For a degree, your university sets the IELTS score, often an overall band plus a minimum in each skill. The six universities here ask for 6.5 to 7.5 overall. The Student visa asks for English at B2, and your university may check it itself.
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Your university decides which tests it takes
Official page Last checked: 19 October 2026
IELTS Academic
Official page Last checked: 19 October 2026
IELTS Academic, at a test center, for UKVI or online
Official page Last checked: 19 October 2026
IELTS Academic, IELTS Online and UKVI included
Official page Last checked: 19 October 2026
IELTS Academic or IELTS Online
Official page Last checked: 19 October 2026
IELTS Academic, UKVI or Online
Official page Last checked: 19 October 2026
IELTS Academic, at a test center or online
Official page Last checked: 19 October 2026
A SELT, such as IELTS for UKVI
Official page Last checked: 19 October 2026
Also from: gov.uk: approved English tests taken outside the UK (spreadsheet), gov.uk: prove your English with a SELT
At degree level, your university decides which tests it takes. IELTS Academic is the test IELTS names for undergraduate and postgraduate study. Below degree level, if you have no other proof of English, such as a UK school qualification or a degree taught in English, you need a SELT such as IELTS for UKVI, taken at an approved test location.
Missed Writing by 0.5? First check if your university takes One Skill Retake. If it does not, you need a new full test before your offer deadline.
IELTS names Academic as the test for degree study, and in IELTS's own 2024-2025 Academic data, Writing had the lowest average of the four skills. IELTS test taker performance data, 2024-2025.
One Skill Retake: Bristol accepts it, and LSE may. King's College London and Imperial do not. For a visa SELT, gov.uk says a failed part may be resat only in some cases.
Who accepts One Skill Retake
Look at the Writing score in your offer, then set your target to match it. If your offer asks for 6.5 in Writing, choose 6.5. The rewrite then shows your own answer at that band, so you can see what your offer asks of you.
Write Academic Task 1 chart reports and Task 2 essays in one sitting, the way the test runs, timed by the practice timer.
Start with the criterion that keeps your band low, and work through its labeled corrections. Review your recent Task 1 and Task 2 bands before you book, well ahead of your offer deadline.
Each university sets its own, and often each course too. On this page the range runs from 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each part, at Imperial's standard level, Warwick's Band A and King's Band D, to 7.5 overall with 7.0 in each part for Cambridge undergraduates.
Many do. King's College London, Imperial, LSE, Warwick and Bristol list it, but the University of Manchester does not. Below degree level, the Student visa needs a SELT such as IELTS for UKVI instead.
At degree level, yes, if your university accepts it. Your university can assess your English itself and decides which tests it takes. Below degree level, you need a SELT such as IELTS for UKVI, unless you can prove your English another way, such as with a UK school qualification or a degree taught in English. Ask your university which test it wants before you book.
B2 is the English level the Student visa asks for at degree level and above. Your university can check it itself. If you need a SELT instead, B2 in IELTS for UKVI is 5.5 in each part on the UK's approved list.
It depends on the university. King's College London, for example, needs all scores from one test and does not take a combination of scores from two tests.
First ask your university if it accepts One Skill Retake. If it does, and you took an IELTS on computer test at a center that offers One Skill Retake, you can retake only Writing within 60 days of that test. If not, as at King's College London, you need a new full test before your offer deadline.
If the course is below degree level, the Student visa usually asks for English at B1. If you have no qualification that proves your English, such as a GCSE or A level from a UK school, you need to pass a SELT such as IELTS for UKVI, taken at an approved test location. Your course provider may ask for a higher score, so check its offer.
This page sums up official rules in plain words. It is not immigration or legal advice. Rules change, so check the official page before you book or apply. Every rule here was checked on or after 19 October 2026. VoyaLang is not affiliated with or endorsed by IELTS, the British Council, IDP, or Cambridge Assessment English.
