International Admission Requirements

Below are the general admission requirements for international students. To view the admission requirements for freshman or transfer students, select the appropriate type from the left menu.

Academic Requirements by Country

Minimum performance requirements have been determined for students educated in most countries.

Academic Requirements by Country

If your country is not listed, please send us an email with the name of your country, whether you are applying as a freshman or transfer, and we will send you the admission requirements separately.

English Proficiency Exams

For the purpose of applying to Iowa State, English may be considered your primary language if you have been raised in an environment where English is the only official language of your locality and nation, and English has been the primary language used in your home. Applicants whose primary language is not English must meet an English proficiency requirement in one of the ways listed below. Note for students transferring from US schools: Iowa State does not waive the English requirement for students who have taken English courses at US institutions.

  • Internet-Based TOEFL (IBT): score of 71 with minimum scores of 17 in the Speaking and Writing sections.
  • Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT): score of 530.
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS): an overall band score of 6.0 with no sub score below 5.5.
  • SAT Critical Reading: a minimum score of 420 on the Critical Reading Section of the SAT.

Official TOEFL scores should be reported directly to Iowa State University by the testing agency. (Scanned copies, photocopies, and Web results are not accepted.) Iowa State's reporting code for the TOEFL and SAT is 6306. For IELTS, results should be sent directly to the Office of Admissions by the testing center where you took the IELTS.

Conditional Admission

If your scores do not yet meet the minimum requirement, you may apply for "conditional admission" to allow you to improve your English skills in our full-time Intensive English and Orientation Program (IEOP). If admissible, a conditional admission letter for the bachelor's program will be issued along with an I-20 for our Intensive English and Orientation Program. The IEOP offers classes at the same time as our regular classes, and you can retake the TOEFL at the end of each semester until you pass it. Please follow the procedures listed below:

The IEOP requires applicants to have a minimum score of 55 on the IBT, 477 of the PBT, or 5.5 on the IELTS. If you have one of the scores above, you may:

  1. Complete the IEOP application for the term you would like to first enroll.
  2. Complete the International Undergraduate Application for the term after that, and check "Yes" to Question 10 on the application asking if you are applying for conditional admission.

If admissible, a conditional admission letter for the bachelor's program will be issued along with an I-20 for our Intensive English and Orientation Program.

If you have not yet met the above test score requirement, but have been admitted to a different English language program, please include a copy of the letter of admission you received from that program when you apply to Iowa State. If admissible, we will issue a conditional admission letter for the bachelor's program. No I-20 will be issued until you finish the English language program elsewhere and submit a satisfactory English test result. Otherwise, we encourage you to wait until your test scores increase to apply for admission.

Iowa State will not review an application for conditional admission until either an official TOEFL or IELTS result is received, or you have submitted proof of admission to another English language program.

What if I get the score I need before I arrive?

If you plan on taking one of the English proficiency tests between now and when you plan to come to Iowa State, be sure to have your official scores sent to us. If you happen to achieve the required score before you arrive at Iowa State, we will be happy to change your admission status to "unconditional" provided there is enough time before the semester begins for a new I-20 to be issued and received. (Approximately 6 weeks is needed to issue a new I-20.) If you already obtained your visa using Iowa State's IEOP I-20, just use that to enter the country, and we will issue a new I-20 after you arrive.

Although the tests are not required of students who have been educated outside the U.S., strong results on either test could favorably affect the admission decision. Some U.S. Consulates require the results of a standardized examination as part of the visa application process to show the applicant's seriousness of purpose.