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Placement Exams for German, French and Spanish Courses (WebCAPE)
The placement exams are intended to help students determine what their current proficiency is in German, French or Spanish. The results of the online placement exam are for your information only and the scores will not be recorded or kept in your academic record. Once you have taken the exam you will want to check your scores with the appropriate advising links below to determine which class level is appropriate for you.

Placement Information for Other Languages
For placement in Japanese language courses please check the link below. For all other languages please contact the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at 503-725-3522.

Credit by Exam

            CLEP Exams

Undergraduate students of French, German, and Spanish may receive credit for prior knowledge by taking a CLEP exam. Please see PSU Bulletin for PSU policy regarding CLEP exams. CLEP exams are administered by Educational Testing Services (www.testing.pdx.edu/clep.php).

            Credit by Exam

Credit by exam is awarded in languages taught at Portland State other than French, German, and Spanish. The following restrictions apply.

  • Credit by exam is awarded for first- and second-year language classes only.
  • Credit by exam is graded P/NP only.
  • Credit by exam is awarded to nonnative speakers only. For purposes of this exam “native speakers” are defined as students who completed their secondary education in the target language.
  • A student may earn a maximum of 12–15 credits by exam—the equivalent of one year of study.

Each course in a first- or second-year sequence must be registered for and paid for separately.

Please see PSU Bulletin for PSU policy regarding credit by exam.

Application for Credit by Exam 


Satisfying the OUS Second Language Proficiency Requirement for Undergraduate Admissions

OUS Second Language Proficiency Requirement
All applicants, including transfer students, who have graduated from high school in 1997 or any year after must demonstrate proficiency in a second language. Students may demonstrate proficiency by meeting one of the following options:

  • Pass with a C- or better, two years of the same high school-level second language
  • Pass with a C- or better, the third year of a high school-level second language
  • Pass with a C- or better two quarters or two semesters of college-level second language
  • Pass a CLEP exam in French, German, or Spanish, or a departmental exam in other languages taught by the department. CLEP exams are administered by Educational Testing Services (www.testing.pdx.edu/clep.php)
  • Proficiency in some languages not taught by the department may be verified by the Brigham Young University Foreign Language Achievement Test. Click here for information on this program.

Students must provide official high school or college transcripts to indicate the Second Language Proficiency Requirement has been met.

For a complete list of proficiency options available for meeting the OUS Second Language Requirement (including American Sign Language), please contact the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. For further information on this requirement you can view the official OUS Second Language Policy document at the OUS Web site http://www.ous.edu/stucoun/prospstu/files/lang02.pdf

Foreign Language Requirement Verification Request Form  

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You can get this program for free at the Adobe website.


Satisfying the PSU Second Language B.A. Requirement:

For graduation with a B.A. degree, students must demonstrate competence equivalent to that normally attained after two years of college study. Competency may be demonstrated in the following ways.

  1. Completion in any foreign language of 203 or its equivalent with a passing grade.
  2. Completion in any foreign language course that has the equivalent of 203 or higher as a prerequisite
  3. Demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to that attained after two years of college study. There are various ways to demonstrate proficiency:
    • CLEP score of 59 in French, CLEP score of 60 in German, CLEP score of 63 in Spanish. CLEP exams are administered by Educational Testing Services (www.testing.pdx.edu/clep.php)
    • Earned credit by examination, at the 203 level or higher, for foreign languages taught by PSU faculty.
    • Pass a noncredit PSU Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures examination for which PSU has a qualified tester.
    • FLL Department chair approval of certification by an external evaluator for proficiency at or above 203 course level.
    • Proficiency in some languages not taught by the department may be verified by the Brigham Young University Foreign Language Achievement Test Click here for information on this program.

Note that English satisfies the B.A. language requirement for students whose official transcripts demonstrate that their secondary or higher education was completed in a foreign language.

Some academic majors require an additional year of a second language beyond the two year B.A. foreign language requirement. Please check with your academic advisor if you have questions about the specific number of foreign language credits required for graduation in your major.

