English Language Proficiency

What Level of Proficiency is Required for Admission?

Part of the application process for international students at both the graduate and undergraduate level is documentation of their proficiency in the English language.

Minimum Requirements

All international applicants whose education has been primarily outside the United States of America must provide objective evidence of proficiency in the English language. However, the following exceptions apply:

1. Applicants primarily educated in the following countries/territories:

Anguilla	Guyana
Antigua & Barbuda	Ireland
Australia	Isle of Man
Bahamas	Jamaica
Barbados	Jersey
Belize	Liberia
British Virgin Islands	Montserrat
Canada (except Quebec)	New Zealand
Cayman Islands	St. Kitts & Nevis
Dominica	St. Lucia
Falkland Islands	St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Ghana	Trinidad & Tobago
Gibraltar	Turks & Caicos Islands
Grenada	United Kingdom
Guernsey	United States Territories

2. Applicants who have recently completed three years of full-time study at a secondary institution in the U.S. may be exempted from this requirement after supporting academic records have been reviewed by the Admissions Office.

3. Applicants who have recently completed two years of full-time study at a post-secondary institution in the U.S. may be exempted from this requirement after supporting academic records have been reviewed by the International Admissions Office.
 

Any request for a waiver of the English language proficiency requirement must be submitted in writing to the Admissions Office with any supporting documentation.

Kent State University reserves the right to require evidence of English language proficiency for all applicants, the adequacy of which shall be at the sole discretion of Kent State University.

All undergraduate applicants must obtain a minimum TOEFL score of 525 (71 on the Internet based version), minimum MELAB score of 77 or IELTS score of 6.0.

Applicants whose scores do not meet the above criteria may enroll in Kent State University's English as a Second Language program. Kent State’s English as a Second Language Center offers quality intensive English instruction that prepares students to succeed in an English-speaking academic environment.

Specific Graduate Program Requirements

All graduate applicants must obtain a minimum TOEFL score of 525 (71 on the Internet-based version) or a minimum MELAB score of 77 or IELTS score of 6.0 for full-time academic admission, with the following exceptions: 

General Graduate Program Exceptions to the Minimum English Proficiency Requirement
College/School	TOEFL (Paper-based)	TOEFL (Internet-based)	IELTS	MELAB	Pearson Test of English	Conditional Admission
College of Education, Health and Human Services	550	80 with no subscore below 20	6.5	80	N/A	Cultural Foundations Curriculum and Instruction Educational Administration Evaluation and Measurement Higher Education Administration Hospitality and Tourism Management Sport and Recreation Management
College of Communication & Information (PhD programs)	590 580 - Conditional	96 90 - Conditional	6.5	80	N/A
Graduate School of Management (College of Business Administration)	550 - Master's 600 - PhD	79 - Master's 100 - PhD	6.5 - Master's 7.0 - PhD	80 - Master's 88 - PhD	68 - PhD	N/A

Specific Graduate Program Exceptions to the Minimum English Proficiency Requirement
Program	TOEFL (Paper-based)	TOEFL (Internet-based)	IELTS	MELAB
Architecture	550	79	6.5	80
Biological Sciences	580	92	7.0	88
Communication Studies (MA program)	600 550 – conditional admission	100 79 –conditional admission	7.0 6.5 – conditional admission	88 80 – conditional admission
English	600	100	7.0	88
Journalism & Mass Communications	600	100	7.0	N/A
Library & Information Sciences	600 550 – conditional admission	100 79 –conditional admission	7.5 6.5 – conditional admission	88 80 – conditional admission
Nursing (MSN Program)	560	83	6.5	80
Nursing (PhD Program)	550 525 – conditional admission	79 71 – conditional admission	6.5 6.0 – conditional admission	80 77 – conditional admission
Philosophy	600	100	7.0	88
Physics	560	83	6.5	80
Political Science	550	79	6.5	80
Public Administration	550	79	6.5	80
Public Health	600	100	7.0	88
Teaching English as a Second Language	575	89	7.0	88
Translation (PhD level)	600	100	7.0	88

 

English as a Second Language (ESL) at Kent State

An English program is offered for the non-native speaker through Kent State’s English as a Second Language Center. The ESL intensive program is unique and individualized, offering well-designed courses tailored to each student’s linguistic and professional needs.