Placement
If you are required to take AEP courses to meet UW English language proficiency requirements for graduate students, you'll be placed according to test scores submitted to UW Admissions or the Graduate School.
We accept the following tests to determine placement:
- DET (Duolingo English Test)
- IELTS
- TOEFL iBT
- TOEFL iBT Home Edition
Qualifying Scores
For most of these exams, we use the average of the reading and writing subscores to determine placement into the academic reading/writing course (ENGL 103) and the average of the listening and speaking subscores to determine if you need to take the communication strategies course (ENGL 104).
If you submit multiple test scores, we use the highest individual subscores.
DET (Duolingo English Test)
| Literacy Subscore |
Reading/Writing Placement |
|---|---|
| ≤ 120 |
ENGL 103 |
| ≥ 125 |
Exempt from ENGL 103 |
| Conversation Subscore |
Communication Placement |
| ≤ 120 |
ENGL 104 |
| ≥ 125 |
Exempt from ENGL 104 |
TOEFL iBT (taken before January 2026)
| Average of Reading & Writing Subscores |
Reading/Writing Placement |
|---|---|
| ≤ 22.5 |
ENGL 103 |
| ≥ 23 |
Exempt from ENGL 103 |
| Average of Listening & Speaking Subscores |
Communication Placement |
| ≤ 22.5 |
ENGL 104 |
| ≥ 23 |
Exempt from ENGL 104 |
Updated TOEFL iBT
| Average of Reading & Writing Subscores |
Reading/Writing Placement |
|---|---|
| ≤ 4.25 |
ENGL 103 |
| ≥ 4.5 |
Exempt from ENGL 103 |
| Average of Listening & Speaking Subscores |
Communication Placement |
| ≤ 4.25 (new TOEFL score scale) |
ENGL 104 |
| ≥ 4.5 (new TOEFL score scale) |
Exempt from ENGL 104 |
IELTS
| Average of Reading & Writing Subscores |
Reading/Writing Placement |
|---|---|
| ≤ 6.5 |
ENGL 103 |
| ≥ 6.75 |
Exempt from ENGL 103 |
| Average of Listening & Speaking Subscores |
Communication Placement |
| ≤ 6.5 |
ENGL 104 |
| ≥ 6.75 |
Exempt from ENGL 104 |