What Duolingo score do you need for UC Merced?

The undergraduate page asks applicants to arrange an official score report from the testing agency to the Office of Admissions, and says language results must arrive no later than January for a fall application.

Graduate Division says Duolingo scores expire two years after the test date. A Speaking subscore below 150 may be accepted in special circumstances if the overall score stays at 120 or more. Applicants are not admitted without an acceptable score.

Graduate students from countries where English is not the main language must pass an approved oral English examination before appointment as a Teaching Assistant or Teaching Associate. An admission waiver or a lower Speaking score does not exempt you from it.

For comparison, the same pages set IELTS at 6.5 for undergraduates and 6.5 overall with Speaking 8 for graduate study.

Undergraduates with mixed records can also meet the requirement through ACT, SAT, AP or IB English results listed on the undergraduate page. Transfer students can meet it with a UC-transferable English composition course at grade C or better from an accredited US college.

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