English Proficiency

All applicants for whom English is not a primary language may be required to submit a TOEFL or IELTS score in order to complete their application. Additionally, some students may be invited to participate in the University of Chicago’s Academic English Pre-Matriculation Program that takes place in the summer before the start of the Autumn Quarter.

TOEFL

Applicants submitting a TOEFL score must meet the following requirements: 

• Total score must be 104 or higher.
• Sub-scores must be 26 or higher.
• Scores must be less than two years old.
• Scores must be sent to the University of Chicago, institutional code 1832.

Applicants submitting an IELTS score must meet the following requirements: 

• Total score must by 7 or higher.
• Sub-scores must be 7 or higher.
• Score must be less than two years old.
• Scores should be sent to the following IELTS e-download account:

University of Chicago ‒ Graduate Enrollment

970 East 58th Street, Third Floor

Chicago, IL 60637

Waivers

You may receive a waiver to avoid submitting TOEFL or IELTS scores if English has been a primary language of communication and schooling for you since childhood or if you were enrolled for at least one academic year in full-time status in a course of study at an accredited English-medium post-secondary institution in one of the following countries or territories within the past ten years: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, the United States.

Please note that education in English-medium institutions in other countries or territories does not qualify an applicant for the exemption.

High school or secondary school study of English does not qualify an applicant for the exemption, nor does a part-time or research-based program that did not involve full-time coursework in English.

Some applicants may be admitted conditionally if they attend the University of Chicago’s Academic English Pre-Matriculation Program (AEPP). There is no separate application for the AEPP.

The Division of the Humanities provides a resource page with additional information for international students about University of Chicago programs and offices, housing resources, and general assistance. Please feel free to contact the Divisional staff by email at humanitiesadmissions@uchicago.edu with any further questions.

For more information, see the Admissions website of the Division of the Humanities.