The Language Requirement in Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan

For students with no knowledge of Portuguese, at least three terms of the language are required: UN1101-UN1102 (or UN1320 for Spanish speakers) and UN2101-UN2102 (or UN2120). All courses must be taken for a letter grade to fulfill the Language Requirement.

Students with prior knowledge of Portuguese (formal courses taken at other schools, living abroad, near-native or native speakers) who plan to continue studying Portuguese are required to take a Placement Examination before registering for a course.

Exemption from the Language Requirement in Portuguese

The Language Requirement may be fulfilled in Portuguese by:

• Presenting a score of a 7, 6, or 5 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level exam in Portuguese.

For students with no prior knowledge of Spanish at least four semesters of the language are required: Elementary Spanish 1 (UN1101) and Elementary Spanish II (UN1102) or Elementary Spanish for Heritage Speakers (UN1108) and Intermediate Spanish I (UN2101) and Intermediate Spanish II, either Intermediate Spanish II (UN 2102) or Intermediate Spanish II-Health-related Topics in the Spanish-speaking World (UN2103) or Intermediate Spanish II-Topics in Climate Discourse (UN2104), or Intermediate Spanish for Heritage Speakers (UN 2108), or Comprehensive Intermediate Spanish (UN2120). All courses must be taken for a letter grade to fulfill the language requirement. 

The two Spanish as a Heritage Language courses needed to fulfill the language requirement are as follows:

1. Spanish UN 1108: Elementary Spanish for Heritage Speakers: Fall 2025 Schedule on Vergil
2. Spanish UN 2108: Intermediate Spanish for Heritage Speakers: Fall 2025 Schedule on Vergil

School of International and Public Affairs' (SIPA) Students: Please click here for information.

All students new to the Spanish Language Program at Columbia are required to take a departmental placement examination before registering for a course or provide proof of exemption.

Exemption from the Language Requirement in Spanish

You may be able to obtain an exemption from the Language Requirement in Spanish in ONE of the following six ways:

1. by obtaining a score of above 625 on the department’s online Spanish as a Second Language Placement Examination or on the department's online Spanish as a Heritage Language Placement Examination. Your possible exemption in this case will be verified by taking another version of either of these two (2) exams, which are scheduled as follows:

• For the Spanish as a Second Language Placement Examination, you may take the second version of the Spanish as a Second Language Placement Examination in the Department's main office located in Casa Hispánica’s (612 W. 116th Street (between Broadway and Riverside: Google Map) between 10 am and 3 pm. Please contact Kosmas Pissakos ([email protected]) to schedule the administration of the exam in the department at Casa Hispánica. For questions about the second version of this exam, feel free contact Dr. Francisca Aguiló Mora ([email protected]) or Dr. Lee B. Abraham ([email protected]).
• For the Spanish as a Heritage Language Placement Examination, Dr. Francisca Aguiló Mora ([email protected]) will contact you with your first exam score and provide either the course for which you should register or information about possible exemption by taking a second exam.

2. by presenting a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Spanish Language or Spanish Literature exams. In this case, you may register for a section of Spanish UN 3300 - Advanced Language through Content. Click here for the descriptions of fall 2025 Spanish 3300 courses.

• 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 higher) course in Spanish with a grade of B or higher.
• Note: No Advanced Placement credit is granted for a score of 4.

3. by presenting a score of 780 or above on the SAT Subject Test. The College Board discontinued SAT Subject Tests in 2021. Students with a score lower than 780 should take one of the two department’s online placement exams and follow the placement advice received.
    
4. by presenting a score of a 7, 6, or 5 on the International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher Level (HL) exam in Spanish.
    
5. by presenting the certification of the D.E.L.E Examination (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera) for either the Intermedio or the Superior levels.
    
6. by presenting the certification of the CELU Examination (Certificado de Español: Lengua y Uso) for either the Intermedio or the Avanzado levels.

Study Abroad and The Spanish Language Requirement

In order to confirm that you have fulfilled the Spanish language requirement, you must take the placement examination in person upon returning to Columbia from a study abroad program. Please make an appointment to take the test with Kosmas Pissakos ([email protected]) in our department.
 

Credits will be generally awarded by the College only for courses that have contact hours and workload scales equivalent to Columbia University courses (semester and summer sessions). You must provide the following materials to the Co-directors of the Spanish Language Program, Dr. Francisca Aguiló Mora ([email protected]) and Lee B. Abraham ([email protected]):

• A course syllabus
• A list of assigned readings and texts used
• Corrected and graded tests, papers, and any other materials used to evaluate the student’s work

If you wish to continue taking courses in our Department, you should register for the course above the level for which you received credit. For example, if you received credit for Spanish 2102, you should register for a section of Spanish UN 3300 - Advanced Language through Content. Click here for the descriptions of fall 2025 Spanish 3300 courses.

For transfer of credits for courses beyond the 3300-level, please refer to this page and contact the Interim Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), Dr. Lee B. Abraham ([email protected]).

Advanced Placement (AP) Examination Credit

An Advanced Placement (AP) score of 4 or 5 on the Spanish Language or Literature exam satisfies Columbia’s foreign language requirement. In addition, the department will award 3 points of Advanced Placement credit to students with an AP score of 5 upon completion of a course in Spanish numbered UN 3300 or higher with a minimum grade of B. (No credit is awarded for an AP score of 4.)

Students with Advanced Placement credit who wish to pursue a course of study in Spanish should take Spanish UN 3300, “Advanced Language through Content.” Spanish UN 3330 counts toward a major or minor in Hispanic Studies.

For more information, contact Dr. Lee B. Abraham, Interim Director of Undergraduate Studies ([email protected]).