English Language Proficiency Test Scores (for international applicants)
Much of your success in graduate study in the United States will rest on your ability to understand, read, write, and speak English. If English is not your native language, evidence of proficiency in its use will be decisive in the review for admission.
The Duke University Graduate School requires that any applicant whose first language is not English submit scores from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the academic modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), regardless of whether or not you have attended another U.S. institution or participated in an ESL program. The TOEFL is administered through the Educational Testing Service. The TOEFL institution code number for Duke is 5156 (departmental code not needed). The IELTS is administered by Cambridge ESOL, British Council, and IDP:IELTS Australia. More information about the test is available at www.ielts.org. Your score must not be more than two years old, and an official copy must be sent to the Graduate School directly from the testing agency. Personal copies are not acceptable, nor are "attested" or notarized copies.
It is the policy of the Graduate School to admit only those students with a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper-based test) or 83 (internet-based test), or a minimum IELTS score of 7.0. In many departments a higher score may be required if the applicant is to succeed in the competition for limited new student openings.
NOTE: All international students whose first language is not English are required to take oral and written English placement exams administered by the English for International Students program. (These exams are independent of the TOEFL/IELTS score submission requirement.) Depending on their exam results, students are either exempted from or placed into one or more EIS courses. Students with EIS requirements must make satisfactory progress toward completing these requirements in their first year of study.