DETERMINE YOUR SPANISH LEVEL

VISITING STUDENTS: To select the appropriate language level, share the Spanish course syllabi available in Blackboard with an advisor in the languages department of your home school. Visiting students do not take the online placement exam.

MOST MATRICULATED SYRACUSE STUDENTS (including native and heritage speakers of Spanish) must take the online Spanish placement survey/exam, before submitting your Course Preference Form (CPF). 

SU students should not take the placement survey/exam if:

• You have already taken SU’s Spanish online placement exam, in which case you should take the course level in which you were placed. Note: you cannot take it again without permission from Study Abroad.

  • • • If you are unsure if you took it, go to MySlice > Student Home > Advising > Placement Exam Scores.

• You already received SU credit for Spanish, in which case you should take the next course in sequence.

You do NOT need to request access to the placement exam; our office has already arranged access for you.

To access the exam:

1. Log into Blackboard

2. From the Blackboard Institution page, select Course

3. Set selections for Select Terms: Current Courses and Filters: Open Courses

4. Select Placement Exams (1261 or 1271 whichever is displayed at time of taking exam)

5. Choose the desired language (Spanish)

6. The assessment begins with a survey. After finishing the survey, return to the specific language folder for the next step. You will either receive your placement or there will be a link to open the assessment.

7. After finishing the placement assessment, return to the specific language folder again for your language placement results. 

TIPS:

• The purpose of the online placement exam is to identify your language level and allow you to register for the appropriate course during online registration in June.

• Please allow time for the placement exam score to populate in MySlice.

• Should you have any issues while taking the survey or assessment, please email madridacademic@syr.edu. We may need to refer you to the Languages Department Additional information or the Help Desk.

• ALL STUDENTS' language levels will be confirmed after your first lessons in Madrid.

Required Spanish Class

You must take at least one Spanish language/grammar course while in Madrid. Beginning or intermediate students take the appropriate 4-credit course: 

• SPA 101, 102, 201, or 202

More advanced students take the appropriate 3-credit course: 

• SPA 302 - Advanced Language Usage or 

• SPA 428 - Spanish in Context: Oral and Writing Practice

If you have completed SPA 428, or are evaluated by the Madrid Spanish faculty to place beyond SPA 428, you must take at least one of the following optional classes to meet the Spanish study requirement. 

Optional Spanish Classes: "Content Courses"

Any student meeting the listed prerequisite may take one or more of the following courses taught in Spanish.

• SPA 364/HOA464 – Modern Spanish Art (prereq SPA 201)

• SPA 400.2 – De Madrid al Cielo: The Culture of Modernity and the Urban Experience in Spain’s Capital (prereq SPA 202)

• SPA/HST/WGS 417 - The History of Women in Spain (prereq SPA 202)

• SPA 459/FIL 300.1 - Contemporary Spanish Cinema (prereq SPA 202)