Language proficiency requirements and waivers

English Language Proficiency Requirement

International applicants to any UMass Dartmouth graduate program are required to demonstrate English language proficiency by submitting official results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Pearson Academic PTE or, if accepted by the program, Duolingo.

We require an overall/total minimum score of 72 on the TOEFL iBT or BAND 6.0 on the IELTS or a 52 on the Pearsons PTE Academic for entrance to any program and a minimum score of 79 on the TOEFL iBT or BAND 6.5 on the IELTS for consideration for a teaching assistantship. Some programs require higher minimum scores (see program-specific requirements). Many of our programs also accept the Duolingo with a minimum score of 95.

English Language Proficiency Waiver Guidelines

The English Language Proficiency test can be waived for:

applicants with a baccalaureate or graduate degree earned in the United States or in countries* where English is an Official Language and the Language of Instruction in Higher Education
applicants with a baccalaureate or graduate degree earned from the American University in Beirut, American University in Bulgaria, American College of Greece, or Bogazici University in Turkey
applicants who can demonstrate that they have completed at least two academic semesters of full-time college/university study (excluding English as a Second Language instruction or test preparation) in the USA by the date of submission of the application for admission to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

* Countries: Australia, Belize, Botswana, Canada (except Quebec), Caribbean English-speaking countries, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom, Zambia, Zimbabwe.