English Proficiency Requirements
Taking the TOEFL and/or IELTS test is not required for admission for most undergraduate programs.
If you have taken these exams, you are welcome to send us your scores in order to be exempt from most, but not all, placement tests. Please read the below policy carefully in order to understand our testing requirements.
Your application is evaluated on its academic merit. Upon arrival at Duquesne, you will be required to sit for English Language Placement Tests. If test results indicate a need for English, the student is enrolled in appropriate courses with the on-campus ESL program. The number of academic courses taken together with any assigned ESL classes will depend upon placement test results. Students with low levels of English should be prepared to take all ESL classes their first or second semesters here.
This system allows you to receive an acceptance to a degree program. If you are interested in a year of ESL classes without any intentions of applying to a degree program, please visit our ESL website.
The following students are exempt from all placement exams except the writing sample portion of the placement test. All international students, including transfer students from American universities, must be cleared by the ESL department before registering for classes.
- Students who submit a TOEFL score of at least 575 (PBT)/90-91 (IBT)/ 233 (CBT) taken within one year of admission
- Students who submit an IELTS score of at least 6.5;
- Students who have achieved an education in an English-speaking country (subject to review by the Office of International Programs)
Our English proficiency requirement applies to all undergraduate international students, including transfer applicants. Graduate students should consult their own departments on the TOEFL or IELTS requirements.
ACCEPTED STUDENTS: FURTHER INFORMATION ON TESTING REQUIREMENTS
Welcome to Duquesne University! This information will help you to understand English language placement testing and the course registration procedures for registration into English as a Second Language (ESL) and academic courses.
Duquesne University requires English Language Proficiency Tests for all new international students whose native language is not English, including students who have taken the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
If you have been accepted to an academic degree program, you must complete these required placement tests before you register for academic courses.
You will receive the results of your tests at a meeting with the English as a Second Language advisors. At that meeting you will be registered into any courses that you might need to develop your English proficiency. If you are accepted an academic degree student, you will receive a clearance form to take to your academic advisor. Your academic advisor will use the information in this clearance form to select the most appropriate courses for you and help you complete your registration.
A description of the tests and a schedule is printed below. Please come to the earliest testing sessions possible. Be on time in order to avoid a delay in your registration.
The ESL Program wishes you a pleasant orientation and a successful semester.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TESTS
Michigan Proficiency Test - (Grammar, Vocabulary & Reading - 75 minutes) and Listening Comprehension (20 minutes): New students without a documented TOEFL score of iBT 90 or higher must take this test.
Duquesne University ESL Program Writing Test (30 minutes): All new students are required to take this test.
SPEAK Test (Test of Spoken English) (1 hour): New graduate students and all new students in Health Sciences and Nursing must take this test.
Computer Skills Test (30 minutes): New ESL students at the Intermediate level must take a Computer Skills course if they do not pass this test. Degree-seeking students in Computer Science or Multimedia are not required to take the class workshop.