What IELTS score do you need for Yale?

If you are a non-native English speaker without two or more years of enrollment in an English-medium school, you must submit an English proficiency test in addition to the SAT or ACT; an English test does not replace them. Yale lists TOEFL iBT (at home or at a test center), IELTS, Cambridge English (C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency or B2 First, 185+) and Duolingo. Yale also mentions InitialView, an unscored video interview.

The figures are what Yale's "most competitive applicants" typically earn, not published cut-offs. PTE is not among the tests Yale lists, and whether IELTS Online is accepted is not stated by Yale College. See Yale Admissions.

GSAS requires TOEFL or IELTS from almost all applicants whose native language is not English. You are exempt if your undergraduate degree is from an institution where English is the primary language of instruction and you studied there in residence for at least three years; an advanced degree does not exempt you. Only IELTS Academic sent by e-delivery is accepted: not General Training, IELTS Online or One Skill Retake. MyBest scores are not accepted, and the TOEFL Special Home Edition is accepted only if no other option is available.

GSAS states no minimum score for admission. Incoming doctoral students below the Speaking score needed to teach (IELTS 8.0, TOEFL 5.5, or 26 for tests before 21 January 2026) join a summer English program in August. How old scores may be is not stated by Yale GSAS. See the GSAS test FAQs.

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