Placement examinations and questionnaires are administered for the purpose of assisting you in selecting the appropriate courses given your background and experience. They are not meant to create unnecessary anxiety for you, so relax and approach them in the spirit in which they are intended. Placement examinations are given according to a pre-set schedule.
Proficiency/placement examinations in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Latin, Italian, Spanish and Japanese will be given on Monday, August 22.
All students who have studied French, German, or Spanish must take the exam unless they have received a score of 3, 4, or 5 on the Advanced Placement (AP) exam, or a score of at least 540 on the SAT II exam.
If you do not have prior experience with the language that you wish to study, you do not need to take the proficiency/placement exam. Simply enroll in the introductory course for that language. Contact information for heads of each language department is as follows:
Language |
Contact Professor |
| Arabic | Marta Sierra, sierram@kenyon.edu |
| Chinese | Jianhua Bai, bai@kenyon.edu |
| French | Mort Guiney, guiney@kenyon.edu |
| German | Paul Gebhart, gebhartp@kenyon.edu |
| Italian | Patricia Lyn Richards, richardsl@kenyon.edu |
| Japanese | Hideo Tomita, tomita@kenyon.edu |
| Latin | Adam Serfass, serfassa@kenyon.edu |
| Russian | Natalia Olshanskya, olshanskyan@kenyon.edu |
| Spanish | Travis Landry, landryt@kenyon.edu |
Latin: All students report at 8:15 a.m. Ascension 326
Italian: All students report at 8:15 a.m. Ascension 114
Arabic: All students interested in Arabic should contact MLL department chair, Marta Sierra.
Chinese: All students report at 8:15 a.m. Ascension 125
Japanese: All students report at 8:45 a.m. Ascension 212
Spanish, French and German will be administered by last name due to high numbers of students taking these exams. Exception: If your last name begins with O-Z and you need to take the music theory placement examination at 8:45 a.m., you may take the language placement exam at either 8:15 or 8:40 a.m.
Exam times, by last name: A-G at 8:15 a.m. | H-N at 8:40 a.m. | O-Z at 9:05 a.m.
Spanish: You may use any of the following labs in any time slot: Crawford Classroom, Chalmers, 1st floor, in the back; Hayes Hall 311; Roth Lab, Peirce Hall, Lower Level
French: Language Learning Center, Library
German: Hayes Hall 308
If you have an AP Chem score of 4 or 5, you may enroll directly into Chem 122 (Chemical Principles). Alternatively, you may qualify for Chem 122 by taking the online placement exam at tiny.cc/
The placement exam is the first assignment of both introductory courses (Chem 121 and Chem 122), and may be completed prior to Orientation.
If you are not certain whether you are prepared to take mathematics at Kenyon, there is a math readiness exam on Monday, August 24, at 4 p.m. in Higley Hall Auditorium. This exam is self-graded, and there will be mathematics faculty available at the exam site to help you interpret your score.
If you have never taken any calculus and are uncertain whether you have the precalculus background needed to begin in Calculus A, you might consider taking the calculus readiness exam, also on Monday, August 24, at 4 p.m. in Higley Auditorium.
If you have taken some calculus but do not have an AP or IB exam score which reflects your experience, you should take the calculus placement exam Monday, August 22, at 4 p.m. in Hayes Hall 109. Please note: If you have AP or IB (or transfer) credit for calculus, you do not need to take this placement exam.
In order to take MUSC 121-122 (“Music Theory”), you must first take MUSC 101 (“Basic Musicianship”). If you have any experience in music theory, we invite you to take the music theory placement test on Monday, August 22 at 8:45 a.m. in the Olin Auditorium. If you pass this exam, you may place out of MUSC 101 and we will recommend that you take MUSC 121-122.
In order to take other music theory courses or any music history courses numbered between 123 and 394, you must first take (or place out of) MUSC 101 and have taken MUSC 102 (“Introduction to Musical Style”) and any other course prerequisites. (MUSC 102 may be taken concurrently with MUSC 121 or 122.) MUSC 101 and MUSC 102 are open to everyone.
Note: If you are planning to take individual music lessons or participate in a department ensemble, you need not take the placement test or MUSC 101/MUSC 102.
Scores of 4 and 5 on the Advanced Placement test receive 0.5 units of credit. For students with AP 5, the department recommends beginning with BIOL 116. Students with AP 4 credit can also begin with BIOL 116, if they feel prepared, but should attend the Biology Department presentation during orientation and consult with the Department of Biology chair, Bob Mauck, at that time. Students who have not taken the Advanced Placement course in biology but believe they have had an equivalent course also should consult with the Professor Mauck.
Information about placement for courses in other departments and programs will be presented at the academic department presentations on Monday, August 24, at various locations around campus from 1:30-3:15 p.m. Feel free to attend various presentations or to visit the different academic program tables, collect information, and have your specific questions answered.