Proficiency Exams for Languages not Taught at UI: GE World Languages

To: Departmental Executive Officers
From: Helena Dettmer, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum, and the Humanities
RE: Proficiency Exams for Languages not Taught at UI: GE World Languages

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August 22, 2018

Proficiency exams for undergraduate students with the knowledge of a second language that is not taught at Iowa will once again be offered for CLAS undergraduates.

If the student achieves an acceptable score indicating fourth-level proficiency, the results of the exam will be accepted for completion of the General Education World Languages (GE WL) requirement.

Note that credit hours are not awarded by CLAS for these proficiency exams. Additionally, the student will pay for the cost of the exam which will be around $100-$200, depending on the language requested. For more information, visit this page.

For languages taught at the University of Iowa, undergraduate students will continue to take a placement test and if reaching an acceptable level, may then request a proficiency exam administered by the related CLAS department. There is no cost for these exams for languages taught at UI.

As a reminder, CLAS undergraduate students have been allowed for many years to choose from the following options to fulfill the GE requirement in World Languages:

  1. Complete four years of a single world language in high school.
  2. Achieve the fourth level of proficiency in a world language by successfully completing the appropriate sequence of courses offered at the University of Iowa.
  3. Achieve the fourth level of proficiency by successfully completing courses at another college or university or through study abroad.
  4. Achieve an equivalent score on a related Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or other approved college-level examination accepted by the University of Iowa and CLAS. 
  5. Earn an equivalent score on both a UI written placement test and on a UI oral proficiency exam in a language taught at the University of Iowa.
  6. Earn an equivalent score on a proficiency exam in a language that is not taught at the University of Iowa.

Once the World Languages requirement is completed, a student may earn up to eight additional semester hours of college credit while studying a world language through the Furthering Language Incentive Program (FLIP).