Online Placement Test & Registration Information
Updated May 2025 for Fall 2025 Registration
1. Online Placement Exam (July 2025)
Students who have not yet taken French at Yale must take the departmental placement test which is offered 3 times per year (March, July, October).
If you have absolutely no previous formal or informal exposure to French, you should register for L1. (PLEASE NOTE: FREN 1100 is only offered in the Fall).
The Department strongly recommends that ALL STUDENTS take the placement exam – EVEN students who earned a score of 5 on the Advanced Placement exam, a 6 or 7 on the Advanced-Level International Baccalaureate (IB) exam, a Common European Framework rating of C1, or an A or B on the GCE A-Level exam. This will ensure that you will be directed to the most appropriate course for your level.
Placement Tests for Fall 2025 Semester for all returning students :
Tuesday, July 1st at 9:00 am (EDT) — OPEN
Thursday, July 31st at 12:00 pm (EDT) — CLOSE
Tuesday, August 5th by 5:00 pm (EDT) — RESULTS POSTED
Placement Test Results (July 2025)
Placement results will be posted on Tuesday, August 5th by 5:00 pm , on Canvas, in “French Placement Test Site 25-26” Please visit the Center for Language Study French Placement Test Page to access information about online testing.
It is your responsibility to check your Placement results. They will NOT be emailed to you.
Placement exam results remain valid for one calendar year.
Please proceed to the CLS website (https://cls.yale.edu/students/placement-testing/french-placement-test) for more information – and to register for the test.
2. Preference Selection
PLEASE NOTE: We WILL NOT be participating in Preference Selection for Fall 2025.
3. Instructor Permission Required for Registration
Instructor Permission Required applies to all French language courses. When requesting Instructor Permission, please list the Yale French courses that you have taken, with Instructor Name and Semester Included, and/or Placement Score and date of testing.
Please refer to the Registration dates below and on the Yale Registration Website:
| April 11, 8:00 a.m. | Registration opens for Graduate School students |
| April 15, 8:00 a.m. | Registration opens for Yale College students in the Class of 2026 |
| April 16, 8:00 a.m. | Registration opens for Yale College students in the Class of 2027, visiting students, and Eli Whitney students (without a class year) |
| April 17, 8:00 a.m. | Registration opens for Yale College students in the Class of 2028 |
| May 16, 5:00 p.m. | Registration closes for all Yale College and Graduate School students |
| August 20, tbd | Registration opens for first-year, transfer, and Eli Whitney students; details to follow |
| August 25, 8:00 a.m. | Add/drop opens for all students |
| August 27 | Classes begin |
| September 9, 5:00 p.m. | Add/drop closes for all students |
Placement and Preregistration Contact (for NON-TECHNICAL issues):
Language Program Director: Constance Sherak (link sends e-mail)
Further information about placement testing and the use of placement scores at Yale can be found here.