Lehigh's English Language Proficiency

Lehigh Business Graduate Programs provides multiple pathways for applicants to demonstrate English language proficiency for Master's level programs.

An applicant may demonstrate proficiency by following Pathway 1 or Pathway 2. If you do not fall into either Pathway, you are likely required to take an English Language Proficiency Exam.

Pathway l

• Successful completion of an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university where the primary medium of instruction was in English.
• At least 75% of the instruction for this degree occurred in a country on the Lehigh Business country/territory list*.

OR

• Successful completion of a two-year graduate degree from an accredited college or university where the primary medium of instruction was in English.
• The instruction for this degree occurred in a country on the Lehigh Business country/territory list*.

If an applicant answers yes to Pathway 1, an English language proficiency exam is likely not required. This will be verified by the Lehigh Business Admissions Team upon submission of your application.

*Lehigh Business Country/Territory List

United States of America
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Bahamas
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Canada (except Quebec province)
Cayman Islands
Dominica
England
Grenada
Guyana
Jamaica
Northern Ireland
Montserrat
Republic of Ireland
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Scotland
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos
Wales
New Zealand

Pathway ll

• Successful completion of an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university where the primary medium of instruction was in English.
• At least 75% of the instruction for this degree occurred in countries such as: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia.

OR

• Successful completion of a two-year graduate degree from an accredited college or university where the primary medium of instruction was in English.
• The instruction for this degree occurred in: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia.

AND

Applicants must select one (1) option below to demonstrate English language proficiency in this pathway:

1. Duolingo English Test (DET)
2. An official letter or explanation on an official transcript from school verifying all courses were taught in English.
3. Official letter or certificate showing completion of the highest level in an accredited US, UK, Canadian or Australian intensive English program. The most common accredited programs hold the CEA or ACCET accreditation

An interview may be required at the discretion of the Graduate Admissions Office.

If an applicant answers yes to Pathway 2 and has demonstrated English language proficiency by the Pathway 2 options, an English language proficiency exam may not be required. This will be verified by the Lehigh Business Admissions Team upon submission of your application.

If you do not fall within either Pathway

If you do not fall into either Pathway, you are likely required to take an English Language Proficiency Exam (taken in the last 2 years from the time of your Lehigh University application being submitted).

Please contact business@lehigh.edu with any questions regarding your specific educational background related to this part of the application. Please review the acceptable English Language Proficiency Exams from the dropdown list below.

IELTS

Recommended IELTS Overall Score: 7*

Recommended band scores:

• Reading: 7
• Listening: 6.5
• Speaking: 7.5
• Writing: 6.5

Order an IELTS Score Report to Lehigh University
Lehigh University Graduate Admissions​ downloads IELTS scores that have been transmitted to our e-download account. Please contact your test center and​ request that your scores be sent to ​the following IELTS e-download account:
Lehigh University Graduate Admissions
27 Memorial Drive West
Bethlehem, PA 18015

We will not accept paper IELTS test report forms.

*For scores below these requirements, please contact business@lehigh.edu as you may be a candidate for Lehigh University’s StepUp Intensive English program.

TOEFL

Recommended TOEFL [iBT] Score*: 94
90 - MSBA program (starting summer 2025)

Recommended Subscores:
For MS, Business Analytics applicants beginning in Summer '25, the sub-score recommendations are reduced by 1 in each category to meet an overall recommended score of 90

• Reading 25
• Listening 20
• Speaking 24
• Writing 25

Order a TOEFL Score Report to Lehigh University
Lehigh University’s Institutional Code: 2365
Lehigh University accepts MyBest™ scores from ETS/TOEFL as well asTOEFL Essentials**

*For scores below these requirements, please contact business@lehigh.edu as you may be a candidate for Lehigh University’s StepUp Intensive English program.

**For applicants submitting a Duolingo or TOEFL Essentials exam, an interview will be required and will be scheduled after your application has been submitted.

Duolingo (DET)

Recommended Duolingo DET score: 125*

Order a Duolingo English Assessment to Lehigh University
Select Lehigh University-College of Business from Duolingo** dropdown list

*For scores below these requirements, please contact business@lehigh.edu as you may be a candidate for Lehigh University’s StepUp Intensive English program.

**For applicants submitting a Duolingo or TOEFL Essentials exam, an interview will be required and will be scheduled after your application has been submitted.

Seeking Employment with Lehigh University

International graduate students, who are seeking employment with Lehigh University and will have an undergraduate student contact in their role, will be required to undergo and pass an English Proficiency Assessment administered by the International Center for Academic and Professional English (ICAPE). You can read more information about assessment services through Lehigh’s Office of International Affairs.

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