IELTS Scores Required for Universities in the UK

So you’ve decided to study in the UK. You want to know what are the IELTS requirements for getting admission/visa. Or maybe you didn’t get the score you hoped to get, and you want to see what you could get with that.

Now if you nodded your head while reading the previous two sentences, you’re in luck.

IELTS score for UK (or) IELTS requirement for UK

This article has the list of the top ten universities in the UK and their IELTS requirements for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Minimum possible IELTS requirement for universities in the UK

While the requirements for the top universities may vary, the minimum IELTS band requirement for UK stands at 6.5 . An undergraduate degree requires an IELTS score of 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in each section. These requirements generally stay the same for postgraduate degree programmes.

IELTS requirements for UK universities

The basic IELTS requirements for the top ten universities in the UK are given below.

Note: These are just the overall minimum requirements, and can be higher for particular courses at these universities. Refer to the university websites for further details.

University of Cambridge

Minimum IELTS Requirement:

• Undergraduate: 7.5(minimum 7.0 in each component)
• Postgraduate: 7.5 (minimum 7.0 in each component)

Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the fourth-oldest university in the world. Ranked 7th in the QS 2020 world university rankings, it has over 20,000 students enrolled, with 9,000 of them being international students.

They boast of distinguished alumni like Isaac Newton, J. Robert Oppenheimer and Srinivasa Ramanujan.

University of Oxford

Minimum IELTS Requirement:

• Undergraduate: 7.0 (Minimum 6.5 per component)
• Postgraduate: 7.5

Established in the year 1096, the University of Oxford is the second-oldest university in the world. Ranked 4th in the QS 2020 world university rankings, it has a total enrollment of almost 24,000 students, with 6,772 international students.

They have produced famous alumni who have dominated every sphere of excellence. Some noteworthy ones are Stephen Hawking, Indira Gandhi and Boris Johnson.

Imperial College London

Minimum IELTS Requirement:

• Undergraduate: 7.0 (minimum 6.5 in each component)
• Postgraduate: 7.0 (minimum 6.5 in each component)

Imperial College London was established in 1907 and is one of the only British universities to have an unwavering focus on science, medicine, and technology. It has one of the most diverse campuses in the UK, with an international student population of over 50%. The university is ranked 9th in the QS 2020 world university rankings.

King’s College London

Minimum IELTS Requirement:

• Undergraduate: 7.0 (minimum 6.5 in each component)
• Postgraduate: 7.5 (minimum 7.0 in each component)

Founded in 1829, King’s College London is the 4th oldest university in England. It is ranked 33rd according to the QS 2020 world university rankings.

King’s has around 31,000 students enrolled in total with over 11,000 of them being international students from over 150 countries. They are among the leading research institutes, producing 12 Nobel Laureates among their alumni.

London School of Economics and Political Science

Minimum IELTS Requirement:

• Undergraduate: 7.0
• Postgraduate: 7.5

Established in 1895, The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university located in London. It is ranked 49th in the QS 2020 world university rankings and is famous for its research output. The university has a huge international student population: 7,937 foreign students out of the total 10,972, making it the university with the most international students on this list.

University of Edinburgh

Minimum IELTS Requirement:

• Undergraduate: 6.5 (minimum 6.0 in each component)
• Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 6.0 in each component)

Founded in 1582, the University of Edinburgh is the sixth-oldest university in the English-speaking world. It has five campuses in the city of Edinburgh. They are: the Central Area, Easter Bush, Western General, King’s Building and Bioquarter. They are ranked 20th in the QS 2020 world university rankings and have a student population of over 30,000, with over 12,000 being international students.

They have produced some illustrious alumni, including JK Rowling, Charles Darwin, and Gordon Brown.

University College London

Minimum IELTS Requirement:

• Undergraduate: 6.5 (minimum 6.0 in each component)
• Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 6.0 in each component)

Established in 1826, the University College London is a public university ranked 10th in the QS 2020 world university rankings. They are renowned for their research facilities and have a student population of nearly 36,000 with international students numbering over 20,000.

University of Warwick

Minimum IELTS Requirement:

• Undergraduate: 6.5
• Postgraduate: 6.5

The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry. It comes 62nd  in the QS 2020 world university rankings and has a total student population of 23,436, with international students coming from over 150 countries.

So these are the top universities in the UK, along with their IELTS requirements. We hope you can now make an informed judgement on the IELTS score you need for your dream university.

University of Manchester

Minimum IELTS Requirement:

• Undergraduate: 6.0
• Postgraduate: 7.5

Established only in 2004 by a merger of two existing universities, the University of Manchester is the newest university on this list. It has over 40,000 students enrolled and 10,000 of those are international students. The university is ranked 27th in the QS 2020 world university rankings.

Benedict Cumberbatch is a famous alumnus of this university.

University in UK accepting IELTS overall band score 6:

University of Bristol

Minimum IELTS Requirement:

• Undergraduate: 6.0
• Postgraduate: 6.0

Founded in 1876 the University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol. QS ranks 58th in their 2020 world university rankings. They have a total student population of 24,268 students, with 6,759 students out of those being foreign. The university offers degrees across six faculties, which are as follows:

• Faculty of Health Sciences
• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Life Sciences
• Faculty of Engineering
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Faculty of Law

Also check :

• Universities in Canada accepting IELTS Score 6
• Universities in Australia accepting IELTS Score 6
• Universities in UK accepting IELTS Score 6
• Universities in Canada accepting IELTS Score for MBA
• Universities in Australia accepting IELTS Score for MBA
• Universities in UK accepting IELTS Score for MBA