remain subject to the requirements that were current at the time of their matriculation. Please speak with a faculty member in your language of interest if you have questions.

Chinese

If you scored a 5 on the Chinese AP, you have credit for CAS LC 212. If you plan to take more advanced courses in Chinese, you'll need to take a placement exam. If your score indicates that you should be in LC 212 or below, talk with a faculty member in Chinese to discuss your options.

German

If you scored a 4 on the German AP, you have credit for CAS LG 212. If you scored a 5, you have credit for LG 303. But if you plan to go on and take more German at BU (and why wouldn’t you, seeing how good you are at it?), you should still take the placement test. If the placement test tells you something different from your AP score, please contact a German faculty member right away to discuss the best course of action.

Japanese

If you scored a 5 on the Japanese AP, you have credit for CAS LJ 212.  But if you plan to go on with your study of Japanese, as we hope you will, you must take the placement test as well.  If the placement test places you in LJ 212 or below despite your AP score of 5, it's essential that you contact a Japanese faculty member for advice.