Language Placement Exams

Spring 2027

To register for a language placement exam other than Arabic, please fill out the NELC Language Placement Survey.

For Arabic, please fill out the Arabic Language Survey.

Please see information below re: placement procedures, listed by language:

Arabic (administered online)
Exam Dates: Summer, Fall, and Spring in advance of registration

For Spring 2027 registration: Now through 2 November 2027 
*All students are strongly encouraged to take the exam before this date to help ensure registration in the section of your choice.

The Arabic placement exam (offered as the Avant STAMP 4S exam) is accessible in advance of registration and during placement exam periods in the summer, fall and spring. 

Students with prior experience studying the language and who plan on taking their first course at Harvard within the language are required to take the language placement exam. This should be done before registering for the course. Once you receive your placement result, please petition for the course determined by the placement process; your petition will be approved so you can enroll. We very much encourage you not to wait until the start of courses because space in another course level is not guaranteed.

To meet the language requirement: first register for the exam online. After you take it, you will be notified about the in-person Language Verification Exam.

To register for the Arabic placement exam, first fill out the Arabic Placement Exam Survey. You will then receive an email confirming your registration that includes helpful information so that you can take the Avant STAMP 45 online. Click here to access a sample exam.

Questions about taking the placement exam, exam results, and course selection
                Contact: Nader Uthman, Dir. Of the Modern Language Programs, NELC
                 naderuthman@fas.harvard.edu

To register for a language placement exam other than Arabic, please fill out the NELC Language Placement Survey. (The Arabic Placement Exam is linked above.)

Armenian (Eastern and Western)

Exam Dates for Spring 2027: By request

 Please contact NELC-languages@fas.harvard.edu

Hebrew (Modern)

Exam Date for Spring 2027 registration: TBD

Please contact Mazalit Haim, Senior Preceptor in Modern Hebrew, for the Zoom link and more information. 

Persian

Exam Dates for Spring 2027 registration: By request

 Please contact NELC-languages@fas.harvard.edu

Turkish (Modern)

Exam Dates for Spring 2027: By request

 Please contact NELC-languages@fas.harvard.edu

Turkish (Ottoman)

Exam Dates for Spring 2027: By request

Please contact Himmet Taskomur, Senior Preceptor in Ottoman and Modern Turkish, taskomur@fas.harvard.edu.

Yiddish

Exam Dates for Spring 2027: By request

Please contact Adi Mahalel, Lecturer in Yiddish Studies, amahalel@fas.harvard.edu.

If you are interested in Albanian or Kurdish, please contact  NELC-languages@fas.harvard.edu.

* Please be on time for the exams. The online exams will only be open at the listed times; once they close, you will not be able to access the exam.

You can also email NELC-languages@fas.harvard.edu if you have any general questions regarding NELC Language Placement exams.