ENGLISH PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT FOR ADMISSION

• All applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit the results of the TOEFL or IELTS as evidence of English proficiency.
• Official scores are required to be submitted directly from TOEFL/ETS or IELTS (please see instructions below for Submitting Official Scores regarding our institution code and program number).
• TOEFL or IELTS scores must be less than two years old from the first day of class at the proposed term of entry in order to be valid.

The following chart provides minimum score requirements for admission:

*If the scores on the TOEFL or IELTS are acceptable, but indicate the need for further English study, an English as a Second Language Placement Test (EPT) will be required upon arrival at the University. On the basis of the ESL EPT results, applicants are generally required to enroll in non-credit "English as a Second Language" courses and take a reduced academic load beginning the first semester at the University.

**Students applying to online programs must satisfy the full status admissions requirement.

TEST INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR REQUESTING OFFICIAL SCORES

• TOEFL (TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
  • Website: www.toefl.org
  • TOEFL Services at Educational Testing Service (ETS):
  • Requesting Official Scores: Applicants who have already taken the TOEFL should request the Educational Testing Service send scores to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign using our institution code number 1836.
• IELTS (INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING SYSTEM)
  • IELTS is jointly owned by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL), British Council and IDP Education Australia: IELTS Australia.
  • Website: www.ielts.org
  • Requesting Official Scores: Applicants who have already taken the IELTS should upload their score report forms directly to the online application.

EXEMPTIONS

• Graduate applicants may be exempt from providing a TOEFL or IELTS score if one of the following criteria is met:
  • Completion of at least two years of post-secondary full-time study, as defined by the home institution, in a country where English is the primary language and at an institution where English is the primary medium of instruction, within five years of the proposed term of initial enrollment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • Completion of at least two years of professional work experience in a country where English is the primary language within five years of the proposed term of initial enrollment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • Completion of a post-secondary degree in a country where English is the primary language and at an institution where English is the primary language of instruction, within five years of the proposed term of initial enrollment.

IMPORTANT: Please note that this exemption is for admission purposes only. This may not necessarily provide an exemption for international teaching assistants.

Please click here  for a list of countries that qualify for an exemption from the admissions requirement.

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW FOR INTERNATIONAL TEACHING ASSISTANTS (ITAs)

The University requires a high level of English proficiency for everyone involved in teaching. In order to ensure that ITAs (International Teaching Assistants) have a successful teaching experience, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign policy requires the following: International and non-native English-speaking graduate students at the University of Illinois must demonstrate oral English proficiency prior to being appointed as classroom instructors. This includes TA appointments for face-to-face classes, blended and online instruction, accompanying/coaching, and office hours.

This campus policy was initiated in response to Illinois state law and applies to all prospective international and non-native English-speaking teaching assistants regardless of country of origin, nationality, or the language of instruction in any high school, undergraduate, or graduate degree program they may have previously completed.

Please note that requirements regarding English proficiency for teaching  are different from requirements for admission to the Graduate College.

Exemptions:

A student qualifies for an exemption from demonstrating oral English proficiency for teaching if one of the following criteria is met:

• The student is a native speaker of English from Australia, Anglophone Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, or the US.
• The student has continuously attended English-medium schools since age 13 in any of the previous six countries.
• The student’s appointment requires grading duties only: Teaching Assistants hired as Graders are exempt from demonstrating oral English proficiency if they have no oral interaction with students. Graders who have oral interactions with students (e.g., through office hours) must demonstrate oral English proficiency.

Graduate students are encouraged to fulfill the oral English proficiency requirement for teaching prior to arriving on campus by obtaining a qualifying speaking score on the TOEFL or IELTS. Scores are valid if received within two years of the first day of enrollment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

As a service to the campus community, CITL offers the campus-based English Proficiency Interview (EPI) as another means by which prospective TAs can demonstrate oral proficiency in English and fulfill campus policy and Illinois state law.

The following chart provides score requirements for international and non-native speakers of English to be considered for teaching assistantships:

*A score of 4CP is a “conditional pass” which allows the student to be a TA provided he or she successfully completes ESL 508 during or before the first semester of teaching.

For more information about the EPI, please see: Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning EPI Guide

ENGLISH PLACEMENT TEST (EPT)

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign English Placement Test (EPT) is used to assess English ability of newly admitted international students as validated against the English language demands of our campus. Many newly admitted University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign international students are required to take the EPT according to their pre-arrival scores on either of two international ESL tests: the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). International graduate students whose total TOEFL scores are 102 (TOEFL iBT) or below (*total IELTS score of 7.0 or below) are required to take the EPT.

The EPT consists of two parts: a written test and an oral test. The writing test requires students to produce an academic essay based on the information obtained from a reading passage and a short lecture. In the oral test, students are given a topic on which to speak for three minutes. If students speak intelligibly, they will be exempted from further oral testing. Otherwise, students will be required to take another oral exam.

All students are strongly recommended to take the EPT well before classes begin, and if possible, at least two full business days before meeting with their advisor(s) to do final course selection.

Students will be placed into or exempted from the general oral or written ESL service courses based on the results of the test.

For more information about the EPT offered through the Department of Linguistics, please see: EPT Information for Graduate Students, Visiting Scholars, Faculty, and Staff