TOEFL, TOEFL iBT, TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition, TOEFL Essentials, IELTS (Academic), and Duolingo English Test results will satisfy the English Language Proficiency requirement.
If your native language (mother tongue) is not English, you are required to submit an official score report from the TOEFL, IELTS, or the Duolingo English Test.
The only exceptions are for:
- students who have worked or studied for five or more years in Australia, Botswana, Canada, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, and/or Zambia.
- students who have earned (or will earn) their bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited US school. This exception requires that the student studied (or will study) for 4 academic years of their undergraduate education in the United States. Students who qualify for this waiver are encouraged to upload an unofficial copy of the English Language Proficiency exam score report they used when they applied to their undergraduate institution as part of their application to Heinz College.
If required, the test scores must be reported directly to Heinz College by the testing service. We strongly recommend that you take the test at least one month prior to the application deadline.
You may submit scores from up to four valid exam dates. If you have taken any of the exams more than once, Heinz College will use the highest score verified in each section in reviewing your application for admission.
For every score you want to include with your application, you must report the exam date(s) on the application. Please also include as much additional information as possible for each date listed, including TOEFL exam registration number or IELTS TRF number (this information helps us verify your scores more quickly). If you do not yet know your scores, you may leave them blank on the application. We will not accept exam scores for test dates that are not listed on the application. You must also have your official scores submitted to us as described below.
Please review the following step-by-step instructions on how to submit your official English Language Proficiency Exam Results from the testing service to Heinz College. All scores reported on your application must be submitted to us by the testing service to allow us to verify the scores. Applications without verified scores will not be reviewed.
Submitting Your Results and Minimum Score Requirements
We will accept results from the current version of the Duolingo English Test on the 160-point scale with subsection scoring (new as of July 2020). If you took the Duolingo (160-point) exam prior to subsection scoring, you may wish to contact Duolingo to ask if they will rescore your exam for the subsections. We will not accept the old Duolingo exam (100-point scale)
Your scores must be submitted directly to “Carnegie Mellon University – Heinz College of Information Systems & Public Policy” by Duolingo. We receive all Duolingo English Test scores electronically.
The recommended Duolingo English Test score is 130 overall (see below for recommended scores in each subsection).
The minimum Duolingo English Test scores required to apply for admission to any of Heinz College's graduate degree programs are:
- Literacy: 120 (recommended = 130)
- Comprehension: 125 (recommended = 135)
- Production: 90 (recommended = 100)
- Conversation: 105 (recommended = 115)
- Overall: 120 (recommended = 130)
If you choose to take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in place of the TOEFL, we require that you take the "Academic" format of IELTS.
Your scores must be submitted directly to Carnegie Mellon University - Heinz College by the testing service (IDP/British Council). We verify all IELTS exam scores electronically. Please do not have paper test scores sent to us by mail.
The recommended IELTS score is 7 overall and 7 in each band.
The minimum IELTS scores required to apply for admission to any of Heinz College's graduate degree programs are:
- Listening: 6.5
- Reading: 6.5
- Writing: 6.5
- Speaking: 6.0
- Overall Band: 6.5
For more information on the IELTS or to register, please visit the IELTS website.
Please have ETS report your official TOEFL scores to us at: Carnegie Mellon University - Heinz College (DI code: 2176)
We accept the following:
- TOEFL iBT (taken before January 21, 2026 and valid for 2 years from test date)
- TOEFL iBT (new scale)
- TOEFL: Essentials
- TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition
Your scores must be submitted directly to us (Carnegie Mellon University - Heinz College, DI Code 2176) by Educational Testing Service (ETS). We verify all TOEFL exam scores electronically. Please do not have paper test scores sent to us by mail.
The recommended TOEFL iBT (pre-January 21, 2026) score is 25 on each section of the Internet-based test (iBT and Special Home Edition). The recommended score for TOEFL: Essentials is 11 on Listening and 10 on the other three sections. The recommended score for TOEFL iBT (new) is 5.5 on Listening and 5 on the other three sections.
The minimum TOEFL scores required to apply for admission to any of Heinz College's graduate degree programs are:
- Reading: 22 (Essentials minimum is 9 and new iBT is 4.5)
- Listening: 22 (Essentials minimum is 10 and new iBT is 5)
- Speaking: 20 (Essentials minimum is 8 and new iBT is 4)
- Writing: 22 (Essentials minimum is 9 and new iBT is 4.5)
For more information on the TOEFL or to register, please visit the ETS TOEFL website.
If you completed either the TOEFL or IELTS more than two years ago, you MUST take one of the tests again. The testing agency will not verify scores that are more than two years old.
We will only be able to accept scores from the Duolingo English Test using the 160-point scale with subsection scores included.
If your score is below the minimum on the chosen language proficiency exam, you should consider retaking the exam of your choice before applying. Carnegie Mellon University and Heinz College will not issue an I-20 to any individual with scores below our published minimums.
We verify all exam scores electronically after reported to us by the testing service. Please do not have paper test scores sent to us by mail.