Student Academic Placement Information 

Who needs World Language Placement?

Students should take a placement exam if they have studied a language previously below the university or Advanced Placement level, or if they have learned a language at home and now plan to take a world language course to satisfy a requirement or to begin a major, minor, or certificate in that language. Please note that native and heritage speakers are not allowed to take WLC 101, 102, 201, or 202 in their native or heritage language except in rare cases by special permission. Native speakers are individuals who have had formal schooling (such as middle or high school) in the language, while heritage speakers are individuals who have learned a language in their family, but who have had little or no formal instruction.

The WebCAPE placement exams for French, German, Russian, and Spanish are available online at the following links. Each exam costs $10, payable to the website by card. Your scores will be forwarded to the Department of World Languages and Cultures, and you may also contact the department chair at wlc@uah.edu for assistance or advice. For Japanese or Arabic placement, please contact the Department of World Languages and Cultures for assistance at wlc@uah.edu.

Please note that no credit is awarded based solely on WebCAPE exam scores. The placement exam is used to determine the best course level for students who have previous language study or experience. Students who enroll in a WLC major, minor, or certificate program are eligible to receive up to 6 credit hours for courses they place out of, but only after completing a higher level course. See the WLC section of the UAH catalog for more information.

Online Placement Exam Links:

World Languages General Education Requirements 

Three semester hours of credit in one foreign language are required for most of the B.A. degrees. Most introductory language sequences begin in the fall semester, but more limited offerings of 101 level courses are available in spring and summer for students who need to complete their requirements.

Students in colleges other than the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences are not required to take a language course, but may opt to take one to fulfill a humanities elective. Students with prior language experience are strongly encouraged to take a placement test to see how much of a head start they may have on a WLC major, minor, or certificate!

Placement Procedures

Students with no previous language instruction or experience are placed into WLC 101, while students with some level of instruction or experience are placed in a variety of ways depending on their previous coursework or skill level. Since placement procedures vary, all students with previous experience are encouraged to contact the WLC department chair or a WLC faculty member in their language of interest to ask about placement. 

Students can sign up using the links at the bottom of this page to take an online placement exam in French, German, Russian, or Spanish for a cost of $10. Students needing placement in Japanese should contact the Japanese instructor directly. 

NOTE: By itself, the placement exam does not grant any academic credit. Departmental credit (up to 6 hours earned and an additional 6 waived) is only granted to students in WLC major, minor, or certificate programs who have completed additional WLC coursework at the appropriate level.

Please read below for placement information related to various populations of students.

Native or Near-Native Speakers: Native and near-native speakers are those who have achieved fluency in a language and who have had formal education in that language. Native or near-native speakers of a foreign language may not take introductory and intermediate courses (100/200 level) in that language, but are welcome to take upper-level courses in their language or introductory level courses in another language. Native and near-native speakers do not usually need to take a placement test, but instead should contact the department chair (wlc@uah.edu) or a professor in their language of study for help with registration in 300 level WLC courses. 

Heritage Speakers: Heritage speakers are classified as individuals who have grown up speaking a language, but who have little or no formal education in that language. Heritage speakers may not take introductory (100) level courses in their heritage language. Heritage speakers should take a placement exam in their language and contact the department chair (wlc@uah.edu) or a professor in their language for assistance with placement.

Transfer Students with College Language Credits: Students who have earned language credits at another college or university will be placed into the next logical course in the language sequence. If students have questions about whether they are prepared for the level of language courses at UAH, they are encouraged to contact a faculty member in their language of interest for guidance, or to take the placement exam to help confirm their level. 

High School Experience: All students with high school language experience below Advanced Placement or Higher Level IB are encouraged to take the placement exam to confirm placement. Typically, students with 0-2 units of high school foreign language study will be placed in WLC 101, while students with 3-4 units will be placed in WLC 102 or 201. A minimum grade of C is required for a unit to be counted. 

Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate (IB), and CLEP Examinations: 

The University will award credit to students who have earned a score of three or higher on Advanced Placement (AP) Program Language and Culture examinations of the College Entrance Examination Board according to the following scale:

  • Score of 3: 6 semester hours credit (WLC 101 and 102)
  • Score of 4: 9 semester hours credit (through WLC 101, 102, and 201)
  • Score of 5: 12 semester hours credit (through WLC 101, 102, 201, and 202)

Students taking the AP Spanish Literature and Culture exam may be eligible for three hours of additional credit.  

AP credit awarded will satisfy Charger Foundations Requirements for the B.A. and count toward a major, minor, or certificate. However, it will be recorded without grades or quality points and will not be included in the calculation of the grade point average.

Students scoring 5-7 on the Higher Level IB exam will be awarded 12 hours of credit (WLC 101, 102, 201, and 202). 

Students scoring 5-7 on the Standard Level IB exam will be awarded 3 hours of credit for WLC 101. However, if Standard Level IB students choose to pursue a major, minor, or certificate in their language, they can take the placement exam and possibly earn more credit toward their WLC program. Contact wlc@uah.edu for more information. 

Students with CLEP examination scores in French, German, or Spanish will be granted credit for WLC 101 with a score of 48, or WLC 101 and 102 with a score of 50. 

Students Planning to Earn a WLC Major, Minor, or Certificate: 

If students wish to major or minor in French, German, Russian, or Spanish, they may take the placement exam to test out of a maximum of twelve (12) hours of course work (WLC 101, 102, 201, 202).

After taking the placement exam, students majoring or minoring in a world language will be placed in an appropriate higher level language course. Once they have passed that course, they will receive credit hours, without grade/quality points, for up to two courses (6 hours). If students test out of more than 6 hours, the remaining courses will be waived from the major or minor requirements with no credit hours granted.

Students pursuing the Global Professional Pathways certificate may also test out of language courses, but no courses may be waived from certificate requirements. This means that if a student tests out of more than the six (6) hours allowed for department credit, the remaining hours must be fulfilled by substituting other relevant courses to be determined in consultation with an advisor.

All students, irrespective of language background and placement, must take all remaining upper-level coursework to complete the major, minor, or certificate.

Online Placement Exams in French, German, Russian, and Spanish

The Emmersion placement exams for French, German, Russian, and Spanish are available online at the following links. Each exam costs $10, payable to the website by card, and the exam typically only takes a few minutes to complete once you register and pay. Once you have completed the exam, your scores will be forwarded to the Department of World Languages and Cultures, and you may also contact the department chair at wlc@uah.edu for assistance or advice. For Japanese placement, please contact the Japanese instructor or the WLC chair for assistance.

Please note that no credit is awarded based solely on Emmersion exam scores. The placement exam is used to determine the best course level for students who have previous language study or experience. Students who enroll in a WLC major, minor, or certificate program are eligible to receive up to 6 credit hours for courses they place out of, but only after completing a higher-level course. 

Online Placement Exam Links: