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Fall 2025 Placement Exam Information

Please visit back throughout the summer, as placement exam information will continually be posted. 

Chemistry

TBA

Mathematics

For Columbia Engineering: 

TBA

For Columbia College: 

Calculus Placement Guide

For additional questions regarding course placement and equivalencies for Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Ordinary Differential Equations, please contact George Dragomir at gd2572@columbia.edu.


Inquiries regarding higher division courses and questions about the Mathematics majors and concentration may be addressed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Prof. Julien Dubedat, jd2653@columbia.edu.

 

Music Humanities

Exam time TBA

This is a 90-minute exam comprised of three parts: 
  • Part I:  Identification of works by composers in the syllabus, based on played excerpts  
  • Part II: Questions about musical techniques and styles, based on played excerpts from the Middle Ages through the present  
  • Part III: Short-answer questions on musical terms, concepts, genres, forms,  and composers
The Music Exemption Exam may only be taken once, during a student’s first semester at Columbia.  The exam is offered only during the Fall semester of each academic year.  Students matriculating for the first time in January may take the test the following Fall semester. Should students have any questions or concerns, they may contact the Chair of Music Humanities, Professor Benjamin Steege, at bas39@columbia.edu. 

Physics

TBA - Physics information session and placement exam for accelerated Physics 

More information on the different levels can be found here.

For general questions, please contact Professor Jeremy Dodd at jrd4@columbia.edu.

For specific questions about Accelerated Physics only, please reach out to Professor Yuri Levin at yl3470@columbia.edu.

Foreign Languages

Language placement at Columbia is determined in one of two ways. Students who wish to continue with a language they studied in secondary school MUST either take a Columbia language department placement exam in order to register for a course in that language OR submit results from SAT II Subject Tests or Advanced Placement exams. Those students who have demonstrated proficiency in a language via SAT II or AP should refer to the Academic Planning Guide for New Students for specific course placement information. Students who have not taken an SAT II Subject Test or an AP exam must take a Columbia departmental exam in order to determine appropriate placement. 

Please note that many languages offer a course sequence for heritage speakers. See each department's website for more details. 

Language exams will take place during orientation. The information below will continue to be updated throughout Summer 2025. Please continue to check back. 

To request an exemption or placement exam in Akkadian, Aramaic, Cantonese, Ancient Egyptian, Filipino, Haitian Kreyol, Irish, or Quechua please contact Professor Stephane Charitos at sc758@columbia.edu.

To request an exemption or placement exam in Burmese, Cherokee, Khmer, Nepali, Sinhala, Yoruba, or Zulu please contact Vera Felder at vf2321@columbia.edu. 

African Languages

By appointment. Please contact Mariame Sy at sms2168@columbia.edu.

Arabic

Arabic Placement Exam - TBA

Please contact Taoufik Ben Amor at tb46@columbia.edu to register. Students may register for the course that they estimate would fit their level pending the results of the exam. Guidelines for registration are found here.  

More information found here.

Armenian

By appointment. Please contact Charry Karamanoukian at ck2444@columbia.edu.

Chinese

TBA

More information and registration found here. 

Dutch

Please contact Professor Wijnie de Groot at wed23@columbia.edu to arrange a time to take the exam. There will be oral and reading components. 

French

The French placement exam will take place online. Students can take the exam at any time but only once. A link and further information is found here. 

Additional information about advanced placement and exemptions is found here. 

Questions? Please contact Professor Pascale Hubert-Leibler at ph2028@columbia.edu.

German

Placement exams will take place online. An oral interview over Zoom will follow the written exam.

Registration for the exam - TBA

More information can be found here.

Questions? Please contact Jutta Schmiers-Heller at js2331@columbia.edu

Greek (Ancient)

TBA

Sight exam; no dictionaries or grammatical aids may be used.

Please contact Professor Kakkoufa with any questions at nikolas.kakkoufa@columbia.edu

Greek (Modern)

TBA

Requests for accommodation should be sent to Professor Kakkoufa at nikolas.kakkoufa@columbia.edu

Hebrew

TBA

Please contact Naama Harel at nh2508@columbia.edu to register.

Hindi-Urdu

Friday, August 29, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Knox Hall. Hindi and Urdu tests are separate.

Please contact Rakesh Ranjan at rr2574@columbia.edu to register. More information found here. 

Italian

The exam can be taken at any time in the weeks prior to registration. Information found here: https://italian.columbia.edu/content/language-placement-exam

Japanese

Sign up for the placement exam here. Registration required by 11:59pm Sunday, August 24, 2025.

The exam will be open from 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 16 until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, August 25, 2025.

More information is found here. 

Questions? Please contact Naoko Sourial at nns2111@columbia.edu

Korean

An online, multiple choice test will be available from Monday, August 11 to Tuesday, August 26, 2025. The writing and speaking portion will take place Thursday, August 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

More information found here. 

Questions? Please contact Professor Joowon Suh at js604@columbia.edu.  

Latin

TBA

This will be a sight exam; no dictionaries or grammatical aids may be used.

Please contact Professor Kakkoufa with any questions at nikolas.kakkoufa@columbia.edu

Persian

TBA

Please contact Saeed Honarmand at sh3468@columbia.edu to register.

Portuguese

In-person written and oral exam at 201 Casa Hispánica (612 west 116th Street)

Offered twice: 3:00pm Wednesday, August 27, 2025 and 6:00pm Tuesday, September 2.

Please make an appointment with João Nemi Neto (jn2395@columbia.edu) to take this exam.

Russian

Written portion online, TBA. To be added to the Canvas page to access the exam, please email Marina Tsylina at mt3750@columbia.edu.

Oral portion via Zoom and in 709 Hamilton, TBA.

More information found here. 

Sanskrit

By appointment. Please contact Jay Ramesh at jr3203@colubmia.edu. 

Spanish

Welcome to Columbia! You can take our online Spanish language placement examinations any time. You must take one of our placement exams to determine if you qualify to be exempt from the Columbia College language requirement, or before registering for a course, or before placing your name on a waiting list. Please review this important information about exemption, placement, and registration.
 
Questions? Please contact Dr. Francisca Aguiló Mora (fa2443@columbia.edu), Director of the Spanish Language Program.

Tamil

By appointment. Please contact Jay Ramesh at jr3203@colubmia.edu. 

Turkish

Turkish and Ottoman Turkish placements exams will take place individually on Zoom during the last two weeks of August.

To schedule an exam, please email Zuleyha Mary Fikret at zc2208@columbia.edu. The format will be an ACTFL speaking interview followed by a written exam. 

Vietnamese

TBA, in person at 502A Kent Hall. 

Questions? Please reach out to Chung Nguyen at cn2496@columbia.edu

Yiddish

The exam is available online now until Friday, September 13. However, it is recommended that students take the exam before the first day of classes. The exam can be accessed here.

Questions? Please reach out to Dr. Agi Legutko at a.legutko@columbia.edu.

James H. and Christine Turk Berick Center for Student Advising

Visit

403 Alfred Lerner Hall
2920 Broadway
New York, NY 10027

Call: (212) 854-6378

Fax: (212) 854-2458

Send email

Hours  
Monday–Friday
9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
 

An Advisor of the Day is available by phone or in person Monday–Friday 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.