If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your proficiency in all four components of English: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This assessment should meet the required standards for your degree course.
As a general rule:
- to be accepted onto any Bachelor’s or Master’s programme, you will need to have achieved a minimum of IELTS (Academic) 6.0 overall, with no less than 5.5 in each component. Our English Language Comparison Scores page provides comparison tables.
-
to be accepted on to a Research degree programme, you will need to have achieved an IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each of the four component scores, or equivalent. The language requirement may be higher for some research degree programmes, in particular those which require a high level of communication skills.
For certain courses, you may need to have a higher grade overall or in certain components. English language requirements for individual courses are listed on the specific course pages.
We accept a range of recognised English Language qualifications for entry, which are among the language tests published and regularly updated by the UK Visas and Immigration for Student Route visa purposes, including IELTS, LanguageCert, and Pearson Test of English (Academic).
If you are a national of one of the UKVI approved English Speaking countries and were taught through the medium of English you DO NOT need to provide an English Language qualification. See here for a list of countries.
If you are not a national of one of these countries but have studied there: if you have successfully completed a qualification equivalent to a UK Bachelor from a recognised university, taught and assessed through the medium of English, you do not normally need to provide an additional English Language qualification..
We do not normally accept Bachelor-equivalent qualifications taught and assessed in English from countries outside this list, with the exception of a small number of universities in Turkey and Assumption University in Thailand. Please contact the International Admissions team for more information.
If you have a GCSE, IGCSE, A Level, Scottish National Qualification at level 4 or 5 or Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English Language or Literature that was awarded by an Ofqual (or SQA, Qualifications Wales or CCEA) regulated awarding body, and following education in a UK school undertaken while you were aged under 18 you do not need to provide further evidence of English Language.
BU also accepts the following online English language tests:
- Kaplan Test of English (KTE): If you’re a BU applicant, you’re eligible for a 25% discount on Kaplan’s Test of English. Use code: BOURKRS65 when booking this test. This will reduce the total from £118 to £88.50.
- Oxford International English Language Level Test (ELLT): Use the BU discount code: BU10 for a 10% discount when booking through BU's bespoke registration link. Read the ELLT Portal Guide (pdf, 2.26mb) for details on how to register, pay and take the test.
- You should receive the result a few days after your test from either BU or the test provider directly. For the Oxford International English Language Level Test (ELLT) BU will receive results.
Successfully completing an approved pre-sessional English for university study programme, pre-masters or foundational programme may also allow you to study for a Bachelor's or Master’s degree at Bournemouth University.
We will consider alternative evidence of your English proficiency, including the alternative qualifications listed here. Or if you can demonstrate that you have received the majority of your education in English. If you feel you meet the required standard for English, but do not have one of the qualifications listed above, please indicate this on your application form.
If you have any further questions please complete our International Admissions enquiry form.