Undergraduate Students
International undergraduate students whose TOEFL iBT total overall score is 103 or above, AND with TOEFL sub-scores of at least 27 in writing and 23 in speaking, are exempt from taking the written EPT. (NOTE: TOEFL My Best scores are NOT considered.)
International undergraduate students whose IELTS overall score is 7.5 or above, AND with IELTS sub-scores of at least 7 in writing and 6.5 in speaking, are exempt from taking the written EPT.
International undergraduate students starting in 2023-2024 whose Duolingo English Test (DET) overall score is 135 or above, AND with sub-scores of at least 135 in Production and 115 in Literacy, are exempt from taking the written EPT (but MUST take the Oral EPT)
NOTE: For incoming students, you do not have to take the written EPT if you have transferred credit for RHET 105, completed a full four years of U.S. high school, or if you have fulfilled your Composition I requirement via any of the following criteria:
- Transferred course credit from another post-secondary institution that fulfills the ‘Composition I' requirement
- ACT English score of 34 or higher
- SAT EBRW score of 720 or higher
- AP English Language and Composition score of 4 or 5
- AP English Literature and Composition score of 4 or 5
- IB English A: Literature, Higher Level score of 6 or 7
- IB English A: Literature, Standard Level score of 6 or 7
- IB English A: Language and Literature, Higher Level score of 6 or 7
- IB English A: Language and Literature, Standard Level score of 6 or 7
- IB English A: Literature and Performance, Standard Level score of 6 or 7
(Please note, if you meet any of these criteria above, the scores must have been received by UIUC and processed into RHET 105 credit so that it is reflected in your academic record before you may be exempt from the written EPT)
Oral English Placement Test
If you are an international undergraduate student and have not submitted any TOEFL or IELTS scores you are required to also take the Oral EPT. Students who meet exemption criteria for the Written EPT or have submitted DET scores only, but have not submitted TOEFL or IELTS scores, MUST take the Oral EPT.
Updating Scores
If you need to update your TOEFL or IELTS scores to fulfill any part of the English proficiency requirement, please have official scores sent by the testing agencies to UIUC before your are expected to need an EPT score.
TOEFL: https://www.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/scores/send-scores.html
IELTS: https://www.ielts.org/for-test-takers/results
Note: EPT scores are final. We do not use updated scores to remove EPT scores. Updated scores are only used to provide exemption for incoming students.
Graduate Students
Written English Placement Test
International graduate students whose total TOEFL scores are below 103 (TOEFL iBT), total IELTS scores are below 7.5, or Duolingo English Test (DET) total scores are below 135, are required to take the written EPT. (NOTE: TOEFL My Best scores are NOT considered.)
Further details about TOEFL / IELTS / DET (temporarily acceptable) requirements are given at the following websites: English Proficiency Requirements for Graduate Admissions
If you are a visiting scholar, faculty or staff, you should contact the ESL program (eslprogram@illinois.edu) for ESL 592/3 (formerly ESL502/3) and should not register for the EPT.
Graduate courses have been renumbered. Please check the changes in Interpreting EPT scores.
Oral English Placement Test
If you are a graduate student and you have submitted TOEFL scores with a speaking score of 18 or lower, or IELTS scores with a speaking score of 6.0 or lower, (or you have submitted only Duolingo test result) then you will be required to take the oral EPT.
Note: The EPT does not assess or in any way affect the qualification of graduate student International Teaching Assistants (ITAs). For information about English language assessment requirements of ITAs, please visit the Oral English Assessment Interview.
Updating Scores
If you need to update your TOEFL or IELTS scores to fulfill any part of the English proficiency requirement, please have official scores sent by the testing agencies to UIUC before your are expected to need an EPT score.
TOEFL: https://www.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/scores/send-scores.html
IELTS: https://www.ielts.org/for-test-takers/results
Note: EPT scores are final. We do not use updated scores to remove EPT scores. Updated scores are only used to provide exemption for incoming students.