Special credit can be awarded for up to two semesters of second-year study (the third and fourth semesters). To earn special credit, you must complete a validating course on the IUB campus at the level into which you placed (or higher) with a grade of C or better, and apply for the special credit to be posted retroactively. If you earn a grade of C- or below in the validating course, you will not receive special credit. The validating course must be the first course in that language taken by the student at IUB and this course may only be completed once. The following is an explanation of how special credit from S200 and above are assigned:

• If you test into S250 and complete this course with a C or better, you can claim special credit for S200.
• If you test into S280 and complete it with a C or better, you can claim special credit for S200 and S250.
• If you test into S280 and opt to take S269 and complete it with a C or better, you can claim special credit for S200 and S250. *S269 does not replace S280 when fulfilling courses for the minor or major.
• If you test into a S300-level course and complete it with a C or better, you can claim special credit for S200 and S250. Students who place into S300-level must replace S280 credit with an additional S300/400-level course. Special credit is not granted for S280.
• Heritage Speakers who take S251, S281 or S309 and complete it with a C or better, you can claim special credit for S200 & S250.

You cannot receive special credit for S280. You will not receive Indiana University Bloomington special credit if you have transfer credits for a similar beginning Spanish or Portuguese course from another college.

Also, it is the policy of the College of Arts and Sciences that students whose native language is not English may not earn credit for courses at the 200-level in their native language. In most cases, these students are exempted from the foreign language requirement. However, residents of Puerto Rico are not subject to this policy and are eligible for Spanish language credit at any level. If you are a native speaker of Spanish or Portuguese and are interested in completing a major or minor in either of these languages, you must speak to the director of undergraduate studies or the director of the Portuguese program to determine what course you should start with.

If you have already qualified for special Spanish language course credits, you can click here to claim your Spanish credit online. After completing the form, click the “Submit” button. It takes 4-6 weeks for processing and when complete, the earned credit will appear on your Degree Progress Report.