What IELTS score do you need for Cal State LA?

Official scores must come from the testing agency: TOEFL to code 4399, IELTS electronically to Cal State Apply, PTE to California State University, Los Angeles, and Duolingo through your Duolingo account. The MS in Electrical Engineering repeats TOEFL 80 iBT and points to the university page for IELTS and Duolingo. Conditional admission for English is not stated by Cal State LA.

The English proficiency page waives the test for a bachelor's or higher from a country where English is the main or only language used in schools, such as Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore or the UK; India is not on it. The international graduate page words it as a bachelor's not earned at an institution where English is the only language of instruction, so ask Admissions before relying on an English-medium Indian degree.

Undergraduates need TOEFL 61 (or 3.5 for tests from 21 January 2026), IELTS 5.5, PTE 44 or Duolingo 95. First-year and lower-division transfer applicants are waived after three or more years of high school taught in English in the US or a listed country; upper-division transfers after 60 transferable semester units in English, including English composition and oral communication with a C or better. See English Language Proficiency.

The US F-1 student visa sets no English test score of its own. What counts is the requirement Cal State LA 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 State LA English Language Proficiency page again before you book a test, and check your own program page, which can set a higher bar.