Undergraduate Program
Foreign Language Requirement
You may satisfy this requirement in one of several ways:
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In high school: by receiving a grade of C- or higher in courses comparable to the third year level of any language other than the language of high school instruction.
For many students who attended high school outside of the United States, English is your foreign language. For example, if you went to high school in China where the language of instruction was Mandarin and took the 3rd year level of English, then English is considered your foreign language.
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In college: by passing a course comparable to the second semester of a foreign language as taught at Berkeley. Students attending a California community college should visit www.assist.org for courses at each school that fulfill the language requirement.
Continuing UC Berkeley students are not allowed to take the foreign language requirement off campus during the academic year in which they apply. For example, students applying in November 2009 will not be allowed to take the foreign language requirement off campus during Fall 2009 or Spring 2010.
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By exam: by passing one of the following exams, in a language other than English, with the grade or score indicated:
- 590 on the SAT II
- 3,4 or 5 on an AP Exam
- A, B, or C on a GCE "O" or "A" Level, HKCEE or HKALE; or 5, 6, or 7 on an IB Higher Level Exam.
- Passing score on a foreign language proficiency exam offered by some departments at Berkeley or at other UC campuses.
