What IELTS score do you need for the University of Arkansas?

Arkansas states "No other measures" of English proficiency beyond its listed tests are accepted for admission. Besides IELTS, TOEFL, PTE and Duolingo it lists iTEP 3.9, C1 Advanced 176 and the Institutional TOEFL (only when taken through the university's Testing Services). Departments can set higher requirements.

After admission your writing subscore sets your English Language and Culture (ELAC) placement. Graduate students with IELTS Writing 6.0 or more need no extra course; Writing 5.5 means ELAC 51304 or 51404, and 5.0 or less means two ELAC courses in sequence, completed in the first year. Graduate assistants with direct student contact must also show spoken English, for example IELTS Speaking 7.0, even if exempt from the admission test.

The page says Duolingo is accepted for Walton College graduate certificates and master's programs but not for its PhD programs.

Applicants whose native language is English, from a listed country such as the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand or Canada, are exempt. Arkansas states that a degree from a country that lists English as an official language of instruction, "such as India, Pakistan, Philippines", does not exempt you. Graduate applicants with a bachelor's or master's from an accredited US institution, or from a native-English country, are exempt, and WASSCE, GCSE, IGCSE or IB with at least a B can count with the Graduate Dean's approval. Undergraduates who passed English Composition I and II at a US institution with a C or better are exempt.

You can apply for conditional admission and study in the Intensive English Program first; no English test score is required for this route. It is not available for Walton College of Business graduate programs or fully online programs, which need an admissible score.

The US F-1 student visa sets no English test score of its own. What counts is the requirement the University of Arkansas 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 University of Arkansas English Language Proficiency page again before you book a test, and check your own program page, which can set a higher bar. To see where you stand now, take a timed IELTS mock test.