The foreign language requirement is based on a level of proficiency, not on a specified number of courses.  Many students elect to take the opportunity to begin a new language at Davidson; others will pursue further a language that they have studied previously.  To satisfy the foreign language requirement, you may:

1) complete at Davidson a language at the third course level (usually numbered 201);

2) transfer work from another college at a suitable level (often Intermediate II);

3) get credit for 201 by making the required score on an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test; or

4) demonstrate competence through the intermediate level on placement tests given at Davidson. (The chair of the department needs to certify your achievement with a written statement for your file in the Registrar’s Office. You do not receive course credit for placement through Davidson’s placement test.)

The languages regularly available to you at Davidson are Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. (Please note that classes taken through the Self-Instructional Languages Program may not be used to satisfy the requirement.)

You should take a placement test given on the web if there is any likelihood, however remote, that you will continue study at Davidson of a language you have studied before.  Please consult the language placement information in your packet as well as the course selection information regarding Foreign Languages, which also contains placement information.

Special arrangements exist for students whose primary native language is not English; consult your adviser when you arrive at Davidson. For most such students, the W-course (composition)  satisfies the Language Requirement.