Standard Ways to Fulfill the Language Requirement
NOTE: Students who start taking classes at Northwestern after Spring 2023 should refer to the relevant language proficiency table. The information below pertains to students who started at Northwestern Spring 2023 or earlier.
This table shows ways to fulfill the Weinberg Language Proficiency Requirement by taking Northwestern courses or by doing sufficiently well on an AP or Northwestern exam. For more information on language AP/IB scores, please refer to AP and IB Language Credit on the Language Resource Center webpage.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All courses used to attain Weinberg language proficiency must be taken for a letter grade; they cannot be taken P/N.
| Language | Department | Course completed with a C- or Better | AP Score | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic | MENA Languages Program | ARABIC 121-3 | none | Program Test and Interview |
| Chinese | Asian Lang. & Cultures | CHINESE 121-3 or 125-3 or above | none | Dept. Test and Interview |
| French | French & Italian | FRENCH 121-3 or 125-3 or 201-0 | 5*, but take dept test if continuing in French | Dept. Test and Interview |
| German | German | GERMAN 102-3, 205-1, 205-2, 221-1, -2, or -3 | none** | Dept. Test and Interview |
| Ancient Greek | Classics | GREEK 201-3 | none | Dept. Test |
| Hebrew | MENA Languages Program | HEBREW 121-3 | none | Center Test |
| Hindi | Asian Lang. & Cultures | HIND-URD 121-3; 125-2 or 210-0 and above | none | Dept. Test and Interview *** |
| Italian | French & Italian | ITALIAN 102-3, or 133/134-3 | 4 or better | Dept. Test and Interview |
| Japanese | Asian Lang. & Cultures | JAPANESE 121-3 or 211-1 or above; course required depends on placement | none | Dept. Test and Interview |
| Korean | Asian Lang. & Cultures | KOREAN 121-3; 125-2 (if taken in 2016-17 through 2023-24) or 125-3; or 211-1 or above. Course required depends on placement. | none | Dept. Test and Interview |
| Latin | Classics | LATIN 201-3 | 5 | Dept. Test |
| Persian (Farsi) | MENA Languages Program | PERSIAN 121-3 | none | Program Test and Interview |
| Polish | Slavic Lang. & Literature |
POLISH 208-3, 358-1, 358-2 (Before Fall 2019: SLAVIC 208-3, 358) |
none | Dept. Test and Interview |
| Portuguese | Spanish and Portuguese | PORT 121-3 or PORT 115-2 | none | Dept. Test and Interview |
| Russian | Slavic Lang. & Literature |
RUSSIAN 102-3 or above. (Before Fall 2019: SLAVIC 102-3 or above) |
none | Dept. Test and Interview |
| Spanish | Spanish and Portuguese |
SPANISH 121-3, SPANISH 125-0, or SPANISH 127 |
4 or better on Lang. and/or Lit. exam | Dept. Test and Interview |
| Swahili | Program of African Studies | SWAHILI 121-3 | none | Program Test and Interview |
| Turkish | MENA Languages Program | TURKISH 121-3 | none | Program Test and Interview |
| Urdu | Asian Lang. & Cultures | HIND URD 121-3 or 210-0 and above | none | Dept. Test and Interview *** |
* French - For students entering prior to Fall 2014, the language requirement in French could also be satisfied with an AP score of 4.
** German - For students entering prior to Fall 2018, the language requirement in German could also be satisfied with an AP score of 4. For students entering prior to Fall 2020, the language requirement in German could be satisfied with an AP score of 5.
*** Hindi-Urdu - Or IB test score of 5 or above and 10th- or 12th-grade Indian Board Exam (including GCE and IGCSE) results of 70% or above. Students with a Hindi or Urdu IB score of 5, 6, or 7 have satisfied the foreign language requirement. Bring a copy of the scores to the Hindi/Urdu placement coordinator.
Updated 6/13/24
NOTE: Students who start taking classes at Northwestern after Spring 2023 should refer to the relevant language proficiency table. The information above pertains to students who started at Northwestern Spring 2023 or earlier.