Incoming First-Year and Transfer Students

Students interested in studying a language during their first semester at Drake should follow the instructions below as soon as possible prior to their arrival at Drake. Timely completion of this process is important, as courses fill quickly.

Students who do not plan to begin language study in their first semester do not need to apply to the program or take a placement exam prior to their arrival at Drake.

Registration Process

The application, placement, and registration process must be completed before the student arrives at Drake for ORIENTATION.

1) All students interested in studying in the Language Acquisition Program must complete the online application.  Students interested in studying a language in the fall semester are encouraged to submit the online application by May 25th.  However, we will continue to accept applications as long as there are seats available.

2) After submitting your application, you will immediately receive an automated response to the email address you provide.

3) Students with no previous experience in the language will be contacted by the appropriate language coordinator regarding registration in the course.  Students with previous experience in the language they wish to study must complete a placement exam. Placement exams are conducted differently for different languages. The language coordinator for your language will provide you with instructions for completing the appropriate placement exam.

4) After completion of the placement exam, students are enrolled in the appropriate course in the Language Acquisition Program, as space is available. Students are placed in the order in which their placement exams are received. Priority is given to students whose declared major requires language study.

5) Each language section is limited to a maximum of four students. Because demand for a course can exceed capacity, at times students cannot be registered for the course into which they place. If the course into which you placed is full, we will inform you when it is time to register for the following semester.