Registration and Placement Exams

Returning students can generally register online without taking any placement exam. Those who started Japanese from zero at SAIS are not necessarily required but strongly encouraged to study the target language during the summer. If students take a summer course at SAIS or another institution, they are welcome to take the placement exam to see if they can skip a level.

Fall (September) 2012

Online language registration opens July 15th, 2012 for returning students from the Bologna and DC campus. New students with no background in the language they want to study should register in the Novice level class. New students with background in the language they intend to study should not register before getting approval from the language coordinator.

New students without any background in Japanese should register in Novice Japanese 907. 710 after they check with the coordinator as to whether the course is, in fact, offered that semester.

Placement Exams

All the incoming students need to take the Japanese Placement Exams first as they enter the program at SAIS. The Placement Exams consist of two sections: Reading (reading comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar) and an in-site oral Interview. The exams are to find out where each student stands in Japanese, and the placement made according to the exam results will be announced by the end of the exam week. Please follow the steps below.

1. Take the Reading Placement Test on Tuesday of the language exam week at R307.
2. Sign up for a twenty-minute oral interview for the next day. The sign-up sheet is posted on R307.
3. Go through the oral interview at the designated time.
4. After finding out the level in which you are placed by the coordinator, register on ISIS. Online registration opens on the first day of language classes.