Portuguese for Undergraduates

Determining Level of Achievement

• If you are a native speaker who wants accreditation for your language abilities, you need to take the CASE exam. Native speakers must also register in the COLLT (Cornell On-Line Language Testing). Note that if you are a student in the College of Arts & Sciences, the requirement can only be fulfilled by courses taken at Cornell.
• If you have less than two years of foreign language study, you may enroll in the first semester course (PORT 1210).
• If you are a native or near-native speaker, basically having good knowledge of Spanish, you should contact the instructor.

Contacts for Language Placement Test

If you have any questions regarding the language placement test, please contact:

• Cal Hile, Undergraduate Coordinator, Klarman K165; 5-8222

For information about transfer of credit, please visit our placement page.

The Portuguese and Brazilian Studies minor is designed to give students pursuing other majors the opportunity to engage with and reflect upon Luso-Brazilian literary, philosophical, and visual cultures.

Required for the minor are five courses (15 credits) focusing on the Lusophone world at the 2020 or 2800 level and higher. 

Please note that:

• Required courses: one advanced language course (PORT 2020 or equivalent), one Perspectives course (PORT 2800), and one course at the 3000 level or higher.

• Students may apply up to two courses from abroad or from another institution toward a Portuguese minor. Courses from an institution other than Cornell may be counted toward the Portuguese minor, provided that 50% of the content of these courses, again, deals directly with the Lusophone world (Merely being taught in Portuguese is not, on its own, a sufficient criterion for a course taken abroad to count for the Portuguese minor.) Remember that you cannot apply more than two courses taken abroad to the Minor.

• The minimum grade for a course to be applied to the Portuguese minor is B-. 

Inquiries of a general nature can first be directed to the Undergraduate Coordinator, Cal Hile.  Students who wish to minor in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies are advised to consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Marilyn Migiel, who admits students into the minor and assigns a faculty adviser after taking into account a student’s interest, preparation, and career goals.

Marilyn Migiel's office hours are listed on the Department Directory and Office House page.

• Click here to download the Portuguese Minor registration form.

Please refer to the Portuguese section of the Romance Studies Course Offerings list. See our departmental course roster here.

Cornell offers great opportunities to study abroad in Brazilian cities such as Salvador and Rio de Janeiro. For details on undergraduate study abroad in Brazil, consult with Cornell Abroad.