What IELTS score do you need for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville?

UT accepts TOEFL iBT (including the Home Edition, Paper Edition and MyBest), IELTS (including IELTS Online and the One Skill Retake) and Duolingo for graduate admission, reported electronically by the testing agency. The TOEFL code is 1843, and some programs set higher requirements than the Graduate School. See testing requirements.

You are exempt if English is an official language in your country of citizenship according to the Graduate School's list, which includes India, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines. You are also exempt if English was the primary language of instruction at the institution that awarded your degree, provided the transcript says so. See countries with English as an official language.

Applicants who are not US citizens or permanent residents submit TOEFL iBT 79 (4 from 21 January 2026), IELTS or IELTS Indicator 6.5, Duolingo 110, Cambridge C1 Advanced 180, PTE Academic 53, ACT English 21, SAT Reading and Writing 540 or ELS Level 112. Duolingo, Cambridge and PTE count for admission but not placement, so those students take ELI 110 or the English Placement Exam. Exceptions include citizenship of a country on the undergraduate list (India is not on it), attending an IB or Cambridge program, or an international school whose transcript confirms English-medium teaching. See international students and the official English language nations list.

Applicants who meet every requirement except English can be offered conditional admission and referred to the English Language Institute, paying a $50 conditional admission application fee. Conditionally admitted Tickle College of Engineering applicants must also submit math scores.

The US F-1 student visa sets no English test score of its own. What counts is the requirement the University of Tennessee 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 UT Knoxville Graduate School testing requirements page again before you book a test, and check your own program page, which can set a higher bar.