Language Requirement Examinations

Procedure for scheduling examinations

Students wishing to take foreign languages examinations to meet departmental or School graduate requirements should contact their departmental chair. Examinations are offered in Spanish, German, Italian, French, and Russian, and special arrangements may be made for ancient and other languages. Once the student has notified the department, a representative of that department will then contact the requested language department. At least two weeks' notice should be given to the language department in order that arrangements be made for test administration. Two types of tests are available: "proficiency" and "mastery." Students should carefully review their departmental requirements before they indicate which level test they wish to take.

Language Proficiency Examinations

The proficiency examination for the M.A. and/or Ph.D. requirements is designed to test the student's proficiency in the language. The examination consists of a prose passage in the language to be translated in 90 minutes into adequate, if not literary, English. The length will be between 250-750 words. The texts are chosen out of recent books, journals, or news magazines, and an attempt is made whenever possible to select them as relating to the major discipline of the student being tested. The student has to demonstrate a clear understanding of syntactical structures and some basic knowledge of cultural references. Verb wheels and dictionaries are allowed. The results of the examinations are sent to the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, with the graded examination booklets. The booklets are the property of the University of Virginia. A copy of the results is sent to the graduate advisor and the secretary of the student's department. The grading fee has been set by the Graduate School, and students will be informed by their department that they must clear administrative matters with the Graduate School before receiving credit for the examination.

Language Mastery Examinations

The mastery examination differs from the proficiency examination in that it lasts two hours and is made up of three parts:

1. A short critical prose passage (not necessarily contemporary) relating to the student's major to be translated in 40 minutes.
2. Analysis of a short text relating to the student's major. Forty minutes are allowed to answer six to eight questions about the form and meaning of the proposed text.
3. A short essay in the language with a general question relating to the student's major.

Dictionaries are permitted. Administrative details for the mastery examination are the same as those for the proficiency examination.