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TOEFL, IELTS, or Cambridge English Exam Waiver Policy

Applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit an English competency exam. Students may submit one of the following exams:

TOEFL: composite score of 100 or higher
IELTS: composite score of 7 or higher
Cambridge: C1 score of 185 or higher OR C2 Proficiency

Johns Hopkins SAIS will only accept scores directly from the testing service. Please arrange for all standardized test scores to be sent in advance of the application deadline. TOEFL, IELTS, and Cambridge English scores are considered valid for two years from the date of the exam.

The TOEFL, IELTS, or Cambridge English Exam Requirement may be waived for applicants who complete their entire undergraduate or graduate degree program at an accredited institution where English was the primary language of instruction.

Important Notes:

The waiver applies to only completed degree programs (partial studies, exchange programs, or individual coursework do not qualify).
Admissions reserves the right to request additional evidence of English competency as part of their holistic review process.
If your academic background does not include substantial reading, writing, and research in English, you are encouraged to submit an English TOEFL, IELTS, or Cambridge English Exam score to strengthen your application.

Please note that Johns Hopkins SAIS prefers electronic score submissions. Should you have any additional questions regarding your IELTS scores, please contact us at sais.admissions@jhu.edu.

TOEFL

The Johns Hopkins SAIS TOEFL code is 5610-0000, or 5610.
It is sufficient to select an institution code when sending your official scores. You do not need to designate department or program codes and you may leave them blank (0000). If you are required to enter a department or program code you may use the code “99” (Undecided).
For more information on how to submit the TOEFL, please click here.

IELTS

When prompted, please select ‘Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies’. In order for IELTS scores to be considered ‘Official’ by Johns Hopkins SAIS, the scores must be sent directly from IELTS.

Cambridge

If you have taken one the Cambridge exams and you would like to share your result, you can do so through the Candidate Results page on their website. For instructions on how to submit your Cambridge exam results, please click here.

Admitted candidates with test scores below the following thresholds will be required to complete the English Pre-Term program at Johns Hopkins SAIS before beginning their degree program:

TOEFL: Speaking or Writing sub-score below 25 (previous format) or below 5 (new format)
IELTS: Speaking or Writing sub-score below 7
Cambridge English (C1 Advanced): Speaking or Writing sub-score below 185

Admitted Students whose native language is not English will be required to complete an internal English Diagnostic before beginning their program at SAIS. This requirement applies to admitted non-native English speakers, regardless of whether English TOEFL, IELTS, or Cambridge English test scores were submitted or waived during the admissions process.

This diagnostic is used to determine whether additional English language support is necessary during the academic program.

Important: This diagnostic is not an admissions requirement and does not affect admissions decisions. This notice is to inform applicants that non-native English speakers will be required to take this English diagnostic assessment at the beginning of their studies at SAIS.