Center for Writing, Learning, & TeachingCenter for Writing, Learning, & Teaching

Language Graduation Requirement

At the University of Puget Sound, all first-year and transfer students are required before graduation to demonstrate college-level knowledge of a classical or modern foreign language. Students can satisfy this requirement in one of the following ways:

  1. By achieving a score of 4 or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement examination, or a score of 5, 6, or 7 on an International Baccalaureate Higher Level foreign language exam;
  2. By completing two semesters of a single foreign language at the 101-102 college level, or one semester at the 200 level or above, with a passing grade;
  3. By passing a language examination in Chinese, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Latin, or Spanish. This examination does not confer credit;
  4. By passing an achievement test in a language not taught at UPS.  Students who desire such testing must apply to Aileen Kane, Associate Director/Learning Support Services, Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching , Howarth 116. Native speakers of a language other than English may fulfill the requirement by  providing proof of proficiency in that language, such as graduation from a foreign high school or completion of a proficiency exam;
  5. Students with a documented learning disability which affects the ability to process language may petition the Academic Standards Committee for alternative arrangements for meeting the Puget Sound foreign language requirement. Your petition must include recent documentation from a qualified learning disabilities specialist showing evidence of this language-specific disability. 

These tests are not for placement purposes nor do they fulfill departmental language requirements. If you are unsure which language class you should take, please contact your advisor or the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature.

The proficiency tests are intended for students with three years or more of high-school foreign language instruction.

Students will be informed of test results via e-mail, as will their advisor and the Registrar's Office. One complete retake of all language assessments is permitted.

For further information, please contact Aileen Kane, Associate Director/Learning Support Services, Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching.