What IELTS score do you need for Oxford?

Each graduate course page says whether it needs the standard or the higher level. Oxford's graduate English language proficiency guide accepts only IELTS Academic (either version), TOEFL iBT, Cambridge C1/C2 and the Oxford Test of English Advanced. PTE Academic does not appear. Your test must have been taken within two years of the course start date.

Oxford accepts IELTS Academic and IELTS Academic for UKVI equally, but not IELTS Online or General Training. Required scores must come from one test, not One Skill Retake. TOEFL tests taken from 21 January 2026 are not accepted while Oxford reviews the new format.

Graduate offer holders who narrowly miss can meet the condition through Oxford's six-week online pre-sessional course. You qualify if your result is no more than 0.5 below the overall and no more than 1.0 below in any component. That works out at IELTS 6.5 (6.0 per component) for standard-level courses and 7.0 (6.5) for higher-level courses.

For undergraduates, Oxford vouches for your English on your CAS once you meet its requirement. Its page says the test does not need to be on the Home Office SELT list, because that list applies only below degree level.

Requirements vary by programme and change between admissions cycles. The score that binds you is the one on your Oxford programme page and in your offer letter, so check it there before you book a test.