It is strongly recommended that you take placement exams prior to the start of your first semester at UH Mānoa. Your exam results will be used by departments to place you into a course that is most appropriate for your academic success.
Some departments require that you take a placement exam before enrolling in a particular course. Others have policies that determine which course you will be placed into. Please refer to the department or area below for more information. Note: An official picture ID or UH student ID is required at all in-person placement exams.
Please contact the department for their placement exam schedule.
Email: linguist@hawaii.edu
EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES (CHINESE, JAPANESE, KOREAN)
East Asian Languages Placement Exam Schedule
Email: eallexam@hawaii.edu
Students with no prior Chinese, Japanese or Korean language experience should register for CHN, JPN or KOR 101 (or 111). If your language proficiency is judged to be beyond the 101-level on the first day of class, you will be placed in a higher level course. A placement adjustment made in the first week of the semester does not guarantee you a seat in the appropriate course.
Students with prior experience in Chinese, Japanese or Korean language (i.e., formal classroom training, residence in the country of its use, cohabitation with a native speaker, etc.) are required to take a placement exam.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTITUTE (Students whose native language is not English)
English Language Institution Placement Exam Schedule
Email: uhmeli@hawaii.edu
All students who have English as a second language and do not meet ELI exemption criteria are required to take the ELI Placement Exam for possible placement into listening/speaking and reading/writing courses. Visit the ELI Requirements Website for a list of ELI exemption criteria and more information about ELI courses.
For the Foundations in Written Communication (FW) requirement, most undergraduate students who have English as a second language will be placed into ELI writing courses based on the ELI placement exam. Students who are exempt from the ELI placement exam will place directly into ESL 100. Students who have attended 6 years or more of school in the U.S. or another English-speaking country are often placed into ENG 100 or ENG 190. Contact the ELI for more information.
FRENCH
Email: Jacob Huss (jacob@hawaii.edu)
GERMAN From August 1 through December 31
Email: Anna Hawajska-Waters (hawajska@hawaii.edu)
GERMAN From January 1 through July 31
Email: Katinka Hammerich (katinka@hawaii.edu)
SPANISH
Spanish placement information
Please contact the department for their placement exam schedule.
Email: Kapali Lyon (lyonj@hawaii.edu) or Robert Littman (littman@hawaii.edu)
HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE
Please contact the department for their placement exam schedule.
Email: olelouhm@hawaii.edu
ARABIC
Email: adly@hawaii.edu
CAMBODIAN
Email: sak@hawaii.edu
CHAMORRO
Email: brants@hawaii.edu
FILIPINO
Filipino Placement Exam Schedule
Email: jaysonpa@hawaii.edu or uhmfil@hawaii.edu
ILOKANO
Ilokano Placement Exam Schedule
Email: deand@hawaii.edu or ilokano@hawaii.edu
INDONESIAN
Email: r.l.hughes@hawaii.edu
THAI
Email: chinoko@hawaii.edu
SAMOAN & OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDS LANGUAGES
Email: jmayer@hawaii.edu or edaniels@hawaii.edu
SANSKRIT
Email: jknutson@hawaii.edu
HINDI or URDU
Email: saib@hawaii.edu
VIETNAMESE:
Email: jennietr@hawaii.edu
ITALIAN
Email: Marie-Christine Garneau (garneau@hawaii.edu)
PORTUGUESE
Email: Spencer Reemelin (reemelin@hawaii.edu)
RUSSIAN
Email: Anastasia Kostetskaya (kostetsk@hawaii.edu)
PHYSICS
Physics Placement Exam Schedule
Email: physics@hawaii.edu
All students wishing to enroll in PHYS 151 who have not earned a grade of “C” or better in MATH 140, or MATH 140X (precalculus with trigonometry) or MATH 215 or higher, may instead use a qualifying score on the UH Mānoa Mathematics Department’s Math Placement Exam. For more information, including dates and qualifying scores, please visit the Mathematics Department’s Placement Exam schedule.