Foreign Language Placement Exams: 
         Do you need to take them?

You must take the JMU placement exam
if all of the following three statements are true:

1. You have had two or more years of language in high school
2. You have not taken the SAT II in that language
3. You are entering into one of the following majors:

English
History
International Affairs
International Business
Modern Foreign Languages
Philosophy and Religion
Political Science
Theatre and Dance

Or you are pursuing a B.A. degree in one of the following majors:

Art, General Fine Arts
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Communication Studies
Geographic Science
Geology
Interdisciplinary Social Science
Mathematics
Media Arts and Design
Psychology
Sociology
Technical and Scientific Communication
 

You do not need to take the JMU placement exam
if any of the following are true:

1. You have taken the SAT II for a language
2. You have had one year of a language in high school
3. You are not going to continue the language you studied in high school

Please note: If you have had two or more years of a language in high school, you cannot receive credit for the 101, 102 or 111 courses in that language. If you want to continue your high school language, you must take the placement exam.

If you have taken an IB or AP Test, you may receive credit for courses (see www.jmu.edu/admissions/info/scores.shtml). You would still need to take the JMU placement exam for placement purposes.

If you take the placement exam online and are placed into the 300 level of a language, you will need to either enroll in the 300 course or confirm your score in the Language Lab by retaking the exam.

If you have had two or more years of a language in high school and are planning on entering into a B.S. program, you may want to take the placement exam anyway. If you decide to change to a B.A. program (or any other program with a language requirement) later, then you will already have a placement score on record.