USD: Languages and Literatures: Competency Exams

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Competency Exams

The Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences provides students of the University of San Diego the opportunity to satisfy their language general education requirement by examination.

What to Bring | Registration Procedures | About Languages We Do Not Teach

General Information

	There is a fee of $25 to take a regularly scheduled exam. The fee for an off-schedule exam is $35.

	The fee is non-refundable unless you notify us in advance of the day of the exam that you will not sit for it. If you do not show up to take the exam, you will not receive a refund.

	The exam measures reading, writing and listening skills.

	Each section is timed, therefore, latecomers will not be admitted and the fee will not be refunded.

	The exam is the equivalent of a 2-hour, 3rd semester (201) final.

	No practice tests or study guides are provided.

	Students who fail the exam will be advised as to what class they may enroll in for the following semester. Naturally this applies only in the case of the languages we teach.

You must bring the following when you appear to be tested:

	A photo ID

	Your fee receipt (disregard if you paid by mail)

	Your own No. 2 sharpened pencils and erasers

Registration procedures:

Step 1:	Pay the fee at the Cashier's Office in the Hughes Administration Center (campus map). If you are not in the San Diego area, you may print and complete this form, and mail it with your check.

Step 2a:	For on-schedule exams: To complete the registration process, take your receipt to the Office of the Dean of Arts & Sciences (Founders 114). There you will be added to the roster of examinees, thus guaranteeing that you have a seat.

	The deadline for Step 2a is five business days prior to the date of the exam. Once the deadline has passed, you must go directly to the exam administrator (Dr. Santiago Rubio-Fernaz, Founders 138-A), who will accept you only if there is space available.

Step 2b:	Off-schedule exams: Take your receipt (for $35) to Dr. Rubio-Fernaz (Founders 138-A) so that you can arrange your exam time with him.

Notes about testing in a language we do not teach:

	The department is able to offer exams in the languages listed below. We retain outside evaluators to correct them; the student will pay the evaluator (usually $20-$50). We do not allow the student to choose the evaluator.

	Africaans	Gujarati	Russian
	Armenian	Korean	Tagalog (Filipino)
	Dutch	Lithuanian	Vietnamese
	Farsi (Persian)	Norwegian	Yugoslav

	Students may be tested in additional languages if we can find an appropriate source to write an exam to our specifications. We will inform the student of the cost and collect the fee for writing the exam (which may be as high as $250) before entering into a contract with the provider. No refund will be given if the student decides not to take the exam. The evaluation fee will be collected at the time the exam is given, but will not be paid until the evaluator has returned the corrected exam to us.

Competency Exams: General Information | Exam Dates | RESULTS