Placement, Transfer Credit, and Waivers
If you are starting Portuguese at GW and wish to enroll in a level higher than PORT 001, you need to take our placement exam. This includes heritage speakers - those who speak the language at home but have no formal training - and students who have taken the AP or SAT II exams. For complete information about the placement exam please click here.
NOTE: You must take the placement exam prior to your registration, and only register for the course into which you place. Students without proper placement will be removed from their classes. Please also note that the PLACEMENT exam is for placement only. It cannot be used as a waiver or credit exam.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) EXAM
The International Baccalaureate Organization offers Portuguese exams at one levels (A2). Credit for IB exams is subject to change. Please see the GW Admissions website for the latest information.
TRANSFER CREDIT FROM U.S. INSTITUTIONS:
The process for receiving transfer credit from other U.S. institutions is similar to receiving study abroad credit. You will need to bring a transfer credit approval form from your appropriate school (ESIA form can be downloaded here). Bring this form and the syllabus of the course you wish to take to Prof. Maria Byrnes BEFORE you enroll. All courses must be pre-approved.
NOTE: At this time RGSLL only accepts transfer credit from accredited 4-year institutions. Courses taken at community colleges will not be accepted.
Waiver exams are offered to exempt students from completing language or literature courses, provided they can demonstrate the required proficiency in the subject. However, students will not receive GW credit from waiver exams.
For Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) students, a waiver exam will allow you to waive departmental language requirements, but it does not exempt you from the Foreign Language GCR. You will still have to take an additional two semesters either here at GW or at another institution.
Elliott School of International Affairs (ESIA) students can waive their required years of study in a modern foreign language requirement with our French waiver exam. This exam is ofference once each semester (in March and November). Once a date has been decided for the next waiver exam, it will be posted here and on our homepage.
