National Latin Exam

The University of Mary Washington is home to the National Latin Exam. The National Latin Exam is a worldwide test given to Latin students. The test covers general knowledge of Latin grammar and vocabulary, mythology, customs, derivatives, and translation abilities and was given to over 140,000 students in the U.S., Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe in 2011.

“The philosophy of the National Latin Exam is predicated on providing every Latin student the opportunity to experience a sense of personal accomplishment and success in his or her study of the Latin language and culture. This opportunity exists for each individual student since, on the National Latin Exam, he or she is not competing with a fellow student on a comparative basis, but is evaluated solely on his or her own performance on the exam. The basic purposes of the NLE are to promote the study of Latin and to encourage the individual student.” [NLE]

Students who receive high scores on the National Latin Exam receive various awards. High school seniors who receive a gold medal on the Latin III or higher level exam and agree to take at least one Latin or Ancient Greek course during each of their first two semesters of college are eligible to apply for a $1000 scholarship.