DELF French Exam

DELF Testing Center at Pitt

The Department of French and Italian at the University of Pittsburgh opened a DELF testing center in 2021. The DELF is a series of four diplomas issued by the French National Ministry of Education to certify an individual’s French language skills. All four skills are tested: listening comprehension, oral production, reading comprehension, and written production. DELF standards are based on the Common European Reference Framework for Languages (CEFRL), and the DELF Center at Pitt can certify students at the A1-B2 levels following a 1.5-3 hour set of oral and written exams.

The diplomas allow students, among other things, to matriculate to French universities at the B2-level and to demonstrate their French proficiency to potential US- or Europe-based employers at the B1- and B2- levels. The exams are offered twice during the academic year, once in early December and once in late March or early April. At the present time, exams are only available for French majors and minors, but as the Center grows, we plan to expand the availability of the exam to all Pitt students and eventually to students at other high school and colleges in the Western Pennsylvania region.

Context

The decision to open a DELF testing center at Pitt is a part of the French program’s efforts to rethink undergraduate education in French at a time when students are increasingly looking to combine French Studies with a diverse set of professional goals, including careers in medicine, business, engineering, media and arts management, and diplomacy and politics, among other fields. The DELF exams are designed with the professions in mind, and the French program is in the process of adapting its curriculum at all levels to include more professional vocabulary, rhetorical strategies, texts, and media objects. The DELF standards offer an ideal framework to do this, especially given that many language textbooks in France are already organized around the DELF exams and standards.

The French program feels that the decision to open a testing center and to integrate the DELF standards into its curriculum will allow us to better prepare students for the international careers of tomorrow. We also hope that it will enable us to create greater synergies in the region with respect to French studies, French language learning, and French proficiency certification, making Pitt a major locus for the study French in Western Pennsylvania.

We may be able to offer exams to interested parties who are not Pitt-affiliated if space permits. Priority for these exams will be given to Pitt French majors. Interested exam takers should contact Brett Wells

Interest Form

Pricing for spring 2024:

The B1 exam costs $155 full price, $125 for Pitt students, $75 for Pitt French majors.
The B2 exam costs $190 full price, $160 for Pitt students, $110 for Pitt French majors.

Spring 2025

For More Information

Contact Brett Wells, who supervises the administration of the exam at Pitt.