Testing

Language Placement Exam 

If you have prior knowledge in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, or Russian either from high school or another experience, you may find the appropriate level of language for you by taking the non-credit, diagnostic, web-based placement exam, Emmersion. Emmersion responds to your ability by offering you successively harder or easier questions to assess your level of proficiency. At the end of the exam, you will be given a score which you can use to find a recommended starting level here at MSU.  It is important to understand that our placement exam is meant solely to aid you in finding the right level in which to start and that no credit hours will be earned.  Credit by examination information for the AP, CLEP and IB tests can be found farther down on this page.

For non-language majors

Your college and degree program determines your required number of foreign language hours. For example, B.S. Biology majors here at MSU are only required to have 3 hours of foreign language, but they must be at the second semester level (FL_ 1123). If you are interested in Spanish and you place out of FLS 1113 Spanish I according to the Emmersion exam, then you can be more confident that you will do well if you register for FLS 1123 Spanish II instead of taking Spanish I, a class that might be too easy for you. This could save you time and money in the long run.

For language majors and minors

As with non-language majors, language majors do not earn credit through the Emmersion exam. It may be used as a tool to determine correct level placement, and a different plan of action may be created to fulfill lower-level language hours on a case by case basis.

For language minors

The Emmersion exam may be used as a tool to determine correct level placement for minors, but all minor language hour requirements must be met by taking courses in the language. For example, if a German minor places into FLG 2133 German III, he/she must make up the 6 hours they did not attain from German I and II in other, higher level German courses to reach the requisite 18 hours to earn a German minor.

The Emmersion exam is administered online and may take 15-30 minutes to complete. To get started, click on the link below. You will create an account, pay for the exam and then take a short survey. The exam costs $10, payable by credit card. 

Emmersion Placement Exam Link: https://app.emmersion.ai/link/50b99647b8

Once you have taken the exam, you can use the following matrix to determine at what level you should enroll.

*MSU Symbols for Languages Tested by Emmersion:
FLC – Chinese
FLF – French
FLG – German
FLI – Italian
FLR – Russian
FLS – Spanish

Questions? Contact the Department of Classical & Modern Languages and Literature at 662-325-3480 or email Amie Russell, undergraduate coordinator, at amiekrussell@cmll.msstate.edu.

Advance Placement (AP) Language Credit

CMLL recognizes all credit received through the Registrar from AP French, German, Latin, and Spanish language exams.  It is important for students to note that no more than 6 credit hours are awarded through AP language exams. To see a list of AP score/course equivalencies, you can use this link.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Program Hours

CMLL recognizes all credit received through the Registrar from IB program language exams. The number of credit hours and course equivalencies varies by score and language. To see a list of IB score/course equivalencies, you can use this link.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Exam

The CLEP exam is an online language proficiency exam administered through MSU Computer-Based Testing Services. The exam is available in French, German, and Spanish only. For more information and to set up an appointment to take the test, please visit MSU Computer-Based Testing Services here. To see how CLEP scores translate into credit hours, use this link.