What IELTS score do you need for Duke University?

If your first language is not English, you submit TOEFL, IELTS Academic or Duolingo with subscores; Duolingo reports without subscores are not accepted. The Duolingo recipient listed covers the Graduate School, Divinity, Engineering, Environment, Public Policy and Duke Kunshan. Scores must be dated no earlier than 1 August two years before the application year; for Fall 2027 that means 1 August 2024 or later.

The waiver needs two or more years of full-time study at a college where English is the sole language of instruction and in a country where English is the primary spoken language. Duke publishes no country list and does not say whether India qualifies. Waivers are not reviewed before an offer. Every admitted non-native speaker takes English Language Support Program placement exams, even with a waiver. See the Graduate School page.

Duke recommends but does not require an English test for non-native speakers or students not in an English-medium curriculum, and has no preference among tests. Expected minimums are Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency 180, Duolingo 130, IELTS 7, PTE Academic 70 and TOEFL 100 (75 on the revised paper test). Duke suggests sending Duolingo officially; other scores can be self-reported. See Duke apply.

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