English language test waivers

Guidance on eligibility for a waiver for the requirement to provide English language test scores.

The Oxford shield. Credit: Minjie Su / Graduate Photography Competition

Waiver applications based on your previous education

At the discretion of the academic department, the requirement to provide English language test scores may be waived.

You may apply for a waiver if you have completed, or are currently completing, a degree-level course that is:

full-time;
at least nine months in duration;
undertaken at a recognised institution where teaching and assessment throughout the course is undertaken entirely in English; and
completed with a gap of no more than 2 academic years to the course to which you are applying.

If you studied this course in a country that is not majority English speaking, you will need to upload evidence that the course was taught in English on the 'Supporting Documents' page of the application form. This can either take the form of a link to the page of the institution’s website which confirms the course was taught in English, or a statement from the institution confirming this.

Can I request a waiver while still studying?

You can request a waiver even if you are yet to complete the relevant degree-level course. If your waiver request is accepted, you will usually need to provide evidence that you have successfully completed your course as a condition of your offer by a deadline given in the offer letter.

If you are due to complete your course after this deadline, you will usually be expected to submit English language test results that meet the University's requirements instead.

Waiver applications based on your professional experience

You may also apply for a waiver based on substantial professional experience if:

you have worked for a minimum of two years in a majority English speaking country where the main language for the role was English;
your role involved daily professional use of each of the four language components (reading, writing, listening and speaking);
you worked in an appropriately technical context to demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively in an academic environment; and
your role has ended no more than two years before the start date of the course to which you are applying.

How to apply for a waiver

If you meet either the criteria based on your previous education or your professional experience, you will need to indicate this by answering 'yes' or 'no' to the English language waiver questions on the ‘Languages’ tab of the application form. If you choose the professional experience option, you will need to summarise your role and use of English to enable the assessors to judge whether it meets the criteria.

The academic department will consider your request if you are offered a place. If your request is accepted, you won't be required to provide English language test results as a condition of your offer. Otherwise, you will still have to provide English language test scores at the required level for your course, by a deadline stated in the offer letter.