Admission to the Graduate School

International Applications

English Requirement

To be considered for admission, international students must present evidence of satisfactory proficiency in the English language as indicated by results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) through the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ 08540. The applicant must request that the testing center send the official results to the Graduate School at the university. TOEFL is required of all applicants (international and U.S. citizens) whose native language is not English; “native language” is determined by the medium of academic study. The medium of academic study is defined as the equivalent of four years of instruction at the secondary or college level where the language of instruction is English.

• TOEFL results of 550 paper-based/79 internet based/213 computer-based or above must be attained prior to achieving full standing (some departments may require higher scores).
• Alternatively, students may submit a score on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS); a minimum of 6.5 on the IELTS is required for full-standing admission.
• All applicants must present a minimum TOEFL score of 523 paper-based/69 Internet-based/193 computer-based to be considered for admission. Applicants with TOEFL scores of 523-547 paper-based/69-79 Internet-based/193-213 computer-based may be considered for conditional admission. Applicants with scores below 523/69/193 may apply for admission to the University of Mississippi Intensive English Program.
• All students with scores at or above 550/79/213 but lower than 600/100/250 will be retested with the Michigan Test of English Proficiency and Listening Comprehension Test prior to registration. Students with scores of 600/100/250 or above are exempt from taking the Michigan English Proficiency Tests.
• Students with scores between 523/69/193 and 550/79/213 or less than 70 on the Michigan English Proficiency Tests are required to take and successfully complete EFS 100 (English as a Foreign Language) during their first semester of enrollment (EFS 100 must be repeated until satisfactory results are attained.)
• Students who satisfactorily complete EFS 100 must present a score on the institutional TOEFL that is equivalent to the above target score.

Applicants for graduate teaching assistantships whose native language is not English must present acceptable results on the Test of Spoken English (TSE) given at overseas TOEFL centers or the University of Mississippi institutional test of spoken English (SPEAK).

International students with scholar status who desire to enroll in the Graduate School but who do not wish to pursue a degree may be admitted without the required TOEFL score. These students will be limited to enrollment as auditing students only. Should a student admitted under this provision later wish to be admitted to a degree program, all admission requirements, including acceptable TOEFL scores or the equivalent, must be met. However, no course work taken while an auditing student will be applied in any way to the degree program.