What IELTS score do you need for Sacramento State?

Graduate applicants need TOEFL 4.0 (after 21 January 2026) or 80 iBT (before), IELTS 6.5, PTE Academic 65 or Duolingo 115; TOEFL MyBest scores are not accepted. TESOL and English MA applicants should ask International Admissions, as requirements vary. The catalog adds that Audiology, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, English, Public Policy and Administration, and TESOL require higher scores, so check those program pages. See graduate admission.

Graduate standing needs a degree requiring at least 16 years of prior education. If you hold a 3-year foreign degree, a WES, ECE or ACEI evaluation is recommended, and the MS in Computer Science and its Software Engineering option require one from every applicant with coursework outside the US. See the Sacramento State catalog.

No test is needed if you graduated from an accredited US high school or four-year US college where English is the primary language, or if you come from a country on Sacramento State's waiver list, which includes Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Singapore, the Philippines, the UK and Canada (except Quebec). The university reads "where English is the principal language of instruction" as a school in a country where English is the everyday language of most residents and where teaching is in English at all levels. India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh are not on its list, so an English-medium degree or Class 12 from those countries does not by itself remove the test.

Undergraduates need TOEFL 3.5 or 64 iBT, IELTS 6.0, Duolingo 95, PTE 50, GTEC 1125, ELS level 112, FLS level 16 or level 7 of Sacramento State's English Language Institute. Transfer students can also use a CSU 1A English course at B or better. See undergraduate admission.

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