Foreign Language Requirement Verification Request Form  


Satisfying the PSU Second Language Requirement for M.A. and M.A.T. Degrees

The language requirement for M.A. and M.A.T. students must be passed before the student’s program (GO-12) or committee can be approved and before final exams can be taken.

Options for meeting the graduate foreign language requirement for M.A. and M.A.T. students:

  1. Equivalent course work: Students who have passed a course equivalent to PSU level 203 or higher in a foreign language will be deemed to have met the language requirement. The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures will verify completion of the requirement upon evaluation of the student’s academic record. M.A. and M.A.T. students are responsible for making their academic records available to the chair of that department in the first term of admission and requesting evaluation and certification.
  2. Students who do not meet the requirement under #1. above should contact the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures during the first term after their admission to make an individualized plan for the completion of their language requirement. Options include preparing for and passing one of these evaluations:
    • Oral proficiency interview (mandatory for M.A. TESOL students if they do not take a course at level 203 or above)
    • A written test (mandatory for M.A. TESOL students if they do not take a course at level 203 or above), such as:
      • The Graduate Student Foreign Language Test (sample questions) and Departmental Exams
      • CLEP score of 59 in French, CLEP score of 60 in German, CLEP score of 63 in Spanish. CLEP exams are administered by Educational Testing Services (www.testing.pdx.edu/clep.php)
      • Proficiency in some languages not taught by the department may be verified by the Brigham Young University Foreign Language Achievement Test Click here for information on this program.
      • Pass a noncredit PSU Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures examination for which PSU has a qualified tester.
      • Taking a course at level 203 or above following admission

NOTE: M.A. TESOL students who do not meet the requirements in #1. above must either complete course work at 203 level, or they must take both the oral proficiency interview and a written test administered by the department.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures will teach and test only in languages in which it has expertise. However, off-campus arrangements may be possible with the cooperation of other institutions. Certification of having passed a foreign language examination from an institution other than Portland State University must be approved by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Portland State University prior to acceptance as fulfillment of the University’s master’s degree foreign language competency requirement.

Foreign Language Requirement Verification Request Form  

A student whose native language is not English may meet the foreign language requirement in English. For M.A. TESOL students only, a student whose native language is not English will meet the written requirement (2.b., above) by achieving a TOEFL score of 600 or higher.

MA or MAT Foreign Language Proficiency Information pdf


A Note About the GSFLT and Departmental Exams and Some Sample Questions:

The GSFLT is designed to test the reading abilities of graduate students who already have advanced professional knowledge in their academic discipline. The test does not measure oral proficiency and may not be used by undergraduate students to meet the B.A. language requirement.

  • German (sample test)
  • Italian (no sample test available)
  • Latin (no sample test available)
  • Portuguese (no sample test available)
  • Russian (sample test)
  • Spanish (sample test)
  • For testing in other languages please contact the FLL Office directly

This exam is given the first Friday of each month, except in September and sometimes January (if the term has not yet begun). Here are the details:

  • The exam begins at 2 p.m.
  • You are given 2 hours to complete it.
  • You will need to bring a #2 pencil.
  • The exam costs $15.00 and payable in cash only.
    • You can take the exam as many times as you wish.
  • The exam location is generally in Neuberger Hall, please check with the FLL office for exact location.
  • PSU ID and a valid State Picture ID are required.
  • The exam is available to PSU graduate students only.
  • Personal items such as cell phones, backpacks, or handbags are not permitted in the testing room; and testing aids such as electronic or paper dictionaries, notes, or study guides, are not allowed at any time in the test room.
  • Passing this exam WILL ONLY satisfy the Foreign Language requirement, you WILL NOT earn course credit. If you would like to receive course credit you will want to contact the PSU Testing center and ask about the CLEP exam.
  • Test results are available after five business days. Please allow at least 6 weeks from date of exam results for Registration & Records to post a passing score.
  • Passing this exam WILL ONLY satisfy the M.A./M.A.T. Foreign Language requirement; you WILL NOT earn course credit. If you would like to receive course credit you will want to contact the PSU Testing center and ask about the CLEP exam.   

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