The short answer
Most undergraduate programmes ask for 95–120, and most postgraduate programmes 110–130. Competitive universities often set 120–130 or higher. The figure on your institution’s own admissions page is the only one that counts — everything below is orientation for deciding what to aim at before you have that page open.
Typical requirements by country
These are the bands most commonly published. They are a starting point for planning, not a substitute for checking: two universities in the same city routinely differ by fifteen points, and a single university will differ between its own courses.
| Country | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 95–120 | Competitive programmes commonly ask 120–130. Acceptance is very wide at undergraduate level. |
| United Kingdom | 100–130 | Widely accepted for admission. Check separately whether it is accepted for your visa route. |
| Canada | 110–125 | Accepted by many institutions. Study permit requirements are set separately from admission. |
| Australia | 100–125 | Accepted by many institutions, with higher figures for some postgraduate courses. |
| Europe | 100–125 | Varies widely by country and by whether the programme is taught in English. |
Acceptance and minimum scores change between intakes, and some universities accept the test for admission but not for every programme or every applicant nationality. Confirm on the institution’s own page, for your course, for your intake.
Not sure where you are starting from? Four questions, about two minutes, no sign-up — and you get an estimated score out of 160 to measure the rest of this against.
What the level of study usually means
| Level | Usually asked | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation / pathway | 80–100 | B1–B2 |
| Undergraduate | 95–120 | B2 |
| Postgraduate taught | 110–130 | B2–C1 |
| Competitive / research | 125–140 | C1 |
If you are applying to several places, prepare for the highest number on your list. One test result is normally sent to all of them, and it is far cheaper to aim once at the top of your range than to sit the test twice.
The requirement most people miss
Plenty of institutions publish an overall minimum and a minimum on one of the four subscores — Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation or Production.
This is where candidates come unstuck. The overall score is an average, and an average hides a weak skill: somebody strong in reading and listening can reach 120 overall while Production sits at 105. If the university asked for 120 overall and 110 in Production, that application fails on a score sheet that looks like a pass.
- Find out before you prepare, not after you test. It changes which skills are worth your time.
- Add a margin of five to ten points to whatever you need. Test-day performance is not your practice average, and the gap is almost always downwards.
- Check what you need after admission too. Visa routes and professional registration keep their own lists, and they are not always the same as the university’s.
If you are short of your target
Work out whether the gap is a format problem or a proficiency problem before deciding anything — the two have completely different timelines, and one full mock under real conditions will tell you which you have. A gap of ten points is usually a fortnight of format practice. A gap of forty is months, and is better met by moving the test date than by sitting it hopefully.