English Language Proficiency Requirements

Listed below are the English language proficiency requirements for entry for international and domestic applicants to academic programs at the University of Sydney.

The Australian Government requires applicants from certain countries to achieve a minimum IELTS score in order to issue a student visa. For more information, contact your nearest Australian Embassy, High Commission or visit the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website (www.immi.gov.au).

Undergraduate Applicants (including combined programs)

Applicants must provide evidence of English language proficiency through one of the following methods:

1.  Minimum proficiency test results as outlined in Table 1 below. English language test scores must be less than 2 years old at the date of course commencement at the University of Sydney.**

English Language Proficiency Requirements for Undergraduate Courses (Table 1)

Faculty  Degree Program  IELTS Paper-based TOEFL Internet-based TOEFL (IBT) Overall Section 

minimum+

Overall

Test of 

Written 

English  Overall

Writing 

section 

All other 

sections+

All  Standard requirement  6.5  6  577  4.5  90  23  22

Higher requirements apply to the following undergraduate programs:

Architecture, 

Design and 

Planning

All programs (including combined 

Architecture programs except courses 

combined with Law)

7  6  600  4.5  100  23  22

Arts and 

Social 

Sciences

Bachelor of Arts (Media and 

Communications)

7.5  7  637  5  110  25  24

Bachelor of Economics  7  6  600  4.5  100  23  22

Business  All programs except Combined 

Engineering, Law and Medicine

7  6  600  4.5  100  23  22

Education 

and Social 

Work

Bachelor of Education and all 

combined Education degrees

7.5  7-R,W

8-S, L

637  5  110  25  27-L,S

24- R

Health 

Sciences

Bachelor of Health Sciences

Bachelor of Applied Science 

(Speech Pathology)

7  7  600  5  100  25  24

Bachelor of Applied Science 

(Exercise and Sports Science) &

Master of Nutrition and Dietetics

Bachelor of Applied Science 

(Exercise Physiology)

7.0  6.5  600  5  100  24  23

Law  All combined Law degrees  7.5  7  637  5  110  25  24

Nursing   All programs including combined

Nursing degrees

7  7  600  5  100  25  24

Science  Bachelor of Science & Master of 

Nutrition and Dietetics

7.0  6.5  600  5  100  24  23

Veterinary 

Science

Bachelor of Veterinary Science  7  7  600  5  100  25  24

+IELTS and IBT Sections are: L-Listening, R-Reading, S-Speaking, W-Writing

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2.  You have completed the International Baccalaureate provided you have met one of the following criteria: 

-  Completion of English A1 at Higher or Standard Level; 

-  Completion of English A2 at Higher or Standard Level; 

-  Completion of English B at Higher Level with a Grade of 4 or more; 

-  Completion of English B at Standard Level with a Grade of 5 or more

3.  You have completed at least one year of full time university study in an English speaking country or in a 

tertiary institution where the language of instruction (i.e. teaching, assessment and examination) was in 

English.**

4.  You have completed a qualification accepted by the University as proof of your proficiency in English as 

specified in Table 2 below:

Table 2

Country/Qualification   Standard 

American Samoa   Completion of  accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English 

Australia   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English

Canada   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English

Denmark Studentereksamen   A grade of 8 or better for English A 

A grade of 10 or better for English B, level B

Fiji   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English

Finland Upper Secondary School Certificate   A grade of 8 or better in English or English A language 

GCE Ordinary Level (Malaysia, Singapore, 

United Kingdom) 

B pass or better in the subject English

Germany Abitur   A grade of 3 or better in Advanced Level English (LF) 

Hong Kong A Levels   B pass in Use of English 

Ireland   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English

Kenya  Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English

Malaysia STPM   C pass in 920 English or B pass in 914 English 

Netherlands VWO   A grade of 8 or better for level 6 High School English 

New Zealand   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English

Norway Vitnemal   A grade of 4 or better for upper secondary school English 

Papua New Guinea   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English 

Singapore   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English 

Solomon Islands   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English 

South Africa   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English 

Sweden Avgangsbetyg/Slutbetyg   A grade of VG or better in Upper Secondary School English 

United Kingdom   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English 

United States of America   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English 

Zambia   Completion of accepted senior secondary/tertiary studies in English 

** NOTE - For students from those countries (assessment levels 3 and 4) who are required by the Commonwealth 

Government to provide IELTS or TOEFL results for a student visa, and who do not have a record of satisfactory 

achievement in secondary/tertiary studies in an English-speaking country, this test result will be the primary 

assessment tool used for determining admission. 

