What IELTS score do you need for UC Santa Cruz?

The 4.5 TOEFL bar applies to Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics, Chemistry and Biochemistry, CB3, Computational Media, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Natural Language Processing and Statistical Sciences; the pre-2026 list at 89 also includes Applied Mathematics. IELTS Academic is accepted in person or online, and scores must be reported electronically. UCSC's page covers only the TOEFL and the IELTS. Teaching assistants need TOEFL Speaking 5.0 (26 before 2026) or IELTS Speaking 8. Conditional admission is not stated.

Applicants who completed a four-year bachelor's degree at an English-speaking institution may request a waiver in the English Proficiency section of the application, but UCSC issues waivers only to admitted applicants. India is not named. UCSC adds that three-year Indian degrees also need a postgraduate diploma, a PGDM or a master's, and admitted Indian graduates send a WES ICAP evaluation. See the test score requirements and international information.

UC Santa Cruz undergraduates follow the University of California's systemwide rule. First-years who completed all secondary school where English is not the language of instruction show proficiency by December of their final year with IELTS 6.5, TOEFL iBT 4.5 (80 before January 2026), Duolingo 115, ACT English Language Arts 24, SAT Writing and Language 31, AP or IB English, or a C in a UC-transferable English composition course. PTE is not on the list. UC does not accept IELTS One Skill Retake or TOEFL MyBest, a campus may require a higher score, and scores must still be valid when you send them after admission. See UC English language proficiency.

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