3341-3-78 Graduate Admissions – ESL Requirements

1. Policy Statement and Purpose

   This policy describes the English as a Second Language (ESL) requirements for graduate admissions.

2. Policy

   1. Required Standardized Language Proficiency Testing

      Valid Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Pearson English Language Test (PTE), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), English Language Services (ELS), or Duolingo English Test (DET) scores obtained within the last two years are required of all applying for admission whose first language is not English. For more information, see www.ets.org, www.pearsonpte.com, www.ielts.org, www.els.edu, and https://englishtest.duolingo.com/applicants.

      Official TOEFL, PTE, IELTS, ELS, or DET score report recommended minimums are: 80 TOEFL IBT; 53 PTE; 6.5 IELTS; 112 ELS; 110 DET.

      Applicants admitted with scores below these minimums are required to take ESOL classes within their first two semesters of enrollment. Detailed information about these requirements is available on the ESOL Program and Graduate College websites.

      Satisfactory completion of all required ESOL courses is mandatory for continued university funding and graduation. More information about the ESOL Program’s Testing and Courses is available at www.bgsu.edu/esol.

   2. Exemption

      Applicants are exempt from providing standardized language proficiency test scores if they are: US citizens; from a country whose population speaks English as its first language; or have a previous degree (associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate) from a US college/university or from a country in which instruction was delivered in English.

      A complete list of qualifying countries can be found at: www.bgsu.edu/graduate/admissions.

   3. International Teaching Assistants

      All graduate assistants who will serve in instructional capacities (teaching, tutoring, laboratory sections, etc.) who are not native speakers of English must demonstrate that they are orally proficient in the English language prior to working with students. Please see International Teaching Assistant Language Policy – Graduate.

Registered Date: September 28, 2022
Amended Date: February 27, 2025