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Postgraduate Applicants

Applicants for whom English is not their first language must provide evidence of minimum English language 

proficiency through one of the following methods:

1.  Applicants who can provide evidence of satisfactory achievement in tertiary studies* in which the language of the institution and of instruction, examination and assessment was English, may not be required to provide further evidence of English proficiency. Satisfactory achievement is determined by each faculty in accordance with the discipline concerned and their English test standards. The tertiary studies must have been undertaken no more than 5 years prior to the date of application for admission to the University of Sydney. 
*Please refer to specific definitions of a satisfactory tertiary record for some faculties as given below:

For courses in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the faculty has defined 'satisfactory achievement' as follows: To meet the requirements of 'satisfactory achievement', applicants must present evidence of one year full-time university study in which the language of the institution was English and the language of instruction, examination and assessment was English. To be 

'satisfactory' the applicant must have a credit average if this qualification was not used to gain admission. In countries where English is not the official language, students will be required to provide a statement from the Registrar/Academic Affairs office or equivalent confirming English as the language of the institution and the language of instruction, examination and assessment For courses in the Business School, the faculty has defined ‘satisfactory achievement as follows: To meet the requirements of ‘satisfactory achievement’, applicants must present evidence of one year full-time university study in which the language of the institution was English and the language of instruction, examination and assessment was English. To be ‘satisfactory’ the applicant must have a credit average if this qualification was not used to gain admission. The study must have been undertaken at a recognized institution. Where a university has two official languages, one being English, proof must be received from the Registrar/Academic Affairs Office or equivalent that the applicant’s entire course was conducted in English.For courses at  Sydney College of the Arts, the faculty has defined ‘satisfactory achievement as follows: To meet the requirements of ‘satisfactory achievement’, applicants must present evidence of one year full-time university study in which the language of the institution was English and the language of instruction, examination and assessment was English. To be 

‘satisfactory’ the applicant must have a pass average if this qualification was not used to gain admission. The study must have been undertaken at a recognized institution. Where a university has two official languages, one being English, proof must be received from the Registrar/Academic Affairs Office or equivalent that the applicant’s entire course was conducted in English.

2.  English proficiency test results as outlined in Table 1 below. English language test scores must be less than 2 years old at the date you apply to the University of Sydney.
English Language Proficiency Requirements for Postgraduate Courses (Table 3)

Faculty  Degree Program  IELTS

Paper-based 

TOEFL 

Internet-based 

TOEFL (IBT)

Overall

Section 

minimum+  Overall

Test of 

Written 

English  Overall

Writing 

section 

All other 

sections+

All  Standard requirement  6.5  6  577  4.5  90  23  22

Different requirements apply for the following postgraduate programs:

Architecture, 

Design and 

Planning

All programs   7  6  600  4.5  100  23  22

Arts and 

Social 

Sciences

Masters, Graduate Diploma and 

Graduate Certificate programs in:

Art Curatorship

Crosscultural Communication

Economics

Health Communication

Human Rights**

International Security

International Studies

Media Practice

Museum Studies

Political Economy

Professional Communication

Public Policy

Publishing

Strategic Public Relations

7  6  600  4.5  100  23  22

All coursework programs in 

Translation Studies

7  7-S,W

6-L,R

600  5.0  100  25  22-L,R

24-S 

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All coursework programs in

US Studies 

7  6.5-S,W

6-L,R

600  5.0  100  24 23-S

22-L,R

All coursework programs in Creative 

Writing and Arts (with English as a 

specialisation) 

