English Proficiency Requirements

English proficiency, both written and oral usage, is essential to pursuing graduate studies at Laurier. If your undergraduate degree was taught in a language other than English, you must provide evidence of English proficiency prior to admission.

If your previous degree was completed in a different country, but the language of instruction was English, you do not need to complete an English proficiency test. Instead, you will need to provide an official letter from your prior institution indicating that the degree was completed in English. This letter can be uploaded to our system along with your other supplemental documents.

Accepted Tests and Scores

Laurier accepts the following English language proficiency tests and scores. If you are unable to access the standardized test site in your country, the graduate programs may consider alternative methods of assessing your proficiency to study at the graduate level in English. It is your responsibility to determine if there are additional requirements and to fulfil them.

To be considered valid, tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time your application is submitted.

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL):
  • TOEFL iBT/TOEFL iBT Home Edition: minimum score of 83, with minimum skill scores of 20 in each of the skills tests (speaking, writing, reading and listening).
  • Paper-based TOEFL: minimum of 560.
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS, IELTS Online): academic – minimum score of 6.5 with no band score below 6.0.
• Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic, PTE Academic Online): minimum score of 59.
• Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL, CAEL Online): minimum score of 70.
• English for Academic Success (EFAS) program, Level 400 with a minimum final score of 75%. 

Individual programs may have additional language requirements. It is the applicant's responsibility to ascertain the nature of these requirements and to fulfill them.

Note: the Duolingo English Test (DET) is not accepted for admission to graduate programs at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Sending Test Results to Laurier

These tests are offered in Canada, the United States and many other countries. If offered admission, the applicant is responsible for having the official test results sent directly from the issuing organization to Wilfrid Laurier University. 

Should you be asked for an institution code, designate Laurier with code 0893.

Uploading Test Results to LORIS

Once you have downloaded your English language proficiency test results, you will need to unlock the PDF before uploading it to LORIS, otherwise the program will not be able to view it. We recommend the following steps:

• Print the file as a colour document, then scan the file as a PDF into your computer. If the scanned PDF copy of the printed version is legible, then upload it to your checklist.
• If the printed version is not legible once you have scanned it, you can try the following steps:
  • Open a browser using Google Chrome.
  • Drag and Drop the encrypted PDF into the browser.
  • Select the option to print the file, using the destination output as “Adobe PDF.”
  • The new Adobe PDF should be saved as a decrypted file, which you can then upload to your application checklist.