When competency in a foreign language is a departmental requirement, students may demonstrate competency in one of three ways:

1. Passing the Graduate Foreign Language Examination (Princeton Examination),
2. Passing a departmental examination. The examination is given by the Department of Foreign Languages in the fifth week of each semester. Candidates who plan to take this examination should notify the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures early in the semester and enroll in one unit of 499 in the appropriate language, or
3. Successfully completing a Graduate Reading course in the appropriate language. This course may be taken without prerequisite if the student has completed two semesters of the language.