English Proficiency

Full English proficiency is not a requirement of KU admission. You may be fully admitted to your undergraduate program regardless of proficiency, but may be required to take English coursework prior to, or concurrent with, your degree program courses. You must submit a test score (or other proof of proficiency) at the time of application. Scores must be less than two years old.

If you meet any of these minimum test scores, you may enroll in full-time degree coursework:

Minimum test scores required for full-time degree coursework.
Test typeMinimum Score
TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition79 (18 minimum subscore)
TOEFL paper-delivered test60 (18 minimum subscore)
IELTS Academic6.5 (6.0 minimum subscore)
PTE Academic53
SAT Evidence-Based Reading & Writing590
ACT English + Reading48
AP EnglishGrade 4
AS and A level English Languages ExamsGrade of B on both exams

Students who do not meet one of the scores above must take KU’s AEC Proficiency Test. Students who pass this online test may enroll in full-time degree coursework. Students who do not will enroll at the Applied English Center. This chart estimates the extent of enrollment that may be required.

You may submit new scores or transcripts until the time you complete the AEC test. Once you have taken the AEC test, you must use that score. Late arrivals will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Students with limited access to testing may complete the Duolingo English Test online and share their scores with KU through the Duolingo system to provide a test score for admission. Students who submit scores through Duolingo will still need to take the AEC test.

Exceptions

You do not have to prove English proficiency if any of the following is true: 

  • You are a native speaker of English.
  • You have taken four years of college preparatory English and graduated from high school with a 2.5+ GPA in one of these qualifying English exemption regions: United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, an English-speaking province of Canada, an English-speaking Caribbean country, an English-speaking African country, or any U.S.-accredited school.
  • You have earned a B or better in College English Composition 1 and 2 and earned 24 or more credit hours toward a degree at an institution in a qualifying region listed above.
  • You have completed the full IB diploma program with an English HL of 5 or higher.
  • You have earned an associate's degree with a 2.5+ GPA from a U.S.-accredited post-secondary college.