English Proficiency Requirements by Country
NOTE: International students whose first language is not English must submit TOEFL scores. Regardless of U.S. residency status, an English proficiency examination is required of all students whose secondary and/or post-secondary education has been outside the US in a country where English is not the primary language. Applicants whose degree was completed in English in another country may be exempt from the TOEFL requirement. Please contact the Applications & Admissions Coordinator to confirm your English proficiency requirement.
Country | Required | Official Language | |
Yes | No | ||
Afghanistan | x | Dari | |
Albania | x | Albanian | |
Algeria | x | Arabic | |
Andorra | x | Catalan | |
Angola | x | Portuguese | |
Antigua & Barbuda | x | English | |
Argentina | x | Spanish | |
Armenia | x | Armenian | |
Aruba | x | Dutch | |
Australia | x | English | |
Austria | x | German | |
Azerbaijan | x | Azerbaijani | |
Bahamas | x | English | |
Bahrain | x | Arabic | |
Bangladesh | x | Bengali/Bangla | |
Barbados | x | English | |
Belarus | x | Belarusian, Russian | |
Belgium | x | Dutch, French, German | |
Belize | x | English | |
Benin | x | French | |
Bermuda | x | English | |
Bhutan | x | Dzongka | |
Bolivia | x | Spanish | |
Bosnia & Herzegovina | x | Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian | |
Botswana | x | English | |
Brazil | x | Portuguese | |
Brunei Darassalam | x | Malay | |
Bulgaria | x | Bulgarian | |
Burkino Faso | x | French | |
Burma | x | Burmese | |
Burundi | x | Kirundi/French | |
Cambodia | x | Khmer | |
Cameroon | x | French, English | |
Canada | x | English, French | |
Cape Verde | x | Portuguese | |
Cayman Islands | x | English | |
Central African Republic | x | French | |
Chad | x | French, Arabic | |
Chile | x | Spanish | |
China | x | Mandarin Chinese | |
Colombia | x | Spanish | |
Comoros | x | Shikomoro, Arabic, French | |
Congo, Democratic Republic of | x | French | |
Congo, Republic of | x | French | |
Costa Rica | x | Spanish | |
Cote d’Ivoire | x | French | |
Croatia | x | Croatian | |
Cuba | x | Spanish | |
Cyprus | x | Greek, Turkish, English | |
Czech Republic | x | Czech | |
Denmark | x | Danish | |
Djibouti | x | French, Arabic | |
Dominica | x | English | |
Dominican Republic | x | Spanish | |
East Timor | x | Portuguese | |
Ecuador | x | Spanish | |
Egypt | x | Arabic | |
El Salvador | x | Spanish | |
Equatorial Guinea | x | Spanish | |
Eritrea | x | Tigrinya, Tigre | |
Estonia | x | Estonian | |
Ethiopia | x | Amharic | |
Fiji | x | English | |
Finland | x | Finnish | |
France | x | French | |
Gabon | x | French | |
Gambia | x | English | |
Georgia | x | Georgian | |
Germany | x | German | |
Ghana | x | English | |
Greece | x | Greek | |
Grenada | x | English | |
Guatemala | x | Spanish | |
Guinea | x | French | |
Guinea-Bissau | x | Portuguese | |
Guyana | x | English | |
Haiti | x | French | |
Holy See, The | x | Italian | |
Honduras | x | Spanish | |
Hong Kong | x | Cantonese | |
Hungary | x | Hungarian (Magyar) | |
Iceland | x | Icelandic | |
India | x | Hindi | |
Indonesia | x | Indonesian | |
Iran | x | Persian | |
Iraq | x | Arabic | |
Ireland | x | English | |
Israel | x | Hebrew | |
Italy | x | Italian | |
Jamaica | x | English | |
Japan | x | Japanese | |
Jordan | x | Arabic | |
