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State Foreign Language Requirement

By action of the Florida Legislature, undergraduate students who enter a state university in Florida are subject to a foreign language admission requirement. To satisfy the requirement, a student must present evidence of:

1. The completion of two years of sequential foreign language or American Sign Language study in high school, or
2. The completion of 8-10 semester hours of sequential foreign language or American Sign Language at the post-secondary level, or
3. Proficiency through a satisfactory score on the MAPS test for Latin or CLEP foreign language examination.

Transfer students are exempt from this requirement if they received an Associate in Arts degree before September 1, 1989, from a Florida public community college or university or were enrolled before August 1, 1989, in an Associate in Arts degree program at a Florida community college and maintained continuous enrollment until admitted to the University. These students do not have to take a foreign language to be admitted to the University; neither do they have to take it prior to graduation unless the program major has a foreign language graduation requirement.

The University may admit applicants who do not meet the foreign language admissions requirement as exceptions. Students admitted as exceptions must complete 8-10 credit hours of foreign language study or 8-10 credit hours of American Sign language or prove proficiency in a foreign language prior to admission at the upper-level through a satisfactory score on the College Entry-Level Assessment (CELA), formerly (MAPS) test, or CLEP foreign language examination. To prove proficiency in a native tongue other than English, students must submit a valid high school academic transcript from their home country.

All incoming students who have studied French and Spanish in high school must take the free online French and Spanish placement tests prior to enrolling at UNF. Based on that score, students will be advised at which course level to enroll should they choose to pursue further studies in French or Spanish.   

All heritage or native speakers of French or Spanish (who may not have studied the language in high school) must take the on-line placement test prior to enrolling in French or Spanish courses. In order to be placed appropriately, native speakers of French or Spanish must also meet with the Chair of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. 

All Chinese students who have studied the language at the high school level or who are heritage speakers of the language must meet with the Chair of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures prior to enrollment. The chair will refer them to the Chinese Program Coordinator to ascertain the level at which they must begin their language studies.   

Students who enroll in French, Spanish or Chinese at the University of North Florida will be advised that they are eligible for up to six credit hours of retroactive credit as determined by placement and satisfactory completion of specific language courses.   

 **Excluding courses focused on literature or culture.
Note: Political Science majors may not take American Sign Language courses to satisfy the language requirement.