Learn how to get placed into your first Urdu course at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus.
What is your most recent level of foreign language study?
Students with no prior background in Urdu
No placement test is needed if you have never taken an Urdu language course and do not use Urdu at home. Students with no prior background in Urdu may register for URDU 1011 without taking a placement test.
Students who studied Urdu abroad or use Urdu at home
For placement into your first Urdu language course, you must take the Urdu Entrance Placement Test (EPT).
Students who earn a high score on the Urdu EPT are invited to review information about the Language Proficiency Exam (LPE) and consider whether they may be ready for the LPE. More information about the LPE can be found on the Urdu LPE Test Content page.
If you want to start your Urdu language study in URDU 1011, you do not need a placement test. See the course descriptions below for information on first-year courses.
College-level Urdu Instruction
Students with previous college-level instruction in Urdu should consult their transcripts and speak with their adviser to determine which course(s) they completed.
Urdu Course Descriptions
First semester: starts beginning-level language instruction; does not require prior language study. Basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Emphasis on the development of communicative competence.
Second semester: continues beginning-level language instruction from 1011; continues comprehension, reading, writing and speaking skills.
Third semester: continues language instruction from 1012; begins the intermediate-level language instruction. Development of reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Grammar review, some basic compositions and oral presentations.
Fourth semester: continues language instruction from 3021; completes the intermediate-level language instruction; passing this course fulfills the CLA Second Language Requirement.