Placement Exam

Students with no previous Italian language coursework should register for:

  • ITAL-1011 Intensive Basic Italian.

Determining placement:

Students with previous experience in Italian who have taken the SAT II can determine their level as follows:

  • 200-470 ITAL-1011 Intensive Basic Italian or ITAL- 1009 Italian for Spanish Speakers if they are fluent in Spanish (students interested in ITAL 009 should contact Professor Giuseppe Tosi before they register).
  • 480-600 ITAL-1511 Intensive Intermediate Italian
  • 610-670 ITAL-2011 Intensive Advanced Italian I
  • 680-730 ITAL-2012 Intensive Advanced Italian II
  • 740-800 ITAL-2031 Contemporary Italy or ITAL-2033 Writing & Culture.

All students with previous experience in Italian who have NOT taken the SAT II should take the online placement exam during the summer to determine the appropriate level for purposes of course enrollment and register accordingly.

Placing out of the foreign language requirement:

Students who are seeking to place out of the College’s foreign language requirement in Italian and who DO NOT intend to continue their study of Italian at Georgetown should first take the online placement exam over the summer. Students who place into ITAL-111 Intensive Advanced Italian I or higher on the online exam will be required to sit for a follow-up exam during NSO in order to confirm that they have placed out of the language requirement. The Italian department will contact these students in advance of NSO in order to arrange the examination. Students taking this test should bring their Georgetown ID (GUID) to the on-campus exam; students will obtain this ID upon their arrival on campus for New Student Orientation.

Confirming AP credit:

Students of Italian with a score of 4 or 5 on the AP exam are eligible for credit.  In order to receive credit, these students must place into and successfully complete ITAL-2012, in which case they will receive 5 credits for ITAL-111. Students who place into and successfully complete a 2000-level Italian course will receive 10 credits for ITAL-2011 and 2012. Students with an SAT II score of 680-730 can enroll directly into ITAL-2012 without taking a placement exam.  Students with an SAT II score of 740 or higher can enroll directly into a 2000-level Italian course without taking a placement exam. 

Students who have only completed the SAT II (and not the AP) will not earn credit. They can only use that score for placement purposes.

How to take the online placement exam:

In order to take the language placement exam, you must self-enroll in this “course” on Canvas.

  1. Click here.
  2. Log in using your NetID and password.  
  3. After logging in, click “Enroll in Course.”  
  4. Click “Go to the Course.””  
  5. Follow the instructions in the course to take the placement exam.
  • Once in the Placement Exam course, please ignore the “Complete All Items” ovals. Those are not buttons and cannot be pressed. Click instead on the name of each item, starting with “Instructions.” 
  • Make sure that you have a reliable Internet connection. Set aside ample quiet time before you begin the test so that you can complete the test in one sitting, which we recommend. 
  • Close other programs running on the computer. Avoid distraction; focus only on the test until it is completed.
  • To begin the exam, click the link only once. It may take some time for the exam to load; give it at least one full minute. If, after clicking once, nothing happens for over a minute, contact the UIS Service Center as soon as possible. Do not click the link multiple times: if you do, you will see a message stating that you have already taken the exam and you will not be able to access it again.
  • Do not refresh the browser window after beginning the test. 
  • Do not click the final “submit” button until you are finished with the test.
  • If you encounter a problem or a technical difficulty that prevents you from finishing the exam, contact the UIS Service Center as soon as possible.

Contact information:
UIS Service Center: 202-687-4949 or help@georgetown.edu.
Italian Department: Email Professor Louise Hipwell.