In this article, we are going to look at the average IELTS band requirements for some universities in Great Britain. The quoted values are for undergraduate and graduate students, who aren’t native English speakers.
This list of higher education providers are from the mid-tier of the UK’s university system, as the top-seeded universities have been reviewed thousands of times already, and on many different occasions. Check out our list to learn more.
Minimum IELTS Band Requirements for Universities in the UK
1. University of East Anglia
Established in 1963, the University of East Anglia is a public university in Norwich, England. It has four faculties and twenty-six schools offering undergraduate and graduate programs to over 17,000 students.
Regarding the quality of the study programs it provides, the university has been ranked within the top 20 higher schools in the UK. What makes this university unique is its “sandbox” for high school graduates from abroad called International Foundation.
This initiation program prepares the candidate for direct entry into their first year of undergraduate studies. The university offers International Foundation in five different academic fields, including Law, Engineering, and Mathematics. As you can see, this university requires that students have at least an IELTS requirement of 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each component and 6.0 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in Writing and Speaking and 5.5 in Reading and Listening for undergraduate and postgraduate students, respectively.
2. University of Liverpool
Established in 1881, the University of Liverpool is the most influential higher education provider in Northwest England. This is one of the six original “red brick” universities in the UK that were founded in the cities that became centers of the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century.
From a largely blue-collar school, Liverpool University has grown to become an attractive higher education hub for young people from all over the world. It now has over 35,000 students and 8,000 of them are non-UK nationals.
Traditionally, the University of Liverpool is best known for its undergraduate and graduate programs in Civil Engineering, Computer Science, and Architecture.
The University has seven different English language entry profiles that are aligned to almost all its courses. To check which of its English language entry profiles applies to your intended course, take a look at the IELTS Requirements.
3. University of Sussex
Next on our list of universities in the UK is the University of Sussex, one of the “young” universities in the UK, as it was established only in 1961. Its main campus is located in Falmer, Sussex. The latest statistical data shows that it has over 21,000 students with the majority enrolled in undergraduate programs.
It is also interesting to mention that about one-third of the professors come from outside the UK. The University of Sussex now has around 5,500 international students and among its most famous graduates, there are three Nobel Prize winners.
Depending on the course applied for, there are three main levels of English and the only course that does not use them is Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (BM BS) which requires an IELTS score of 7.5 overall and not less than 7.0 in each section. Check the different undergraduate and graduate courses that require IELTS requirements at advanced, high, and standard levels.
4. University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is the most selective about the minimum IELTS requirements for non-English speaking students. Established back in 1881, the university now has two major campuses – the University Park Campus and the Jubilee Campus.
These two campuses house five faculties: the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Faculty of Humanities. Nottingham University is the UK’s seventh-largest higher education provider based on total student enrolment.
It now has 32,500 graduate and undergraduate students from all over the world. The university is moderately selective with an average acceptance rate of about 75%.
The institution accepts a variety of English language tests and qualifications. For IELTS, the university requires students to have at least a minimum score of 6.0, but this may vary depending on the program.
5. Lancaster University
Lancaster University was established in 1964 during “a golden age” period in Britain’s higher education, as new universities were literary “mushrooming” around the country. The IELTS band requirement at this university is 6.0 for both undergraduate students and graduate students.
Since 1968, the university’s main campus has been located at Bailrigg. The organization of this higher education provider in the UK is pretty straightforward – it has eight undergraduate colleges and one graduate college.
These colleges are associated with the university’s four faculties and provide a wide variety of graduate and postgraduate programs like master’s program in Biomedical and Life Sciences.
6. University of Exeter
The University of Exeter was founded in 1955. It is currently organized into four major campuses – Streatham and St Luke’s are in Exeter, and Truro and Penryn are in Cornwall.
The College of Humanities at the University of Exeter is particularly famous for its Bachelor’s program in Drama, as well as the one in Film Studies. However, international students who wish to apply for these are required to produce IELTS scores of at least 6.5. The IELTS band for Exeter University’s master’s programs is even higher – 7.0.
7. Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is a constituent college of the federal University of London. It began its existence in 1775 as a medical school. With just over 18,000 full-time students, this is a small and highly selective British university.
Most of the programs are taught at the main campus, Mile End, which includes the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science and Engineering among others. QMUL is quite popular for numerous merit scholarships, postgraduate loans, and Ph.D. funding options that it offers to international students.
While most universities listed above have a minimum IELTS band for graduate and undergraduate students of 6.0 and 6.5 respectively, some more selective ones require scores between 6.5 and 7.0.
We hope that this article on IELTS Band requirements in the UK was helpful. Make sure also to check out the Study in the UK guide and more Available Programs for International Students!
