English language proficiency

Minimum English language proficiency required for admission

If you do not satisfy one of the conditions listed below, you must write an English proficiency test regardless of your citizenship.

You may upload electronic copies of your English proficiency test results when you submit your application for admission to Concordia. If you are offered admission, you will need to arrange for the test provider to share official test results directly with our Admissions Application Centre.

Your deadline to submit proof of English proficiency

Please keep in mind that we cannot move forward with your file without your English proficiency test scores. If we are missing your test scores, we will send you a letter requesting the scores.

Normally, you will have three weeks to upload a copy of your results from that point. If you are unable to meet that deadline, but you are scheduled to take an English proficiency test, please upload a copy of your scheduled or planned test date.

Meeting any of the conditions below satisfies the English language proficiency requirement for admission.

However, you may still be required to write a placement exam and complete English as a second language (ESL) courses. In all cases, we reserve the right to require a proficiency test if we consider it necessary.

If you do not meet one of the conditions below, you will be required to write an accepted English proficiency test and achieve the required score to meet our English requirement.

Studied in Quebec in English or French, either:
- The last four years of high school studies and the DES (Secondary V) or
- Completion of the Diploma of Collegial Studies (DEC)
English-medium school: Completion of a minimum of three full years of study in a secondary or post-secondary institution where the sole language of instruction is English.
French-medium school: The last four full years of study in French at a secondary school in Canada.
International Baccalaureate: The course Group 1 English (Language A: Literature, Language A: Language and literature, or literature and performance) Higher or Standard Level.
European Baccalaureate: English as Language 1 or Language 2
Baccalauréat français: The American or British Option internationale du baccalauréat (OIB).
British curriculum: GCE/GCSE/IGCSE/O-level English Language or First Language English with a grade of at least “C” or “4”. English as a Second Language with a grade of at least “B” or “6”.
Concordia Continuing Education: Successful completion of the Advanced 2 level of the Intensive English Language Program (IELP) with a minimum final grade of 70 per cent. Upon completion, students will take a placement test to determine if additional academic English classes are necessary. If required, the additional courses will be taken concurrently with your chosen academic program. English credit courses may count toward degree programs, with the exception of Gina Cody School programs. Visit concordia.ca/intensive-english.

Results must be less than two years old at the time of your application in order to be accepted as proof of language proficiency.

TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language

Direct admission No ESL courses required	Direct admission ESL courses required with option for credit	Conditional admission Intensive English Language Program (IELP) option for Gina Cody School, JMSB and select Arts and Science programs
TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Special home edition: Score 90 or higher, with a minimum combined score of 34 for speaking and writing.	TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Special home edition: Score between 75 and 89 with a minimum combined score of 34 for speaking and writing.	TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Special home edition: Score between 63 and 74, with no more than two parts under 15
To ensure your TOEFL results are forwarded directly to Concordia University, you must indicate 0956.00 as the “Institution Code” when you write the test. For more information on the test or to register, visit toefl.org. Concordia does not use the "My Best Score" superscore result.

IELTS – International English Language Testing System

Direct admission No ESL courses required	Direct admission ESL courses required with option for credit	Conditional admission Intensive English Language Program (IELP) option for Gina Cody School, JMSB and select Arts and Science programs
IELTS score of 7 or higher, no component score under 5.5	IELTS score of 6.5 or 6 and in both cases, no component score under 5.5	IELTS score of 5.5 or 5 and in both cases, only two bands as low as 4.5
Candidates must take the “Academic Module.” The Concordia University Language Test Centre offers the IELTS test. For more information on the IELTS test, you may also visit ielts.org.

DET – Duolingo English Test

Direct admission No ESL courses required	Direct admission ESL courses required with option for credit	Conditional admission Intensive English Language Program (IELP) option for Gina Cody School, JMSB and select Arts and Science programs
DET score of 120 and above with no subscore under 90	DET score between 105 and 119 with no subscore under 90	DET score between 90 and 104 only two subscores as low as 70
Effective for Fall 2021 applications and beyond, Duolingo English Test scores must include sub-score information. For more information on the Duolingo English Test (DET), you may also visit englishtest.duolingo.com.

CAEL – Canadian Academic English Language Assessment

Direct admission No ESL courses required	Direct admission ESL courses required with option for credit	Conditional admission Intensive English Language Program (IELP) option for Gina Cody School, JMSB and select Arts and Science programs
CAEL minimum overall score 70 with no part under 50	CAEL minimum overall score 50 with no part under 50	CAEL minimum overall score of 40 with no part under 30
The Concordia University Language Test Centre offers the CAEL test. For more information on the CAEL test, you may also visit cael.ca. CAEL and CAEL Online are accepted, with the same rating scale.

CAE – Cambridge C1 Advanced
CPE – Cambridge C2 Proficiency

Direct admission No ESL courses required	Direct admission ESL courses required with option for credit
C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency: min. score 190 with no part under 165	C1 Advanced: min. score 175 overall with no part under 165
For more information on the test or to register, visit cambridgeenglish.org.

PTE Academic – Pearson English Language Test

Direct admission No ESL courses required	Direct admission ESL courses required with option for credit	Conditional admission Intensive English Language Program (IELP) option for Gina Cody School, JMSB and select Arts and Science programs
Minimum overall PTE academic score of 61 with a minimum of 46 in speaking and writing	Minimum overall PTE academic score of 50 with a minimum of 46 in speaking and writing	Overall score of 45 to 49 with only two parts as low as 43
For more information on the test or to register, visit pearsonpte.com.

English second language (ESL) course requirement: The Department of Education offers ESL courses to non-native speakers of English who are accepted by Concordia University but who must upgrade their reading and writing skills.

Provided all other admission criteria is met, you may be eligible for conditional admission.

With a conditional offer, you will start in the Intensive English Language Program (IELP), where you will develop the English skills necessary to enter university studies. You must attain a final grade of 70% or higher at the Advanced 2 Level to meet Concordia language proficiency requirements.

All students who have obtained a final grade of 70% or higher at the Advanced Level will take a placement test to determine if additional academic English classes are necessary. If required, the additional courses will be taken concurrently with your chosen academic program. English credit courses may count toward degree programs, with the exception of Gina Cody School programs. Visit concordia.ca/intensive-english.

You may also choose to retake your language test before beginning the IELP. If your new results meet Concordia’s proficiency requirements, you may begin your academic program directly.

Conditional admission is not available for:

ALL Fine Arts programs departments and programs
Some Faculty of Arts and Science departments and programs
- Departments: Applied Human Sciences; Communication Studies; Education; English; Journalism; Liberal Arts College; Science College
- Programs: Actuarial Mathematics/Finance; Community, Public Affairs and Policy Studies; Exercise Science; Math and Computational Finance; Pastoral Care; Traduction