NOTE: This department administers its own placement exams. These are not found on the Harvard Placement Exam platform. In most cases, the result will be communicated to you via email and will not appear in my.Harvard.
All Placement exam information, including registration instructions and times of exams, can be found on the NELC placement exam page. For general information, please contact NELC’s Director of the NELC Modern Language Programs (DLP), Dr. Nader Uthman.
NELC Placement Exams
Arabic
Exam Date for Spring 2026: 9:00am – 12:00pm, Thursday, January 22, 2026, Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, Room 201, 6 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA.
To register for the Arabic placement exam, be sure to fill out the Arabic Placement Exam Survey as soon as possible and at least a week prior to the exam. After the completion of the survey, you will receive confirmation of your registration and more information about the exam location. We expect the exam will take less than the full three hours listed.
Armenian
Exam Dates for Spring 2026: By request
Please contact the Language Programs Coordinator, Kathy Paras, to register and for more information about the Armenian placement exam.
Hebrew (Modern)
Exam Date for Spring 2026: 10:00am, Thursday, January 22, 2026, via Zoom
To register for the Modern Hebrew exam, complete the Modern Hebrew Placement Exam Enrollment Form.
Please contact Romy Neumark for more information about the Hebrew placement exam.
Persian
Exam Dates for Spring 2026: By request
Please contact Kathy Paras to register and for more information about the Persian placement exam.
Turkish (Modern)
Exam Dates for Spring 2026: By request
Please contact Meryem Demir (Preceptor, Modern Turkish) to register and for more information about the Turkish placement exam.
Turkish (Ottoman)
Exam Dates for Spring 2026: By request
Please contact Himmet Taskomur (Senior Preceptor, Ottoman Turkish) to register and for more information about the Turkish placement exam.
Yiddish
Exam Dates for Spring 2026: By request
Please contact Sara Feldman (Preceptor, Yiddish) to register and for more information about the Yiddish placement exam.
If you are interested in Albanian or Kurdish, please contact Kathy Paras.
NELC Advising Contacts
Arabic: Nader Uthman | naderuthman@fas.harvard.edu
Armenian: Kathy Paras | kparas@fas.harvard.edu
Hebrew (Modern): Romy Neumark | romy_neumark@harvard.edu
Persian: Kathy Paras | kparas@fas.harvard.edu
Turkish (Ottoman): Himmet Taskomur | taskomur@fas.harvard.edu
Turkish (Modern): Meryem Demir, meryem_demir@fas.harvard.edu
Yiddish: Sara Feldman | sarafeldman@fas.harvard.edu
The Near East Languages and Civilizations Department offers courses in several languages. For a full list of languages visit the department website.