We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification depending on your nationality and where you have studied previously.
The English language requirements vary depending on the course that you are applying for.
On this page you will find a list of English language requirements by department and these are listed under the faculty that they are part of.
You can provide evidence of your English language ability in several ways. Details are listed below.
We accept the following tests as evidence of English language ability:
Our required scores vary by course and you can find the scores needed for each department on this page.
IELTS, TOEFL, Pearson and LanguageCert certificates are valid for 2 years from the test date and your certificate will need to be valid on the start date of your studies at Lancaster. If you have taken a test multiple times, we cannot combine scores together to meet the requirements.
If you take the Pearson test, you will need to give permission for Lancaster University to verify your score.
If your English language score does not meet our requirements, we may be able to consider you for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
The following English language qualifications may also be accepted.
If you have one of these qualifications, please contact us for the requirements.
If you have not taken one of our recognised English language qualifications we may be able to accept an alternative English language qualification. The alternatives we may be able to consider are detailed below by country.
| Botswana | Cambridge Overseas School Certificate (English) Grades 1-6 inclusive / Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) in English at Grade C or above |
| Brunei | Cambridge GCE O Level (English) Grade 6 or above |
| Cameroon | Cameroon GCE O Level (English) Grade C or above |
| Ghana | GCE O Level (English) Grade C or above / Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) in English, Grade C6 or above |
| India | Indian Standard XII English at 80% or above |
| Kenya | Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in English at Grade C or above |
| Malaysia | Malaysian 1119 syllabus (UCLES) English at Grade C or above / GCE O Level (English) Grade C or above |
| Mauritius | GCE O Level / GCSE English, Grade C or above |
| Nigeria | WAEC/WASSCE/NECO in English at Grade C6 or above |
| Philippines | High School Diploma in English at Grade C or above |
| Singapore | Singapore-Cambridge GCE O Level (English) at Grade C6 or above |
| South Africa | Senior Certificate (Matric) in English at 60% (Grade C) or above / Standard 10 Certificate (English) |
| Tanzania | Tanzanian Certificate of Secondary Education (TCSE) in English / Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education (ACSE) in English at Grade C or above |
| Zambia | Zambian Secondary School Certificate (ZSSC) in English at Grade C or above |
| Zimbabwe | GCE O Level (English), Grade C or above |
If you are applying for a Postgraduate course and your country is not listed above and if you have you taken one of the recognised English Language qualifications, please contact the Admissions Team.
If your High School English Language qualification was awarded more than 10 years ago you may also be asked to take part in an English Language interview or provide a standard English Language test.
We may be able to consider waiving our English language requirements if you have:
You are not required to submit evidence of your knowledge of English if you are from one of the following countries or territories, or you have completed a qualification equivalent to a UK degree in one of them (degree completed and awarded no more than three years before the intended start of your chosen course)
You also do not need to prove your knowledge of English if the following applies:
Use this list to find the English language requirements for your department.
If you don't know which department your course belongs to, you can check this on our course information pages.
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
Pre-sessional programmes (excluding PhD Accounting and Finance)
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Biomedical and Life Sciences Division with an October start date (excluding blended/distance learning courses):
English language requirements for the majority of our courses:
English language requirements for Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy):
Pre-sessional programmes
For PhD Health Research with an October start date only:
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
English language requirements (excluding MSc Health Data Science):
English language requirements - MSc Health Data Science:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Lancaster Medical School with an October start date (excluding MSc Clinical Research and blended/distance learning courses):
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Chemistry Department with an October start date:
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Computing and Communications Department with an October start date:
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Engineering Department with an October start date:
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Lancaster Environment Centre with an October start date (excluding distance learning courses):
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Mathematics and Statistics Department with an October start date:
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Natural Sciences Department with an October start date:
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Physics Department with an October start date:
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Psychology Department with an October start date:
English language requirements
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Educational Research Department with an October start date (excluding distance learning courses):
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the English Literature and Creative Writing Department with an October start date (excluding distance learning courses):
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the History Department with an October start date:
MArch Architecture
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
MA Film Studies, MA Theatre for Social, Political and Environmental Change and MA Design Management
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For MA Film Studies and MA Design Management
MA Arts Management and MA Fine Art
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our .
For MA Arts Management and MA Fine Art:
PhD Courses
English language requirements
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For PhD courses in Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts with an October start date:
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the School of Global Affairs with an October start date:
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Law School with an October start date:
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Linguistics and English Language Department with an October start date (excluding PhD and distance learning courses):
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Politics, Philosophy and Religion Department with an October start date (excluding distance learning courses):
English language requirements for the majority of our courses (excluding MA Social Work):
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For courses in the Sociology Department with an October start date (excluding MA Social Work):
MA Social Work
English language requirements:
Pre-sessional programmes
If your English language score does not meet the requirements above, you may still be accepted on to the academic course by successfully completing one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
For MA Social Work:
If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, please complete our enquiry form and one of our team will get back to you.
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