English Language Proficiency Requirements
All international students are expected to demonstrate English language proficiency before entering an undergraduate or graduate program. Regarding the graduate programs, these requirements are subject to each program’s individual requirements. Some graduate programs request writing samples, etc. in addition to any test score.
*Students who graduate from the Center for English Language Program (CELE), which is NU’s ESL program, can waive the English language proficiency requirement for either an undergraduate or graduate program.*
Undergraduate Program Requirements
- Complete high school or an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree in the United States
- Complete English 101 with a C or better
- TOEFL iBT 80+
- IELTS average band score of 6.5+ with a minimum of 6.0 in each category
- SAT 450 in critical reading/writing or ACT 18 in writing
- Certain Cambridge IGCSE, A levels, and O levels
Graduate Program Requirements
- Complete high school or an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree in the United States
- Complete English 101 with a C or better
- TOEFL iBT 90+ (PhD/EdD in Organizational Leadership is a TOEFL 100+)
- IELTS average band score of 7.0+
Students from Countries with English as the Lingua Franca
If the student does not have citizenship in a native English speaking country (USA, Canada, UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand), then they will need to demonstrate English proficiency. Even students who grew up in countries with English as the lingua franca, such as Nigeria or Uganda, will still need to demonstrate English language proficiency. This applies even if the student’s primary, secondary, and even tertiary education was done in English.
U.S. Citizens and U.S. Green Card Holders Not Born in the USA
Sometimes U.S. Citizens and Green Card Holders were not born in the USA (or a native-speaking English country) and have not done high school in the USA. Sometimes these students have bachelor degrees from their home countries and may want to enroll in a graduate program. Even in this situation, the student still needs to demonstrate English language proficiency through one of the above requirements. This may be surprising because students in this category often speak fluent English. The best solution would be for them to complete a TOEFL test or to complete the CELE program.