Columbia SPPO

The Language Requirement in Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan

The language requirement is part of Columbia's mission to prepare students to be informed and culturally sensitive citizens. Knowledge of another language and culture is the best way to understand the contingent and constructed nature of one's own culture, and therefore to appreciate both its achievements and its shortcomings. Turning another culture into an object of knowledge trains us to achieve the same critical distance from our own, which in turn creates the conditions for our leading an examined life within our own social milieu.

The study of a language is not merely the acquisition of a set of grammatical skills, but an opening into another way of organizing the world. The two years of language study that are required by Columbia University represent the minimum proficiency required to achieve this goal. All students are encouraged to consider deepening their study and practice of a foreign language beyond this minimum.

For students with no knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese, or Catalan at least four terms of the language are required: W1101 - W1102 (or W1120) and W1201 - W1202 (or W1220). All courses must be taken for a letter grade to fulfill the language requirement.

Students with prior knowledge of Spanish (secondary school, living abroad, near-native or native speakers) who plan to continue studying Spanish are required to take the Spanish Department’s Placement Exam before registering for a course. Students with prior knowledge of Portuguese or Catalan (secondary school, living abroad, near-native or native speakers) should speak with the Director of the Language Programs.

The language requirement may be fulfilled in Spanish in one of four ways:

  • By presenting a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Spanish Language or Spanish Literature Exams. If you received a score of 5 in either exam you will be awarded three advanced placement credits upon successful completion of a 3300-level (or above) course with a grade of B or higher. There is no advanced placement credit granted for a score of 4.
  • By presenting a score of 780 or above on the SAT Subject Test. Students with a score lower than 780 should take the department's online Placement Examination and follow the placement advice received.
  • By presenting a score of a 7, 6, or 5 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Exam in Spanish.
  • By obtaining a score of 625 or higher in the department's online Placement Examination. If your score in the online test qualifies you for exemption from the language requirement, you will be required to take a written version of the placement examination during Orientation (for entering students) or during the semester (for continuing students). This written exam will be offered every year on the Thursday before the beginning of classes in the fall semester from 10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. in Room 352 of the International Affairs Building (the Language Resource Center Computer Lab). You do not need to make an appointment to sit for this exam.