LANGUAGE WAIVERS & PLACEMENT TESTS

If you would like to waive out of an Asian language for the College Foreign Language Requirement (passing out of Level 3) or for your major/minor requirements, you should plan on taking the placement test for that language at least ONE full year in advance (two years is recommended). Once you pass out of the Foreign Language Requirement, the waiver is valid your entire UCLA career.

If you are an incoming/transfer student, we highly recommend taking the placement exam your first quarter at UCLA. Please visit this link for details: INCOMING STUDENTS

All of our language courses are offered sequentially each quarter during the academic year. For example, Chinese 1 is offered in Fall quarter, Chinese 2 in Winter, and Chinese 3 in Spring (all language series follow this pattern). Depending on your placement, this could delay your graduation without appropriate planning.

If you took the Chinese placement exam in the Winter quarter and you placed into Chinese 1, you would need to wait until Fall quarter of the following academic year to take the course since Chinese 1 is ONLY offered during Fall quarter. [Or you could take Chinese 8 (intensive Chinese) during summer session and complete Levels 1-3.] In this circumstance, you would certainly not graduate by Spring quarter of that year as you may have planned.


ANNUAL PLACEMENT EXAM SCHEDULE

Placement exams are offered during week 0 of fall quarter and week 1 of winter and spring quarters.  There are NO placement exams offered during Freshmen and Transfer orientations.  Students need to check the ALC website about a month prior to the start of the quarter for exam dates and sign-up information: www.alc.ucla.edu .

Note: ALC does not certify for Punjabi or any other Southeast Asian languages except Hindi-Urdu, Thai, Filipino/Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Bahasa Indonesian. ALC does not certify non-UCLA students for any language.

Below is the Length of Validity of Placement Test Scores if you plan to enroll in a Language course:

College of Letters and Science Foreign Language Requirement- If a student passes out of an elementary-level language (1 year) and has met the college language requirement, a language waiver is automatically sent to the college.  Students should NOT request an individual language waiver letter from ALC. 

School of Art and Architecture and College of Engineering- If a student passes out of an elementary-level language (1 year) and wishes to be waived out of the language requirement, the student must email the ALC office or meet with an ALC counselor for a language waiver letter.  Language waivers are NOT automatically sent. 

Major/minor language requirements- Students who need to show proof of passing out of a major/minor language requirement must email the ALC office or meet with an ALC counselor for a language waiver letter.  Language waivers are NOT automatically sent. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Our Placement Exams:

1. Do I need to take the placement exam?
2. When is the next placement exam?
3. If I took the placement test, how do I receive a waiver for the College of Letters & Sciences Foreign Language Requirement?
4. How do I receive a language waiver if I am not part of the College of Letters and Science? 
5. I took the placement exam and I need to be waived out of my major/minor requirements, what do I need to do?
6. If I missed the placement exam this quarter, can I take a make-up exam or an individual placement exam?
7. What is the difference between a language course numbered "1" versus "1A" ?
8. Can I take a placement exam for an Asian language course not offered by the department?
9. I am not a UCLA student.  Can I still take the placement exam?
10. I'm still lost. Help!

As each language is unique, please see specific policies:

• Chinese
• Japanese
• Korean
• South and Southeast Asian (Hindi-Urdu, Indonesian, Tagalog/Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese)
  
  

2. When is the next placement exam?

Please see PLACEMENT EXAM SCHEDULE for upcoming fall 2008 exam dates. http://www.alc.ucla.edu/data/examtimes.html

3. If I took the placement test, how do I receive a waiver for the College of Letters & Sciences Foreign Language Requirement?

The Asian Languages & Cultures department automatically sends a note to the College to waive you out of the Foreign Language Requirement (as long as you passed out of Level 3 of a language). It takes 1-3 quarters for this to be reflected in the DPR.

IF you are graduating in the current quarter ONLY and your DPR does not reflect your foreign language placement please email alcgen@humnet.ucla.edu with subject "RUSHED FOREIGN LANGUAGE DPR CHANGE" with name, student ID number, and quarter you took the placement test. Otherwise, please be patient!

4. How do I receive a language waiver if I am not part of the College of Letters and Science?

If you placed out a level 3 of a language, please email alcgen@humnet.ucla.edu with subject line: "LANGUAGE WAIVER FOR (SPECIFY YOUR COLLEGE)" and include:

• your name
• your student ID number
• quarter you took the placement exam
• the college requesting results
• name of college counselor requesting result
  
  

5. I took the placement exam and I need to be waived out of my major/minor requirements, what do I need to do?

Please email alcgen@humnet.ucla.edu with subject line: "LANGUAGE WAIVER FOR MAJOR/MINOR" and include:

• your name
• your student ID number
• quarter you took the placement exam
• department requesting results
• name of department couselor requesting results
  
  

6. If I missed the placement exam this quarter, can I take a make-up exam or an individual placement exam?

There are no make-up exams or individual placement exams.  Students who miss the exam will have to wait until the next quarter offered. 

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will a make-up exam or individual placement exam be administered for any students. Please be sure to check ahead of time to note which placement tests will be held each quarter as times vary for each language.

7. What is the difference between a language course numbered "1" versus "1A" ?

The non-heritage series (courses 1-6) is for students interested in learning the language (Korean or Chinese 1-6). It is not intended for people who already have fair knowledge of the language, and especially not for fluent speakers.

The "A" series (for example: courses 1A, 4A) is for heritage students who have some knowledge of speaking from home or elsewhere. It is an accelerated version of the non-heritage class. In other words, completion of course 1 is equivalent to the completion of course 1A. Heritage speakers are required to take the placement exam.

8. Can I take a placement exam for an Asian language course not offered by the department?

ALC only offers placement exams for the following languages: Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi-Urdu, Bahasa Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog/Filipino, Thai and Vietnamese.  

ALC does NOT certify for Cantonese, Punjabi, or any other Asian language that is not offered by the department.  ALC does NOT certify non-UCLA students for any language.

9. I am not a UCLA student.  Can I still take the placement exam?

ALC placement exams are only offered to current, registered UCLA students.  ALC does NOT certify non-UCLA students for any language.

10. I'm still lost. Help!

Drop by the department office in Royce Hall 290, email alcgen@humnet.ucla.edu, or give us a call at (310) 206-8235.