What IELTS score do you need for Ohio State University?

Ohio State requires official TOEFL, Duolingo or IELTS Academic scores, valid for two years. TOEFL Home Edition and IELTS Online count, but TOEFL MyBest and IELTS One Skill Retake do not. Some programs accept only IELTS and TOEFL, and Duolingo cannot exempt you from the English placement test or the oral test for teaching associates.

Exemption is for citizens or bachelor's graduates of listed countries, such as Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Singapore or the UK, and for those with US permanent resident, asylee or refugee status for over a year. India is not listed. Ohio State says courses taught in English do not exempt you, and it is not granting waivers or petitions for unlisted countries. See requirements to apply.

First-year applicants meet the requirement with TOEFL 79 (4.0 from 21 January 2026), IELTS or IELTS Indicator 6.5, Duolingo 120, ACT English 21 or SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 550, or by citizenship of or a bachelor's from a listed location; India is not among them. Ohio State does not offer conditional admission to students who enrol in its American Language Program. See international first-year.

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