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Graduate Students

Graduate students have different English proficiency requirements for admission. Check the Office of Graduate Studies webpage for the master’s degree program requirements.

International students must be proficient in English prior to being accepted to Metropolitan State University of Denver. An admission decision cannot be made until we receive qualifying proof of English proficiency.

International students must meet our UG English proficiency requirements by one of the following ways:

  • Accepted test score that meets our minimum score requirement
  • Citizenship in one of the listed majority English-speaking countries
  • Completion of an accredited ESL program
  • Academic study in the U.S. or any of the exempted majority English-speaking countries
  • Accepted international academic qualification for proof of sufficient English proficiency

We must receive an official copy of your documents to meet the English proficiency requirement.
Official documents are sent to MSU Denver directly by the institution that holds a copy of your records, such as the testing service, your school, ministry of education, or examination board.

Consideration of other test results and evidence of English proficiency will be reviewed on an individual case-by-case basis. We do not accept medium of instruction as measurable proof of sufficient English proficiency.

The Office of Admissions reserves the right to request additional proof of English proficiency, even if an applicant meets one or more of the above conditions.

Please contact International Admissions if you have any questions about these requirements.

List of Accepted Test Scores:
An official test score is required unless you meet one of the listed English proficiency exemptions.
Review our Send It webpage to learn how to send an official test score to MSU Denver.

Test Type Minimum Score Validity (Time Limit)
Duolingo English Test (DET)                                   100 2 Years
IELTS Academic  6.0 (Overall Band) 2 Years
TOEFL (iBT and PBT)
*Accept Home Edition iBT test results
*We do not accept TOEFL Essentials or My Best Score
iBT: 72/ PBT: 533 2 Years
LanguageCert English Test  65 2 Years
Mighican English Test (MET)                                    59 2 Years
Pearson Test English Academic (PTE Academic) 49 2 Years
ACT Test 18 in English and

17 overall

5 Years
SAT Test 470 in Reading and Writing 5 Years
Cambridge English                                       
B2 First (FCE)
C1 Advanced (CAE)
C2 Proficiency (CPE)
 

 

169

 

 

5 Years

College Board Advanced Placement Test
AP English Language & Composition Exam or
AP English Literature & Composition
 

3, 4, or 5

 

 

5 Years

Consideration of other test results and evidence of English proficiency will be reviewed on an individual case-by-case basis.

We do not accept medium of instruction as measurable proof of sufficient English proficiency.

Citizenship Exemption

We may waive the test score requirement if you have citizenship in one of the majority English-speaking countries listed below.

Anguilla Cayman Islands Ireland, Republic St. Lucia
Antigua & Barbuda Dominica Jamaica St. Vincent & Grenadines
Australia Falkland Islands Malta Trinidad & Tobago
Bahamas Gibraltar Montserrat Turks & Caicos Islands
Barbados Great Britain (UK) New Zealand Virgin Islands (UK)
Belize Grenada Scotland (UK) Wales (UK)
Bermuda Guyana St. Helena
Canada (excluding Quebec) Ireland, Northern (UK) St. Kitts & Nevis

ESL Exemption

We may waive the test score requirement if we receive official documents showing the completion of an accredited Intensive English Language Program within the past 5 years.

  • The International Admissions office will review these documents to confirm that a sufficient level of English proficiency has been attained. The ESL program must have been completed within the past 5 years.
  • The accreditation organization must be recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
  • You may also be required to take our college assessment tests to verify college readiness.

Exemption for Academic Study in an Accepted Majority-English Speaking Country

We may waive the test score requirement if we receive official documents meeting the listed criteria of accepted study in the U.S. or one of the listed exempted countries within the past 5 years.  

U.S. Accredited

High School

Graduated from a U.S. accredited high school with at least 2 years of attendance

 

Equivalent High School Credential Completed an equivalent U.S. senior high school education in any of the accepted exempt countries listed above
U.S. High School Equivalency Exam Passing result on the U.S. GED Test or HiSet Exam
 

U.S. Accredited University

Completed an Associate’s degree (AA and AS only) program
Completed at least 24 semester hours of college level coursework with C- or better
Completed English Composition I and English Composition II with grades of
C or better
Equivalent University Coursework Meet at least one of the accepted criteria for university coursework listed above at an accredited university in any of the listed exempt countries.

We must receive an official course by course evaluation for any non-U.S. university coursework to be considered for English proficiency.

List of Accepted Academic Qualifications by Country

We may waive the test score requirement if we receive an official copy of an academic qualification meeting the below criteria and must have been completed within the past 5 years.

Country / Region Academic Credential Minimum Result on English Subject Exam
Worldwide UK Examinations: GCE, GCSE, IGCSE C or 4 in English (First or Second Language)
Worldwide IB Diploma

(International Baccalaureate)

Grade 4 in English A Literature (HL or SL)  or
English A Language & Literature (HL or SL)
Caribbean CXC Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Grade 3 or better
WAEC Countries West African Senior School Certificate (WASSCE) C6 or better
*NECO examination requirements listed below
Botswana Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) C or better
Brunei Brunei-Cambridge Certificate of Education Ordinary Level C or better
Cameroon GCE Ordinary Level C or better
Hong Kong Hong Kong Diploma of
Secondary Education
4 or better in Core English
India Grade XII CBSE and ICSE National Boards 60% or better
Kenya Kenya Certificate of

Secondary Education (KCSE)

C or better
Malawi Malawi GCE or

School Certificate of Education

6 or better
Nigeria NECO Senior School Certificate C6 or better
The Philippines Senior HS Diploma Academic Track 85% or better
Singapore Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level C or better
South Africa National Senior Certificate 5 or better
Tanzania Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE)(EAGCE) E or 5 (or better)
Uganda Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) 6 or better
Zambia Zambia School Certificate Examination (GCE) 6 or better
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Certificate of Education at Ordinary Level (ZGCE) C or better