English Proficiency

Citizens of non-English-speaking countries are required to submit a proof of English proficiency to complete their Purdue application. The policy is based on country of citizenship – not current residency or language of instruction.

Undergraduate international applicants who are subject to proving English proficiency must submit at least one of the following to fulfill ‘English Proficiency’ on the application checklist. Select the options below to review the minimum scores and guidelines.

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)

In general, overall totals need to be 80 or 88 depending on the college while subscores are generally 20 or higher per section.
80 iBT or higher	88 iBT or higher
College of Agriculture	College of Engineering
College of Education	College of Science
College of Health & Human Sciences	Krannert School of Management
College of Liberal Arts
College of Pharmacy
Purdue Polytechnic Institute
Exploratory Studies
Purdue accepts the TOEFL iBT Home Edition. Purdue does not accept the TOEFL Essentials Test. Purdue does not accept MyBest Score (superscore) results. Purdue does not accept the TOEFL ITP Plus for China Solution. The Purdue University code to submit official scores from ETS is: 1631

IELTS (International English Language Testing System)

In general, applicants have an overall score of 6.5 or higher with at least a 6.0 in each section.

Request to have official scores sent to "Purdue University - Office of International Students and Scholars" or alternatively, you may report your results in the online application portal by submitting the ‘Updates to Self-reported Test Scores’ form located within the Profile and Application Updates tab.

Purdue accepts the IELTS Academic Test and is temporarily accepting the IELTS Indicator version of the exam. Purdue does not accept the IELTS General Training Test.

DET (Duolingo English Test)

In general, applicants have a 110 or better.

Purdue requires the submission of DET subscores along with the overall result. Please request to have your results submitted to: Purdue University Undergraduate Admissions.

SAT

Generally, applicants must have a 600 or better on the Evidence Based Reading & Writing (EBRW) section.

The Purdue University code to submit official SAT scores from College Board is 1631

ACT

In general applicants must have a 26 or higher on the English section.

The Purdue University code to submit official ACT scores is 1230

British Ordinary Level English Language Exam

(GCE/GCSE/IGCSE)

Grade of A or B, or 6-9, in First-Language English or English Language.

If one is proving English proficiency with the British Ordinary Level English Exam, please upload a copy of the certificate to the Purdue application portal and send an email to intl-admissions@purdue.edu so staff can verify.

Transfer Credit as proof of English proficiency

Alternative to demonstrating English proficiency by presenting adequate standardized test scores, an international student can demonstrate English proficiency by submitting evidence of having completed:

24 or more transferable credits at the time of application from an accredited U.S. College or University with a GPA of 3.0 or better, including
6 credits of non-remedial, non-ESL coursework in English composition and/or speech communication with a grade of B or better.

Transfer students who wish to use their college coursework to meet the English proficiency requirement should email our office at intl-admissions@purdue.edu when they see that their transcripts have arrived and have been marked as received on their application checklist.

Please be aware: Score results must be from a test taken within the past two years. If self-reported scores are used at time of application review, official scores must be provided if the student is admitted and accepts their admission offer. Official test scores must be received directly from the testing organization. Applicants are required to submit all the standardized test results indicated on their application. Meeting the minimum English proficiency score does not guarantee admission. A student's complete application is holistically reviewed before a decision is made.