Placement of Native or Near-native Speakers

International students studying at WKU may not fulfill the general education foreign language requirement by taking a lower division course in their native language. They have two options in fulfilling this requirement:

1. Complete the necessary coursework in a foreign language other than their own.
2. Complete an extra 3-hour general education course in any of the areas listed. Approval from the Office of International Programs is required and an approval form for the substitution should accompany degree program submission.

Native speakers of French, German, or Spanish may not enroll in lower division courses in the respective language. After consultation with Modern Language faculty, they may enroll in an appropriate upper division course, but they will not gain verified credit for lower division courses upon successful completion of the upper division course. If they wish to major in the language, their degree program requirements may be reduced. Lower division courses may also be closed to near-native speakers, after an evaluation by Modern Language faculty.

Information about the WKU Language Requirement (pdf)

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