What IELTS score do you need for Vanderbilt University?

First-year applicants send official results of the TOEFL iBT (including the Home and Paper Editions), TOEFL Essentials, IELTS, Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency, LanguageCert or the Duolingo English Test. Recommended minimums are IELTS 7.0, TOEFL iBT 5, TOEFL Essentials 10.5, Cambridge 185, LanguageCert 75 and Duolingo 130. Results must come directly from the testing agency or a high school official, and Vanderbilt does not superscore them. See the first-year process.

You do not need a test if your first language or language of instruction is English, or if you score above 26 on ACT English or above 630 on SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing. Vanderbilt is test-optional for fall 2027 and 2028 entry, but proof of English is still required for international students. See testing policies.

The Graduate School accepts TOEFL, IELTS and the Duolingo English Test. TOEFL iBT 89 and Duolingo 130 are the minimum acceptable scores; for IELTS, the minimum varies by program, and in many cases at least 7.0 is desirable. Departments can require more. TOEFL and IELTS use code 1871; Duolingo needs no code. See application requirements.

You are exempt if you hold or are completing a Vanderbilt degree, a bachelor's done entirely in the US, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand or Canada (except Quebec), or a master's or doctorate from a country where English is the only official language. Native English speakers from India, Nigeria and Ghana are also named. If your whole bachelor's was taught in English in a country with several official languages including English, such as India, you can qualify by uploading a letter from the Registrar or Controller of Examinations, or mark sheets stating English as the medium. Department letters are not accepted, and work experience or time in the US does not count.

Some programs set higher bars. The MS in Data Science requires IELTS 7 with no section below 6.5, TOEFL 100 with no section below 21, or Duolingo 130. See Data Science admissions. Vanderbilt Law has no fixed LL.M. minimum but looks for TOEFL 100 or IELTS 7.5, and it also accepts Duolingo. See the LL.M. overview.

The US F-1 student visa sets no English test score of its own. What counts is the requirement Vanderbilt 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 Vanderbilt Graduate School application 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.