Because most students of Near Eastern languages in our department begin their languages at the elementary level at Catholic University, these placement pages concentrate upon what to do if you have previously studied Greek or Latin.  Students who do have prior work in Near Eastern languages are warmly welcomed to contact the Director of Graduate Studies for Semitics for information regarding placement into intermediate and advanced courses.

Whether you are an entering freshman, a transfer candidate, a new graduate student in this department, or a researcher in an affiliated discipline interested in continuing your language study, proper course placement is essential to your development and progress.  The department has detailed guidelines to help determine the best path to your success, but the basic position on placement can be summarized as follows: no student may enroll in a course above the intermediate level without presenting a test score.

This test score may take the form of an AP exam or an online "freshman Latin test" in the case of incoming Catholic University freshmen who have studied Latin in high school.  For more advanced students, the department administers its own, more extensive online placement exams. All graduate students in Greek and Latin (and in most other departmental programs) also take these online placement exams prior to beginning their studies.

Please note that for students beginning courses in the fall semester, all online exams must be completed by July 31. Only exams submitted by that date can be guaranteed for grading and placement in time for the start of classes.

Information for entering freshmen

If you have taken the AP Latin exam and want to use your score for course placement, you will need to submit that score officially to Catholic University.  The freshman Latin test for new university freshmen is administered online only during the summer before arrival upon request to the department. You do not need to specify a day or time on which you will take the test; once you have requested access, you may use it at any time (although only once) before the July 31 deadline.  Detailed information on scores, placement, and other procedures is available in the department's freshman language placement guide.

Please note that the freshman Latin test is not available once the academic year begins: it is designed for those who have not yet started classes at Catholic University.  Freshmen who request testing after fall courses start (or in the spring semester of their freshman year) will be required to take the regular departmental Latin placement exam (which assesses the same skills, but in a different format).

Information for all other students

The placement exams in Greek or in Latin are administered online upon request to the department, and are available to anyone wishing to enroll in our courses. You do not need to specify a day or time on which you will take a language placement exam; once you have requested access, you may use it at any time (although only once), bearing in mind that the deadline for fall course placement is July 31.