What IELTS score do you need for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo?

Cal Poly requires the TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo from all applicants whose native language is not English, and some individual graduate programs require higher scores. Each program has its own selection criteria, so check your program or its Faculty Graduate Coordinator; see graduate selection criteria. TOEFL scores go to institution code 4038. Conditional admission is not stated by Cal Poly.

Graduate applicants with an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education get an automatic waiver. Citizens of listed countries, including Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, are also waived automatically. India is not on the list. Other waiver requests go on the graduate form with official transcripts and are reviewed individually as an appeal, with a decision letter within three weeks. See English exam requirements.

First-year and transfer applicants need the same IELTS 6.5, TOEFL 4.5 (80 before 21 January 2026) or Duolingo 115. Undergraduates may be eligible for a waiver after at least three years at an institution whose language of instruction is English; transfer applicants must also have completed General Education Area A (English Composition, Critical Thinking and Public Speaking) with a B or higher. Cal Poly does not name India. See English exam requirements.

The US F-1 student visa sets no English test score of its own. What counts is the requirement Cal Poly sets for admission, which leads to your Form I-20. For the wider picture of studying in the US with each test, see IELTS for the USA and PTE for the USA.

Requirements change between admission cycles. Check the Cal Poly English exam requirements page again before you book a test, and check your own program page, which can set a higher bar.