What IELTS score do you need for Virginia Commonwealth University?

Graduate applicants who do not qualify for a waiver need TOEFL iBT 80 (tests on or before 20 January 2026) or 4.5 (tests from 21 January 2026), IELTS 6.5, PTE 65, Duolingo 110, or a score of 68 in VCU's English Language Program. Some graduate programs ask for higher scores. See the graduate international page.

The test is waived for a bachelor's or higher from a listed country, including Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, the UK and the US. India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh are not on the list, so their graduates need a test score.

If you cannot reach a test centre, a few programs will review an application without test scores for possible conditional admission: engineering (all programs except biomedical engineering), forensic science, history, the interior design MFA, and the mathematical sciences MS in operations research or statistics. That review does not guarantee an offer; for every other program, scores must accompany the application.

Undergraduate minimums are TOEFL iBT 70 (4.0 for tests from 21 January 2026), IELTS 6.0, PTE 53, Duolingo 105, SAT Reading and Writing 500, ACT English 16, Gaokao English 125/150, College English Test (CET-6) 500 or CBSE (final) English 80%. Students from Indian CBSE schools can therefore use their Class 12 English mark instead of a test if it reaches 80%. See the undergraduate international page.

Waivers also cover IB English A1 at grade 5 or higher, GCSE or O Level English language, graduation from an American high school abroad or an IB or A-level school with a C or better in English, high school completed in a listed English-speaking country, or six semester hours of college English composition with a C or better.

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