Postgraduate Taught English Language entry requirements

If you do not already hold a valid English Language test, English Language will be included as a condition of your offer. This will be noted as an IELTS requirement, although other English Language tests are accepted, as below.

If you are submitting an English Language qualification that is not IELTS, you must still meet the IELTS equivalent requirement. Please contact the Admissions Team to clarify what this is if you are unsure; pgosi@liverpool.ac.uk

Please note we do not accept all versions of all English Language Tests.  Please check that we accept the test you are planning to take before you sit the test.

International English Language Tests - SELTs and non-SELTS

You can download our Postgraduate International English Language Tests - SELTs and non-SELTS as an Excel document.

Entry 2024/25

Entry 2023/24

Country-specific English language tests (for students educated in English medium)

Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE/GCE)

This will be accepted for English Language and Mathematics for both UG and PG at grade A-C

Cameroon GCE O Level (British system) 

Grade C above

Caribbean Examination Council General Proficiency 

Grade I & II

HKCEE 

Faculty of Science and Engineering:

  • Taken pre-2007 - C
  • Taken post-2007 - 4

 

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; Faculty of Health and Life Sciences:

  • Taken pre-2007 (syllabus B only) - C (B for clinical programmes in Medicine and Dentistry)
  • Taken post-2007 - 4 (5 for Medicine and Dentistry)

Hong Kong Use of English AS level 

C

HKDSE
  • IELTS 7.0 – HKDSE English Language Grade 5 (with no component score less than 5)
  • IELTS 6.5 or below – HKDSE English Language Grade 4 (with no component score less than 4)

INDIA Standard XII

(When education has been completed in English Medium)

Only if awarded by CBSE, ISC, or an accepted State Board.

NOT accepted:
State Boards of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand; NIOS.
  • National Curriculum (CBSE/ ISC) 75% and above in English 
  • Accepted State Boards 80% and above in English

Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) 

 C

Malawi School Certificate of Education

Grade 6, Credit (3-6) or above

Malaysian SPM 1119

C

Norway - Vitnemal - Videregaende Opplaering (VVO) English

GPA 4.0+

Singapore Cambridge O Level

C

South African National Senior Certificate (SANSC or NSC)

 Accepted for English Language for both UG and PG at grade 5-7 (2008 onwards) 

Tanzania Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) 

C

Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE)

Grade 6 or above

UK A/S level English language

E

UK GCSE or O level English language

C which is equal to new grades 4/5

UK IGCSE English as a first language

C which is equal to new grades 4/5

UK IGCSE English as a second language

B which is equal to new grades 5/6

UK International Baccalaureate
  • Standard Level Grade 5 or Higher Lever Grade 4 in English B (Group 2).
  • Please note Standard or Higher Level English A (Group 1) is not acceptable.
  • Students who have studied English A should present an alternative, accepted English Language qualification (as outlined in this table).

WAEC (for Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone)

Grade C, Credit (4-6) or above

Zambia Secondary School Certificate

Grade 6 or above

Zimbabwe General Certificate of Education

C, Credit (5-6) or above
Partner institutions tests

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

Pre-Master's programmes from University of Liverpool International College (UoLIC) and other Kaplan International Colleges

65% overall with minimum of 55% in each component.

(Progression requirements are subject to change. Please consult your Kaplan offer letter for official entry requirements.)

Most programmes in Management, Law, Sociology, School of Music, Architecture, School of Histories, Languages and Cultures require 65% or more overall with a minimum of 60% in each component.

(Progression requirements are subject to change. Please consult your Kaplan offer letter for official entry requirements.)

English for Academic Purposes module from the NCUK Grad Dip/PMP programme

Grade B overall (minimum grade C in each component)

Grade B overall (minimum C grade in each component)

MA TESOL and MA Applied Linguistics require grade A overall with a minimum of grade B in each component

Students from Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University

Successful completion of the XJTLU/University of Liverpool degree programme at XJTLU taught in English medium satisfies the University’s English Language requirements

 

Successful completion of the XJTLU/University of Liverpool degree programme at XJTLU taught in English medium satisfies the University’s English Language requirements

Please note that some English Language examinations offered by our Partner Institutions are only valid for two years from graduation.

University of Liverpool Pre-Sessional English programmes

Where offers are conditional on improving English language scores, some students will be made an offer conditional on achieving the appropriate English language score for their programme or achieving a lower score and successfully completing one of the University’s pre-sessional English programmes.

For most programmes, IELTS tests are not necessary at the end of the pre-sessional but there will be an in-house test to ensure progression to the relevant competency in each component to cope on the academic programme.

For more information, please see our English Language Centre website.

University of Liverpool Pre-sessional English Assessments

Students on summer Pre-sessional English courses are required to pass with a minimum score of 40% on all three integrated assessments which evaluate students’ ability in the four skills (writing, reading, speaking and listening). However, for many academic programmes, the overall entry requirements are much higher than 40% as stated by individual departments. The Pre-sessional scores alongside their equivalent CEFR scores and direct entry IELTS scores are shown below.

University of Liverpool profilesAcademic programmes IELTS direct entry requirementsCEFR bandOverall pre-sessional score (%)
A Overall 6.0, no score less than 5.5  B2 -  40-49 
B Overall 6.5, no score less than 5.5  B2   50-59  
C Overall 6.5, no score less than 6.0 
D Overall 6.5, no score less than 6.5 (or specific skills at 6.5)  B2 +  60-69 
E Overall 7.0  C1 -  70-79 
F Overall 7.5  C1  80-89 

Please note: We have simplified our IELTS English language requirements and changed to a clearer A-F band system. You can view our IELTS academic requirements key here for equivalents.

If a student does not score a minimum of 40% on all Pre-sessional assessments and achieve the required score for their specific academic programme, they may not be able to progress on to their academic course.