English language requirements

If your first language is not English, or you require a Student Visa (previously known as a Tier 4 Visa) to study with us, you will be required to provide evidence of your English Language proficiency. This needs to be one our recognised English Language Tests.

Undergraduate courses

For most of our undergraduate courses, you are required to have an overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.0 – taken within two years of the start date of your chosen course. You will also need to have at least 5.5 in all of the skills elements:

Reading
Writing
Speaking
Listening

There are some undergraduate courses that require a higher score and these can be found on our individual course listing pages, please check the English requirement needed.

For Hull York Medical School (HYMS) requirements see the HYMS website.

Postgraduate courses

English Language requirements vary for these courses so please check the entry requirements on individual course pages.

Pre-sessional courses

If you do not meet the English Language Requirements, we do offer a range of Pre-Sessional English Language courses. If you require a visa, you must be able to meet to the UKVI requirement of at least CEFR B1 overall and in all skills elements. These must also be one of the Secure English Tests (SELTS) that are approved by the UKVI. Currently these are:

IELTS UKVI (Academic)
LanguageCert ESOL (UKVI) – 4 skill only

All of the above tests are valid for 2 years only and must be valid on the start date of your chosen University course. Find out more about our Pre-Sessional courses.

International Applicants

The University of Hull considers a wide range of English qualifications as evidence of English proficiency. Some of the most common tests and the scoring we accept are:

IELTS Score Equivalency	6.0/5.5	6.5/5.5	6.5/6.0
Indian Standard XII English – CBSE, CISCE - (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala)	70%	75%	75%
Hong Kong	AS English Level	Grade E overall with grade E in individual skills
IELTS (Academic Only), IELTS Indicator Test*	6.0/5.5	6.5/5.5	6.5/6.0
Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education	Level 4 overall in English with a minimum of level 3 in each skill	Level 5 overall in English with a minimum of level 3 in each skill	Level 5 overall in English with a minimum of level 4 in each skill
Indian Standard XII English – (Central Board of Education (CBSE), Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), National Open School	70%	75%	75%
Indian Standard XII English – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala)	75%	80%	80%
Indian Standard XII English – Maharashtra	70%	75%	75%
Malaysia Cambridge 1119 English O Level	Grade C	Grade B	Grade B
Malaysian University English Test (MUET)	Overall Band 4.5 (minimum 260/360 with at least 65 in all skills	Overall Band 5.0 (minimum 296/360 with at least 74 in all skills)	Overall Band 5.0 (minimum 296/360 with at least 74 in all skills)
National Examinations Council (NECO) Must provide a scratch card	Grade C/6 or above	Grade C/5 or above	Grade C/5 or above
Oxford International Test of English (ELLT) – for tests taken before 16 June 2022*	Overall OIDI 5 (B2+) with a minimum of 4 (B2)	Overall OIDI 6 (C1) with a minimum of (B2)	Overall OIDI 6 (C1) with a minimum of 5 (B2+)
Oxford International Test of English (ELLT) – for tests taken after 16 June 2022*	Overall OIDI 6 with a minimum of 5 in all skills	Overall OIDI 7 with a minimum of 5 in all skills	Overall OIDI 7 with a minimum of 6 in all skills
Pearson PTE Academic or Academic Online*	Overall of 54 with at least 51 in all skills	Overall 61 with at least 51 in all skills	Overall 61 with at least 54 in all skills
TOEFL iBT or Special Edition Home Test *	IELTS 6.0/5.5 – Overall 60-78 – At least - Reading 10, Listening 9, Speaking 17, Writing 19	IELTS 6.5/5.5 – Overall 79-93 – At least - Reading 10, Listening 9, Speaking 17, Writing 19	IELTS 6.5/6.0 – Overall 79-93 – At least- Reading 15, Listening 15, Speaking 19, Writing 22
West African Education Council (WAEC) Senior School Certificate (SSCE) Must provide a scratch card	Grade C/6 or above	Grade C/5 or above	Grade C/5 or above

*Denotes test validity of 2 years only

If you have a qualification that is not listed above, please contact PAT@hull.ac.uk who will be happy to help.

Exemptions from English Language UKVI Requirements

The UKVI has defined the following countries as majority English-speaking; nationals from these countries are normally exempt from providing evidence of proficiency in English Language:

Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Dominica
Grenada
Guyana
Jamaica
New Zealand
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
United States of America

Students who have passed an academic qualification equivalent to a UK degree taken in the UK, the Republic of Ireland or one of the above countries (excluding Canada) are normally exempt from providing evidence of proficiency in English language.