Exemption Exams
Students may meet the Language Requirement by successfully completing and passing the Exemption Exam. Students must demonstrate competency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing equivalent to the end of the third quarter of the language program to pass the exemption exam.
PLEASE NOTE: The Exemption Exam is for undergraduate students attempting to meet the College language requirement only and cannot be used for any other purpose.
Do not wait until your final quarter to attempt the exam. If you do not pass the exam, you will have to enroll in a class to fulfill your Language Requirement.
The Exemption Exams for Spanish and Portuguese will be open for two weeks at the beginning of each quarter (please see dates below). Spanish and Portuguese Exemption Exams cannot be administered outside of the exam window.
For Exemption Exams in any of the other languages in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese (Basque, Catalan, Nahuatl, or Quechua), please contact the Director of the Language Program to request an exam.
PLEASE NOTE: Exemption Exams are not available during Summer Sessions.
Exemption Exam: Format
The exams are equivalent in level and scope to the Spanish 3 or Portuguese 3 final exams. In order to pass the Exemption Exam, you must have the ability expected from a student who successfully completes Spanish 3 or Portuguese 3.
Part 1: Listening, Reading, Vocabulary and Grammar
You will complete multiple choice, true/false and fill in the blank responses. Please note that you must receive 73% or better in order to take Part 2. If you do not achieve 73% on Part 1, you should enroll in Spanish 1, 2 or 3.
Part 2: Writing and Speaking
The speaking exam is a 5-10 minute modified oral proficiency interview. The writing exam is a 30-minute exam responding to an essay prompt.
Please review the speaking assessment rubric and the writing assessment rubric to understand how the exams will be scored. A score of 73% on Part 2 is required to pass the exemption exam.
The content and structures are equivalent to those covered in Spanish 3 or Portuguese 3 at UCLA. Please view the Spanish 3 and Portuguese 3 syllabi for more information.
The Exemption Exam requires downloading and using Respondus Lockdown Browser. Lockdown Browser will download automatically when you open the exam. Please note: The department is not responsible for technical issues, if you have any doubts at all about your internet connection, hardware or software, please take the exam in a campus computer lab. Our preferred location is the Learning Lab @ Rolfe.
The Written and Speaking Exams will be scored by the department. Students can expect their results by 1-2 weeks after the exam, via email. Students will not be provided feedback on their results and will only be informed of whether they passed.
Exemption Exam Test Dates
The Spanish and Portuguese Exemption Exams will be administered as follows for the 2025-2026 Academic Year. All exams will close at 5:00PM on the closing date:
Fall Quarter Monday, September 29, 2025 – Friday, October 10, 2025
Winter Quarter Monday, January 5, 2026 – Friday, January 16, 2026
Spring Quarter Monday, March 30, 2026 – Friday, April 10, 2026
You will receive your results approximately two weeks after the exam, please plan to take the exam well ahead of your intended graduation date.
The Exemption Exam is only available during the specific dates indicated above – no exceptions. The Exemption Exam is not available during the summer.
IMPORTANT: You may only attempt the Exemption Exam one time. If you do not pass, you must enroll in a course to meet the College language requirement.