Kazakhstan | x | Kazakh/Russian | |
Kenya | x | English | |
Kiribati | x | English | |
Kuwait | x | Arabic | |
Kyrgyzstan | x | Kyrgyz, Russian | |
Laos | x | Lao | |
Latvia | x | Latvian | |
Lebanon | x | Arabic | |
Lesotho | x | Sesotho, English | |
Liberia | x | English | |
Libya | x | Arabic | |
Liechtenstein | x | German | |
Lithuania | x | Lithuanian | |
Luxembourg | x | Luxembourgish, French, German | |
Macau | x | Portuguese, Chinese | |
Macedonia | x | Macedonian | |
Madagascar | x | Malagasy | |
Malawi | x | English | |
Malaysia | x | Malay | |
Maldives | x | Dhivehi | |
Mali | x | French | |
Malta | x | Maltese | |
Marshall Islands | x | Marshallese | |
Mauritania | x | Arabic | |
Mexico | x | Spanish | |
Mauritius | x | French, English | |
Micronesia | x | English | |
Moldova | x | Romanian | |
Mongolia | x | Khalkha Mongol | |
Monoco | x | French | |
Morocco | x | Arabic | |
Montenegro | x | Montenegrin | |
Mozambique | x | Portuguese | |
Namibia | x | English | |
Nauru | x | Nauruan, English | |
Nepal | x | Nepali | |
Netherlands | x | Dutch | |
Netherlands Antilles | x | Dutch | |
New Zealand | x | English | |
Nicaragua | x | Spanish | |
Niger | x | French | |
Nigeria | x | English | |
North Korea | x | Korean | |
Norway | x | Norwegian | |
Oman | x | Arabic | |
Pakistan | x | Urdu | |
Palau | x | English | |
Panama | x | Spanish | |
Papua New Guinea | x | English | |
Paraguay | x | Spanish | |
Peru | x | Spanish | |
Philippines | x | Pilipino | |
Poland | x | Polish | |
Portugal | x | Portuguese | |
Qatar | x | Arabic | |
Romania | x | Romanian | |
Russia | x | Russian | |
Rwanda | x | Kinyarunda, French, English | |
Samoa | x | Samoan, English | |
San Marino | x | Italian | |
Sao Tome and Principe | x | Portuguese | |
Saudi Arabia | x | Arabic | |
Senegal | x | French | |
Serbia | x | Serbian | |
Seychelles | x | Creole, English & French | |
Sierra Leone | x | English | |
Singapore | x | English | |
Slovakia | x | Slovak | |
Slovenia | x | Slovenia | |
Solomon Islands | x | English | |
Somalia | x | Somali | |
South Africa | x | Afrikaans, English | |
South Korea | x | Korean | |
Spain | x | Spanish | |
Sri Lanka | x | Sinhala, Tamil | |
St Kitts & Nevis | x | English | |
St Lucia | x | English | |
St Vincent & the Grenadines | x | English | |
Sudan | x | Arabic | |
Suriname | x | Dutch | |
Swaziland | x | Siswati, English | |
Sweden | x | Swedish | |
Switzerland | x | German, French, Italian, Romansch | |
Syria | x | Arabic | |
Taiwan | x | Mandarin Chinese | |
Tajikistan | x | Tajik | |
Tanzania | x | Kiswahili | |
Thailand | x | Thai | |
Togo | x | French | |
Tonga | x | Tongan, English | |
Trinidad & Tobago | x | English | |
Tunisia | x | Arabic | |
Turkey | x | Turkish | |
Turkmenistan | x | Turkmen | |
Tuvalu | x | Tuvuluan, English | |
Uganda | x | English | |
Ukraine | x | Ukrainian | |
United Arab Emirates | x | Arabic | |
United Kingdom | x | English | |
Uruguay | x | Spanish | |
Uzbekistan | x | Uzbek | |
Vanuatu | x | Bislama, English | |
Venezuela | x | Spanish | |
Vietnam | x | Vietnamese | |
Yemen | x | Arabic | |
Zambia | x | English | |
Zimbabwe | x | English | |
Contact Us
3440 Market Street, Suite 100
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3335
Telephone: 215.898.7326
Fax: 215.573.2053
Email: lps@sas.upenn.edu
Visitors: Directions