7  7-W

6-L,R,S

600  5.0  100  25  22

Business  All research programs  7  6.5  600  5.0  100  24  23

All coursework programs   7  6  600  4.5  100  23  22

Dentistry  All postgraduate coursework programs 

except Doctor of Dental Medicine

7  6.5  600  5.0  100  24  23

Doctor of Dental Medicine  7  6.0  600  4.5  100  23  22

Education 

and Social 

Work

Master of Teaching  7.5  8-L,S

7-R,W

637  5  110  25  27-L,S

24-R

Master of Social Work (Qualifying)  7.5  7.0  637  5  110  25  24

Graduate Certificate in TEFL  5.5  5  513  4  65  21  20

Health 

Sciences

All coursework programs in: 

Exercise and Sports Science,

Health Informatics,

Molecular Imaging,

Nuclear Medicine, 

Diagnostic Radiography, 

Radiation Therapy

7  6.5-S,W

6-L,R

600  5  100  24  23-S

22-L,R

All coursework programs in: 

Physiotherapy,

Master of Occupational Therapy, 

7  7-S,W

6-L,R

600  5  100  25  24-S

22-L,R

Master of Exercise Physiology,

Master of Speech Language Pathology

7  7  600  5  100  25  24

Law  All programs except the Juris Doctor  7  6  600  4.5  100  23  22

Juris Doctor (JD)  7.5  7  637  5  110  25  24

Medicine  All programs in:

Qualitative Health Research, Genetic 

Counselling

7  6.5  600  5  100  24  23

All coursework programs in Clinical 

Trials Research

7  7  600  5 100  25  24

Music  Master of Music Studies 

(Performance),

Graduate Diploma of Music 

(Performance)

6  6  550  4.5  80  23  22

All research degrees

Graduate Diploma of Music 

(Accompaniment)

Master of Music Studies (Conducting),

Master of Music Studies (Opera),

Graduate Diploma in Music (Opera)

7  6.5  600  5  100  24  23

Nursing   All programs  7  7  600  5  100  25  24

Pharmacy  All coursework programs  7  6.5  600  5  100  24  23

Science  Doctor of Clinical Psychology  7  7  N/A  N/A  N/A  N/A  N/A

All coursework programs in Coaching 

Psychology from 2012 onwards

7.5  6  N/A  N/A  N/A  N/A  N/A

Master of Environmental Science and 

Law

7  6  600  4.5  100  23  22

Master of Nutrition and Dietetics  7.5  6.5  N/A  N/A  N/A  N/A  N/A

Veterinary

Science

All programs (except Veterinary Public 

Health Management)

7  6.5  600  5  100  24  23

All coursework programs in Veterinary 

Public Health Management

7  7-S,W  600  5  100  25  22-L,R

24-S

+IELTS and IBT Sections are: L-Listening, R-Reading, S-Speaking, W-Writing

**Please note that this does not include the Master of Human Rights and Democratisation which requires the standard entry 

scores.

About Test Scores

All IELTS requirements refer to the Academic IELTS test. The General IELTS test will not be accepted. 

The University of Sydney is an international IELTS testing centre.  If you would like to book an IELTS test or to 

find out more information, please visit our Centre for English Teaching (CET) at: http://sydney.edu.au/cet/  

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English Courses

If you do not meet the English requirements for your chosen course and you need to improve your standard of 

English before you commence your degree, English courses are available at the Centre for English Teaching

(CET) at the University of Sydney.  For more information, visit: http://sydney.edu.au/cet/

Applicants who achieve the required grades in the "Direct Entry Course" at CET are not required to provide further 

evidence of English proficiency. Students who do not enrol into the "Direct Entry Course" at CET, will need to 

provide evidence of meeting the English requirements for their course as specified in the tables above. The English 

course must have been completed no more than 2 years prior to the date of application.

Further Information:

International Students:            Domestic Students: 

International Office             Student Centre

G02 Jane Foss Russell Building          G02 Jane Foss Russell Building

University of Sydney, NSW 2006, AUSTRALIA       University of Sydney, NSW 2006.

Email: io.mail@sydney.edu.au          Email: direct.applications@sydney.edu.au

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