To be accepted onto a course at Bournemouth University, you will need to meet minimum standards in English.

If English is not your first language, you will have to provide evidence that you have been assessed in all four components of English (reading, writing, speaking and listening) to the required standard 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. It should be noted that the language requirement may be higher for some research degree programmes, in particular those which require a high level of communication skills.

We accept a range of recognised English Language qualifications for entry, which are among the language tests published and regularly updated by the UK Border Agency for Student Route visa purposes. 

BU accepts several easy to access online English language tests that can be taken from home:

  • KITE (Kaplan International Tools for English) - Learn more about KITE. When you are ready, book your test. Discounts are available for BU applicants. Fees are shown on the online booking form.
  • ELLT (Oxford International English Language Level Test) - book your test here. Check out the student guide for details on how to register, pay and take the test. Use the BU discount code Bourn75 when booking online to get 25% discount. To get the discounted fees, you must only book your test from the designated Bournemouth University page above. 
  • You should receive the result a few days after your test from either BU or the test provider directly. 

Successfully completing a pre-sessional English for university study programme will also allow you to study for a Bachelor's or Master’s degree.

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 will consider alternative evidence of your English proficiency, including different qualifications or if you can demonstrate that you have received the majority of your schooling 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.