English Proficiency and TOEFL Exemption

English Language Proficiency Requirement

It is highly recommended that international students take the SAT exam to fulfill the English language requirement.  Submitting SAT scores will also assist in determining scholarship eligibility and providing an early admissions decision.

All applicants who did not graduate from native English-speaking countries may also be required to provide adequate proof of their English proficiency before receiving admission to the university. The English language proficiency requirement may be fulfilled by one of the following:

• A minimum score of 550 (paper-based) or 79 (internet-based) on the test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
• A minimum overall band score of a 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
• Completion of Level 6 of the University of Houston’s Language and Culture Center

Test scores must be sent directly from the testing agency to the University of Houston to be considered official. When sending scores, be sure to include the University of Houston's ETS Institutional Code 6870. There is no institutional code for the IELTS examination; the testing agency should mail the official results to the address below. The University of Houston University Testing Services also offers a paper-based Institutional TOEFL. The Office of Admissions will use the highest test score from one test date.  Photocopies or other duplication of scores are not acceptable. Score must not be more than two years old.

TOEFL/IELTS Exemption

You are exempt from the TOEFL/IELTS (English Language Requirement) if you have met one of the following requirements:

• Earned a high school diploma, Associates of Arts, Associates of Science or bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited U.S. high school, college or university.  Please note that completion of a GED does not waive the English Language Requirement.
• Completed the equivalent of a high school education or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree* in one of the following countries:
  

  Anguilla	Fiji Islands	St. Vincent & the Grenadines
  Antigua	Grenada	St. Kitts & Nevis
  Australia	Guyana	The Bahamas
  Barbados	Jamaica	Trinidad
  Belize	Liberia	Trinidad & Tobago
  Bermuda	Montserrat	United Kingdom
  British Virgin Islands	New Zealand	U.S. Virgin Islands
  Canada (English-speaking provinces)	Sierra Leone	West Indies
  Cayman Islands	South Africa	Zimbabwe
  Dominica	St. Lucia

  
  * Associate's degrees earned from the above countries do not apply to the TOEFL/IELTS exemption.