What IELTS score do you need for Carnegie Mellon University?

SCS accepts TOEFL (preferred), IELTS or Duolingo and publishes no minimum, only the ranges most admits submitted. It issues no waivers for non-native speakers: not for study in the US, and not for English-medium study elsewhere, and Medium of Instruction certificates are not accepted. Scores must be under two years old, or up to five if you hold or are completing a US degree. See SCS admissions.

ECE requires TOEFL 86, IELTS 7 or Duolingo 115 with the section minimums in the table, from a single test date. It waives the test only for US graduates, CMU students and alumni, and UK or Canadian citizens. Heinz requires IELTS 6.5 and recommends 7 in every band; its exemption list for five years of work or study abroad does not include India, and it will not issue an I-20 below its minimums. See ECE and Heinz.

Non-native speakers submit TOEFL, IELTS (or IELTS Online), Duolingo or Cambridge. CMU requires IELTS 7.5 overall and gives consideration to subscores of 7.5 and above; TOEFL 102 before 21 January 2026 or 5 after it; Duolingo 135; TOEFL Essentials 11; or Cambridge 191. TOEFL MyBest scores are not used. Scores should be no more than two years old. See international applicants.

The US F-1 student visa sets no English test score of its own. What counts is the requirement Carnegie Mellon 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 CMU School of Computer Science graduate admissions page again before you book a test, and check your own program page, which can set a higher bar.