Challenge Exam
Challenge Exams are for students who arrive at BYU with significant experience in a language but are not native speakers.
Students can receive up to 16 graded credit hours. Challenge Exams are specific to and administered by different language departments.
To find the most accurate information about the challenge exam for your desired language, see the links below:
Challenge Exam Information By Language
After you formally request the challenge exam, you will be sent instructions to sign up for the writing exam (WPT) in the Humanities Testing Lab. You will also need to request a time to take the speaking portion (OPIc) in the Language Sciences Laboratory.
Find more information about the OPIc here.
Find more information about the WPT here.
If you take the Challenge Exam, you will receive four individual grades – one for 101, 102, 201, and 202 – which you can then accept or discard individually. If you achieve an A, A, A, and B, for example, you can discard the B grade, which will then not be included on your transcript. You will receive 16 graded BYU credits that go directly on your transcript and do affect you GPA.
You can only request a challenge exam once. You must take it while enrolled in the designated course. After you finish the course, you are ineligible to take the challenge exam. If you are not enrolled in the class, please do not sign up for the challenge exam.