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

All international students submit TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo. The TOEFL minimum is 90 with 22 speaking, 22 writing, 23 reading and 23 listening before 21 January 2026, or 4.5 overall with 4, 4.5, 4.5 and 5 after. IELTS is 7.0 in each section, and Duolingo is 130 overall with 125 speaking, 130 writing, 130 reading and 125 listening. The test date must fall within two years of the application deadline, and applications below these minimums are still considered. TOEFL goes to code B875. See GSAS requirements.

The test is waived automatically if your undergraduate degree was earned entirely at an institution where English is the primary language of instruction; upload a transcript or language certificate. Others can submit alternative evidence, such as expired scores, an English-medium master's transcript or a thesis. Enrolling students without an English-medium undergraduate degree take UVA's English Language Proficiency Exam (UVELPE) in May.

UVA Engineering requires TOEFL iBT 90 with 20 in each section (4.5 after 21 January 2026, with 4 in speaking, writing and reading and 4.5 in listening), IELTS 6.5 in each section or Duolingo 120. US permanent residents and anyone whose bachelor's was entirely at an English-medium institution, including outside the US, are exempt. See Engineering graduate admission.

The School of Data Science requires IELTS 7.0 overall (6.5 speaking and writing, 7.0 reading and listening), TOEFL 100 (5 on the new scale) or Duolingo 130, and waives the test only if your undergraduate degree was taught in English, not for an English-medium graduate degree or for citizenship. See MSDS admissions. McIntire's MS in Business Analytics requires IELTS 7.5 or TOEFL 100 (5.5 on the new scale) from anyone with a non-US undergraduate degree whose native language is not English; only a US degree with two years in residence exempts you. See MSBA international applicants.

UVA strongly encourages every applicant whose first language is not English to take an English assessment, whatever their school. It considers TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency and the Duolingo English Test, and no minimum is published. An InitialView or Vericant evaluation can also be submitted. See international applicants.

The US F-1 student visa sets no English test score of its own. What counts is the requirement the University of Virginia 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 UVA Graduate School of Arts and Sciences requirements 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.