Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World Rankings, another of the world’s premier ranking systems, rates the world’s universities by institution and subject through academic, student, employer and international indicators.

Rank	University	Global Rank	IELTS minimum requirement (undergraduate programmes)	IELTS minimum requirement (postgraduate programmes)
1	University of Oxford	2	7.0	7.5
2	University of Cambridge	3	7.5	7.0
3	Imperial College London	7	6.5	6.5
4	UCL	8	6.5	6.5
5	The University of Edinburgh	16	6.5	6.5
6	The University of Manchester	27	6.0	6.0
7	King’s College London	35	7.5	7.5
8	The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)	49	7.0	7.0
9	The University of Warwick	61	6.0	6.5
10	University of Bristol	62	6.5	6.5
11	University of Glasgow	73	6.5	6.5
12	University of Southampton	77	Contact institution	Contact institution
13	Durham University	82	6.5	6.5
14	University of Birmingham	90	6.0	6.0
15	University of St Andrews	91	6.5	6.5
16	University of Leeds	92	6.0	6.0
17	The University of Sheffield	95	6.0	6.0
18	University of Nottingham	103	6.0	6.0
19	Queen Mary University of London	117	6.0	6.5
20	Lancaster University	132	6.5	6.5

Do note that scores are subject to change. For the latest information, please refer to each institution’s website and/or contact the Admissions Office directly.

If you have not achieved these scores in your first university IELTS Academic test, fret not!

You can still apply to your preferred universities and receive a conditional offer contingent on meeting the language requirements. Then, you can confirm with your offer with the successful results of your second test.

The universities’ language requirements can also be met through other English tests such as TOEFL and A Level English.

IELTS and Equivalent Scores

Exam	IELTS 5.0	5.5	6.0	6.5	7.0	7.5
A Level English	D	D	C	C	B	B
GCSE English	D	D	C	C	B	B
IB**	grade 3& in A or B HL or SL	grade 4 in A or B HL or SL	IB B SL grade 6 IB B HL -grade 4 IB A1/A2 HL/ SL grade 4	IB B SL grade 6 IB B HL -grade 5 IB A1/A2 HL/ SL- grade 5	IB B SL grade 7 IB B HL -grade 5 IB A1/A2 HL/ SL grade 5	IB B HL -grade 6 IB A1/A2 HL/ SL grade 6
TOEFL ibt	60(10, 10, 13, 16)	70(13, 13, 13, 16)	80(17, 18, 17, 20)	90(17, 18, 17, 20)	100(20, 20, 20, 20)	110(22, 22, 22, 22

While understanding the IELTS requirements for your University of entry is key, it is much better to focus get fully prepared for the test itself to score your very best!

Minimum IELTS score requirements for UK universities