English Testing Requirements

Who is required to do English proficiency testing?

International students for whom English is a second language are required to submit the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), IELTS (International English Language Testing System), or Duolingo English Test. Students may also seek a waiver based on the exemptions listed below.

WashU has University-wide policies on minimum English language proficiency which can be found here: https://oiss.washu.edu/english-proficiency-requirements/.

While any students with scores above these minimums are welcome to apply, our most competitive undergraduate applicants share scores in the following ranges or above:

• TOEFL (or TOEFL iBT Home Edition):
  • For exams taken prior to January 21, 2026, a minimum score of 100 is recommended.
  • For exams taken on January 21, 2026 or later, a minimum score of 5.0 is recommended
• IELTS Academic score of 7.0 
• Duolingo score of 130  

The tests administered in December 2026 will be the last ones accepted for fall 2027 admission (October if applying Early Action or Early Decision I).

Undocumented or DACA-eligible students are not required to submit results of English Language proficiency testing.

Exemptions

Beginning with students applying for Fall 2027 admission, SAT or ACT scores will no longer be accepted in lieu of English proficiency exam scores.

Students who have completed three or more years of study in an English-medium academic program or high school in the United States and have a demonstrated strong academic performance may be exempted. 

Requests for exemptions based on this, and other circumstances, will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please contact admissions@wustl.edu for more information.

Applicants who are exempted from English language proficiency testing requirements but wish to submit scores are still welcome to submit the TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo results.

Interviews 

While WashU does not conduct nor offer evaluative interviews for admission, students are strongly encouraged to submit third-party interview supplements, such as InitialView, to further demonstrate their English proficiency. Students who choose not to submit an interview supplement will not be disadvantaged in our review process.  

Standardized testing policy

See admission requirements for additional information about standardized testing for international students.