If you have taken language courses previously in French, German, Russian, or Spanish, you should complete the online Placement Test [Password is: buzz1] to determine which level is right for you. Then check your score with the charts here to match your score to your placement level. Register for a section in the level into which you place.

If you have taken language courses previously in Chinese, you should complete the online Chinese Placement Test to determine which level is right for you, and then follow the instructions and guides to determine into which course you should register.

If you have taken language courses previously in Japanese, you should complete the online Japanese Placement Test to determine which level is right for you, and then follow the instructions and guides to determine into which course you should register.

If you wish to take Arabic or Korean, and you have a background in speaking those languages, or have previously taken courses elsewhere in those languages, please check with the appropriate Language Advisor before enrolling in any course in those languages.

You can find course descriptions here, and suggested entry levels for selected courses: Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. Then if you have additional questions click here to send email to or schedule an appointment with one of the available advisors in the School of Modern Languages.

In some cases, instructors may advise you during the first week to move up or down a level. In other words, if in doubt, make an appointment with an advisor before you register!

Refer to the following information in order to determine whether you need to request a permit to enroll in a particular language course.

Major Restricted courses:

Some language courses may be major restricted to registration by EIA, GEML, HTS, IAML, INTA, and STAC majors only until the major restricted period (usually Phase I) is lifted. If you are a non-major who tries to register during this restricted period, you will see a “major restriction" error. The affected languages are:

Many French, Japanese, and Spanish courses as well as all online courses.

If you have a special request to get into one of these particular courses or sections before they open up to all students, you need to submit a permit request.

Unrestricted courses:

Many courses are unrestricted meaning you do NOT need a permit to register for them. Please check OSCAR to find an open course.

Note: Any language courses with available seats will open up to all students after the restricted period.

Permit Request Form (click here)

If a particular course or section is full, and you have a special request to get into that particular course or section, you need to submit an overload request.

Overload Request Form (click here)

Overload requests will be processed in order of date submitted as space permits. Due to high demand for Modern Languages courses, many requests may not be granted because many courses will be enrolled beyond capacity. Modern Languages will NOT email you to tell you an overload has been granted. Check OSCAR regularly for updates. It is your responsibility to register for the class on OSCAR.

Graduate students wishing to enroll in language courses at the 1XXX or 2XXX level must request a permit from the School of Modern Languages to do so; subsequent to receiving that permit, they must then go to the Registrar in order to be manually enrolled in that course. For 3/4XXX courses, please follow the instructions in #2 above.

All graduate students must follow the same registration procedures as other students; thus, if a class has a major restriction, graduate students must wait until that restriction is lifted in order to obtain the permit.