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Northwestern University

Proficiency in a Language Other Than English

All students are required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English at a level that is equivalent to two years of college-level language instruction.

NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier should refer to the relevant degree requirements pages. The information below pertains to students who start at Northwestern after Spring 2023.

What is proficiency?

Consistent with widely-accepted current approaches to language learning, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences views language proficiency as consisting of a broad set of abilities, including:

In fulfilling the language requirement, all students are required to achieve some measure of ability in each of these areas.

Ways to demonstrate proficiency

The level of proficiency required to fulfill the language requirement is equivalent to two years of college-level language instruction, demonstrated in one of the following ways.

Through AP scores or department testing

Some students are able to demonstrate proficiency in a language before they begin classes at Northwestern. You can do this by earning a high enough score on an AP exam or on a Northwestern placement exam. View a table showing ways to fulfill the language requirement through AP exams or Northwestern placement exams.

Placement examination information is sent to incoming first-year students during the summer. Please refer to Language Placement at the Language Resource Center website for instructions for the placement process in specific languages.

Through Northwestern coursework

Many students have not yet achieved proficiency in a language other than English when they finish high school. Some choose to begin a new language at Northwestern, while others choose to continue studying a language they started in high school, they speak at home, or that they studied independently. If you plan to continue with a language rather than studying a language entirely new to you, be sure to take the appropriate placement exam so that you will know where to start. All incoming first-year students receive information on placement testing during the summer. Please refer to Language Placement at the Language Resource Center website.

Weinberg College offers courses in Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu. Though most language instruction includes development of both writing and speaking skills, courses that concentrate primarily on reading are offered in some languages. Some language programs offer individualized instruction or accelerated classes which students may take to attain proficiency more quickly. Several language departments also offer an intensive summer program enabling students to complete a full year of the language during the summer session. There are summer study abroad opportunities as well. For more information on the language programs and instruction at Northwestern, please refer to Language Study at the Language Resource Center website.

To demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English through coursework done at Northwestern, you need to complete the third quarter of the second-year language sequence with a grade of C- or better. All earlier courses must be taken for a grade; they cannot be taken P/N.

View a table showing courses that fulfill the language proficiency requirement.

By attending a high school where English was not the primary language of instruction

Students who did most of their high school coursework in a language other than English may be deemed proficient in that language based on that coursework. Such students should:

Special circumstances

Proficiency in a language not taught at Northwestern

Some students have extensive experience with a language not taught at Northwestern, but do not fit the category above because they attended an English-language high school. Such students should complete the Petition for Testing in a Language not Taught at Northwestern. Again, the petition should be submitted via email attachment to WCAS-forms@northwestern.edu prior to or during the student's first quarter at Northwestern.

See more information on proficiency validation in a non-Northwestern language.

Incoming Transfer Students

The information above applies to new transfer students. If you have prior knowledge of a language other than English, read Language Placement and follow the instructions. If you have questions about study in a specific language, please contact the program coordinator; contact information can be found on the webpage of the Language Resource Center under Language Program Contacts.

Disabilities Affecting Language Acquisition

In certain cases of diagnosed and documented disabilities affecting new language acquisition, students may apply to seek to satisfy proficiency in a language other than English by using both language and non-language classes. 

In such circumstances, the students should:

NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier should refer to the relevant degree requirements pages. The information above pertains to students who start at Northwestern after Spring 2023.