In recognition of the TOEFL/IELTS’s physical and financial constraints experienced by many of our international applicants, the University of Pittsburgh will now accept the Duolingo English Test in lieu of the TOEFL or IELTS. The minimum may vary in some departments*. It is the policy of the University of Pittsburgh to admit only those students with a TOEFL score of at least 80 for the Internet-based test, 213 on the computer-based version or 550 on the paper-based test or Band 6.5 on the IELTS (taking the academic writing and reading modules of the test). Official test results must be sent directly to the university. Students may submit official results from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) but all international applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit scores from whichever English Language Proficiency exam they take. INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY EXAMS WITH THEIR APPLICATION, EXCEPT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE RECENTLY RECEIVED A DEGREE FROM A REGIONALLY ACCREDITED INSTITUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY: TOEFL/IELTS* The University offers intensive English courses through our English Language Institute. An unsatisfactory score at the time of TA or TF appointment is sufficient cause under University policy not to renew a teaching assistantship or teaching fellowship.

Individuals who do not achieve a passing score on the test may be given non-teaching assignments and are required to take special course work until they obtain a passing score.

Students who have been appointed as teaching assistants (TAs) or teaching fellows (TFs) and who are not native speakers of English are required to take an English Fluency Test to evaluate their spoken English upon arrival at the University of Pittsburgh. Graduate students at the University of Pittsburgh must possess sufficient proficiency in English in order to understand lectures, participate successfully in class discussion, and, study without being hindered by language problems.

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