Foreign Language Placement

All undergraduate students are required to pass a 200-level language course as part of the core basic requirements. Subsequently, any student who has studied a foreign language in high school must complete a foreign language placement test in the language(s) studied. Placement is determined by the Foreign Language Placement Test.

Exemptions may occur based on Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate scores; view the table below for details.

Students whose primary language (the language of instruction in the student’s prior schooling) is other than English may be exempt from the basic requirement in foreign language and may have some restrictions on Division II choices. Please contact Ms. Margaret Clayton (claytom@wfu.edu) for more information.

Note: Once a placement level is determined, students will not receive credit for a class at a lower level than the level of their placement exam, unless they first complete all steps below:

  • register for the class in which they were placed,
  • attend a few class meetings,
  • consult with their professor,
  • successfully appeal their placement to the language placement appeals officers of the designated department

Foreign Language Placement tests require WFU credentials. Access is found at the bottom of the page.

AP & IB Foreign Language Placement

If You Scored:Foreign Language RequirementYou Should Register For:
6 or 7 in IB Arabic LanguageNot SatisfiedArabic 201
3 in AP Chinese Language and CultureNot Satisfied
Chinese 153
4 in AP Chinese Language and CultureNot SatisfiedChinese 201
5 in AP Chinese Language and CultureSatisfiedChinese 220
3, 4, or 5 in AP French
6 or 7 in IB French Language		Not SatisfiedFrench 214
(French 212 or French 213 are acceptable as well)
3 in AP GermanNot SatisfiedGerman 210 or German 212
4 in AP German
6 or 7 in IB German Language		Not Satisfied
German 212
5 in AP GermanSatisfiedAny upper-level German course
3, 4, or 5 in AP ItalianNot SatisfiedItalian 212
3 in AP JapaneseNot SatisfiedJapanese 153
4 in AP JapaneseNot SatisfiedJapanese 201
5 in AP JapaneseSatisfiedJapanese 220
1 or 2 in AP LatinNot SatisfiedCourse placement determined by Foreign Language Placement Test
3 in AP LatinNot SatisfiedLatin 153
4 or 5 in AP LatinNot SatisfiedLatin 211
Latin 212
3 in AP Spanish LanguageNot SatisfiedSpanish 212
Spanish 213
Spanish 280 L/280 (for HL)
4 or 5 in AP Spanish LanguageNot SatisfiedSpanish 212
Spanish 213
Spanish 280*
Spanish 280L*/280 (for HL)
3 in AP Spanish LiteratureSatisfiedSpanish 280 (optional)
Spanish 280L*/280 (for HL)
4 or 5 in AP Spanish LiteratureSatisfiedSpanish 309-319 (optional)
Spanish 309L* or 310-319 (for HL)
6 or 7 in IB Spanish LanguageNot SatisfiedSpanish 212
Spanish 213
Spanish 280*
Spanish 280L*/212/213 (for HL)

Notes

  • Consult the University Registrar’s Advanced Placement & International Baccalaureate policies for foreign language placement of languages not reflected in the table.
  • Students who receive credit for German 212 but wish to take German 212 at WFU, may petition the German and Russian Department to have their AP credit changed to German 210 or 214 as applicable
  • Spanish 280/280L satisfies the language requirement, counts towards the Spanish major or minor, and is recommended if you think you may pursue a Spanish major or minor. If you scored a 4 or 5 in AP Spanish Language, you are prepared for this class. SPA 280L is a course specifically designed for students who grew up speaking Spanish at home.
  • Spanish 212 may be taken if you scored a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP Spanish Language exam and are fairly certain that you will not be pursuing Spanish at Wake Forest. This class does not count toward the major or minor.
  • * Highly recommended; HL= Heritage Language students
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS…

The following professors have agreed to answer questions about the placement exam for particular languages:

Access Foreign Language Placement Tests

(Username is WFU email minus @wfu.edu)