World’s third most spoken language was born in the United Kingdom. I know what you’re thinking – Which are the ways I can prove my English proficiency to a country whose national language is English? Well, while the most common method to prove your English skills in the UK is IELTS, it is not the only way. A majority of the universities in the UK require candidates to present their IELTS scores, however, a number of institutes waive off IELTS or allow students to prove their English language skill in a different method.
Can I Study In The United Kingdom Without IELTS?
To simply answer this question, yes. One can receive an unconditional offer letter from specific universities without having to crack the International English Language Test System (IELTS).
A majority of the universities in the UK ask students to provide evidence of their English language proficiency.
What Else Is Accepted Other Than IELTS?
Apart from IELTS, universities often accept scores of TOEFL (Test of English As a Foreign Language), Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE), CAE (Cambridge Advanced English), Cambridge Proficiency English (CPE). However, to apply in a UK university without IELTS.
What is common between these English proficiency tests is that a candidate is evaluated based on their reading-understanding, writing-grammar, speaking and listening of English.
Additionally, universities also accept students who had a English as a medium of instruction in their previous college or university for education. Students wanting to apply to universities through this approach need to provide evidence of their English academic scores.
Moreover, some universities also accept the academic scores of 11th and 12th (secondary school) to assess your English proficiency. Such universities accept final grades in English that are above 70%.
Where can you apply in the UK without IELTS?
University of Warwick
One can apply to this UK university without IELTS. While the scores of IELTS with a minimum of 6.5 is an accepted parameter to prove English proficiency, University of Warwick accepts the following as well:
TOEFL (internet based iBT) score of above 90 only;
PTE of at least 62;
CAE with an overall grade of at least 60;
CPE with any pass grade.
These tests must be taken within 2 years of the course start date.
Alternatively, if students are unable to provide scores of these internationally recognised tests, they can still send University of Warwick their English certificates. In such cases the University might allow candidates to attend a pre-sessional English course.
Birmingham City University
The university accepts a wide array of evidence to assess a candidate’s English proficiency.
Firstly, the university has its own English Proficiency Test (EPT). This is an online test that inspects a candidate’s English language abilities based on four skills – Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.
Students who do not wish to appear for this EPT may consider giving the following tests:
IELTS with a score band between 6.0 and 5.5 is accepted
TOEFL with a minimum score of 72
PTE (Academic) of score of at least 59
Euroexam Academic English C1 with an overall of 60%
Birmingham City University also conducts Pre-sessional English courses for candidates who want to be equipped with English proficiency. The course is well rounded and aims to improve the candidate’s academic skills. In this course, students develop skills around writing coherent and concise essays, deliver successful academic presentations and take effective notes while listening and reading.
University of Bristol
Each course students enrol in University of Bristol has a unique requirement for English proficiency. These requirements are offered by the University when a candidate has submitted an application for enrolment.
Once the application is submitted, the university checks the candidates academic qualifications. Following which, the institute decides on an offer to give to the students with conditions to meet the mentioned requirements of English proficiency.
If a candidate already has the mentioned requirements in the conditional offer letter, then nothing else needs to be done.
Further, candidates can prove that they have met the requirements in the following ways:
Enrolling in the pre-sessional language course offered by the university. These courses last for 10 weeks or 6 weeks. The course helps students to learn and adapt to all English language skills such as Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.
Different courses accept a number of EPTs taken from home countries. However students need to check the requirements under each course.
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Northumbria University
Northumbria University has different English requirements for all its course programs such as undergraduate programs, postgraduate programs, research programs and postgraduate research programs.
The university prefers candidates who can provide evidence of English proficiency through internationally recognized EPTs such as TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic.
Looking for more universities around the world that do not require IELTS as an imperative? Check out our blog that covers Studying In Canada Without IELTS and Studying In Australia Without IELTS.
