Thank you for your interest in UMass Amherst. Admission to the first-year class is selective and is contingent upon successful completion of required high school courses at a level consistent with the university’s admissions standards. When you apply, we consider everything we learn about you from your application and decisions are never based on any single factor. You can help us get to know you by submitting the required items outlined below. We use a holistic review process to select students who will benefit from the UMass Amherst academic environment and enrich the entire student body.
UMass Amherst seeks to admit students who will contribute fully to campus life, inside and outside the classroom. Therefore, all non-native speakers of English must demonstrate English language proficiency. There are several ways to satisfy the requirement
Duolingo English Test (DET): minimum score of 115 is required (Use the same email address as used with the Common Application).
TOEFL: minimum composite score of 80 no subscore lower than 20 (code #3917). We accept results from the in-person version or the iBT Home Edition only. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Scores.
IELTS: minimum composite score of 6.5 on the academic test with no subscore lower than 6.0 (We will not accept paper IELTS test report forms).
Cambridge English: B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency: minimum combined score of 176 with no sub score lower than 169.
English Education: Completion of entire secondary education (four years) at a high school where English is the primary language of instruction and a British or American curriculum is followed. (This waiver is not automatic and at the discretion of the Director.)
Unscripted interview: While not required for admission, all international students may choose to submit a third-party unscripted interview. If you choose to submit an interview, companies that provide this service include InitialView.
We do not accept results from the IELTS Indicator, the TOEFL ITP Plus for China, TOEFL Essentials, or the PTE Academic Online.
Please note that we do not superscore any English proficiency tests (e.g., we do not accept TOEFL MyBest scores). All core reports must be no older than two years at the time of application and must be sent directly to Undergraduate Admissions from the testing service.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst downloads IELTS scores that have been transmitted to our e-download account. Please contact your test center and request that your scores be sent to the following IELTS e-download account:
University of Massachusetts Amherst
534 Goodell Building
140 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9333
*Please note: Waiver of the English proficiency testing requirement will be granted only after our verification that the applicant has satisfied one of the above waiver criteria, based on official documentation contained in the student's application materials. The official verification process will be conducted after the student's application has been submitted and reviewed.
https://www.umass.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/connect/information-policies/english-language-proficiency