Doctoral School English language requirements

All international applicants must be able to show that their English is of a high enough standard to successfully engage with and complete their course at SOAS.

If you have not yet taken an English language test, you can still apply for your degree, but we will include evidence of language requirements as part of your offer conditions. 

The information provided on this page is a basic guide to our English admissions and SOAS reserves the right to use its own discretion in all cases. In all cases we consider the most recent evidence of English-speaking ability.

Details of many of the English language qualifications that we accept with minimum scores are provided below. We consider these qualifications alongside other evidence of English language ability, such as your references, curriculum vitae or personal statement.

Doctoral School

Doctoral School (with free in-sessional ESL Study Skills support)

Doctoral School (with 4-week pre-sessional English)

Doctoral School (with 8-week pre-sessional English)

Alternative qualifications

In addition to the tests listed above, we also accept a range of alternative qualifications to demonstrate evidence of English Language proficiency. Generally, these have 5-year validity, but some may have a 2-year validity. 

Some of these alternative qualifications are listed here, but please visit the alternative qualifications page for more information:

* 2-year validity

You do not need to provide evidence of your English language ability if you:

• Are a UK national (we reserve the right to request further English evidence).
• You are a national from a government-recognised majority English-speaking country and have successfully completed high school or a degree in the respective country.
• Have completed a degree in the UK or in any majority English-speaking country (5-year validity from the date the degree was awarded).
• Have completed a degree that was taught in English from Canada, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, or South Africa (or from certain recognised English-medium universities). (5-year validity from date degree was awarded.)
• Have passed a Pre-sessional English course at a UK university (2-year validity).

If you do not meet the English Language Requirements for your course in full, you may be offered an In-sessional (ESL Study Skills) course or a four-week or eight-week Pre-sessional English course, depending on your test results.

In-sessional courses

ESL Study Skills (in-sessional) courses take place during the academic term and are free and non-credit bearing.

ESL Study Skills courses are free and available to all international applicants whose first language is not English; however, priority will go to applicants with an 'In-sessional' recommendation or requirement.

Pre-sessional courses

Pre-sessional English courses take place in the summer before the start of term. For details of Pre-sessional courses, please see the IFCELS web pages.

Applicants who require a Student visa must prove their knowledge of the English language when applying. As a higher education provider, SOAS can assess your level of English using a variety of tests and qualifications. However, you may be asked to provide evidence of a secure English language test (SELT) as part of your Student visa application.

Doctoral School applicants who require a Student route visa and plan to take a Pre-sessional English course must provide a SELT test.

If you are not sure if you will require a pre-sessional course then we recommend that you take one of the following approved SELT English tests at a test centre, as this is the safest option:

• IELTS for UKVI
• Trinity College London: ISE Exams III and IV
• Pearson: PTE Home/PTE Academic UKVI