Postgraduate Degrees - English Requirements

To study a postgraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen, you'll need to demonstrate that your English language skills meet our entry requirements.

You can meet our English language requirement in several ways, including through your nationality, school qualifications, university studies, or a recognised English language test.

Our Postgraduate English Language Requirements

Follow the steps below to find out which option applies to you.

Step 1 - Check if you're already exempt

You do not need to provide additional evidence of English language proficiency if you are:

A national of one of our recognised English-speaking countries:

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

Step 2 - Check if you already have an accepted qualification

You may already meet our English language requirement if you have:

An approved high or senior school qualification
Please note that the qualification must have been obtained within the last 10 years. View the full list of accepted high school qualifications, minimum grades and the countries they apply to. If yes, then all we require is a copy of your transcript and certificate.
An honours degree equivalent from one of our recognised countries
Antigua and Barbuda Australia The Bahamas Barbados Belize Dominica Grenada Guyana Ireland Jamaica Malta New Zealand St Kitts and Nevis St Lucia St Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago The United Kingdom The United States of America If yes, then all we require is a copy of your transcript and certificate.
A degree taught and assessed entirely in English at an approved university
View the full list of approved MOI universities by country. If yes, then all we require is an official medium of instruction (MOI) letter from your university confirming that your degree was/is taught, assessed, and examined fully in English.

Step 3 - View accepted English language tests and requirements

If you've already taken an approved English language test from the list below, check that you've achieved the required score for your course.

If you haven't taken a test yet, you'll need to complete one of our accepted English language tests and achieve the required grade before you start your studies.

Please note certification must be within the two years prior to commencement of your course, unless otherwise stated.

Where available the University accepts valid one skill retake test scores.

Which English language requirement applies to your course?

Postgraduate Standard - used by the Schools of Biological Sciences; Engineering; Geosciences (with two programme exceptions which require Postgraduate Higher – see below*); Natural and Computing Sciences; and Psychology.

Postgraduate Higher - used by the Schools of Business; Divinity, History, Philosophy and Art History; Education; Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture; Law; Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition; and Social Sciences.

*Geoscience programmes that require Postgraduate Higher are: MSc in Global Energy Transition Enterprise Management and MSc in Integrated Petroleum Geoscience.

University of Aberdeen Academic English Pre sessional programmes
Postgraduate Standard: Pass Postgraduate Higher: Pass Valid for one year. A refresher course may be offered if the result is out of date.
Pre-sessional Academic English Preparation Programmes undertaken at other UK universities
Postgraduate Standard: Pass at an equivalent of CEFR B2 overall and in all four skills Postgraduate Higher: Pass at an equivalent of CEFR B2 overall and in all four skills Certification must be within one year prior to commencement of your course.
IELTS Academic or IELTS UKVI Academic
Postgraduate Standard: Listening - 5.5 or above Reading - 5.5 or above Speaking - 5.5 or above Writing - 6.0 or above Overall - 6.5 Postgraduate Higher: Listening - 5.5 or above Reading - 6.0 or above Speaking - 5.5 or above Writing - 6.0 or above Overall - 6.5 We DO NOT accept IELTS Indicator, IELTS General Training, or IELTS Online. We accept valid IELTS One Skill Retake test scores.
TOEFL iBT and TOEFL iBT Home Edition (online)
For tests taken after 21 January 2026 Postgraduate Standard: Listening - 4 or above Reading - 4 or above Speaking - 4 or above Writing - 4 or above Overall - 4.5 or above Postgraduate Higher: Listening - 4 or above Reading - 4 or above Speaking - 4 or above Writing - 4 or above Overall - 4.5 or above For tests taken before 21 January 2026 Postgraduate Standard: Listening - 17 or above Reading - 18 or above Speaking - 20 or above Writing - 21 or above Overall - 90 or above Postgraduate Higher: Listening - 17 or above Reading - 21 or above Speaking - 20 or above Writing - 21 or above Overall - 90 or above We accept MyBest scores for the TOEFL iBT test in addition to TOEFL iBT scores from a single test date. *TOEFL DI code is 0818.*
LanguageCert Academic (in-person and online) / LanguageCert Academic SELT
Postgraduate Standard: Listening - 60 Reading - 60 Speaking - 60 Writing - 65 Overall - 70 Postgraduate Higher: Listening - 60 Reading - 65 Speaking - 60 Writing - 65 Overall - 70
Cambridge B2 First or C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency
Postgraduate Standard: Listening - 162 or above Reading - 162 or above Speaking - 162 or above Writing - 169 or above Overall - 176 Postgraduate Higher: Listening - 162 or above Reading - 169 or above Speaking - 162 or above Writing - 169 or above Overall - 176
Oxford ELLT Digital - English Level Test Online
Postgraduate Standard: Listening - 5.0 or above Reading - 5.0 or above Speaking - 5.0 or above Writing - 6.0 or above Overall - 7.0 Postgraduate Higher: Listening - 5.0 or above Reading - 6.0 or above Speaking - 5.0 or above Writing - 6.0 or above Overall - 7.0
PTE Academic
Online test not accepted. Postgraduate Standard: Listening - 59 or above Reading - 59 or above Speaking - 59 or above Writing - 59 or above Overall - 62 or above Postgraduate Higher: Listening - 59 or above Reading - 59 or above Speaking - 59 or above Writing - 59 or above Overall - 62 or above
Duolingo
Tests taken from 1st July 2024 onward. Postgraduate Standard: Listening - 95 Reading - 95 Speaking - 95 Writing - 105 Overall - 120 Postgraduate Higher: Listening - 95 Reading - 105 Speaking - 95 Writing - 105 Overall - 120
Skills for English: SELT
Postgraduate Standard: B2 Pass with Merit Postgraduate Higher: B2 Pass with Merit

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