The University of Florida requires proficiency in spoken and written English. This helps ensure that students who speak English as a second language are able to participate fully in university life, both in and out of class.
Satisfactory scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) are required for applications at the junior-senior transfer and graduate levels. A score of 550 on the paper-based test or 213 on the computer-based test or 80 on the internet-based test is required. Registration for TOEFL is available from the Educational Testing Service.
TOEFL Exemptions:
- International students whose native language is English
- International students who have already spent at least one academic year at a college or university in a country where English is the official language, excluding intensive English language programs.
- International students from the following countries also do not have to take TOEFL:
Anguilla, Antartica, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, India, Ireland, Islas Malvinas, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Montserrat, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Virgin Islands, Western Samoa and Zimbabwe.
Graduate Students
Florida law requires all non-US students who are going to be graduate teaching assistants to prove adequate command of the English language.
Before getting a graduate teaching assistantship, you must submit TSE (Test of Spoken English) or SPEAK
(Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit) scores that meet the acceptable minimums set by the university.
More information on TSE and SPEAK.
UF Academic Written English Program
If you are admitted to UF with language test scores below the acceptable minimums (320 verbal GRE, 80 internet-based TOEFL,
213 computer-format TOEFL or 550 paper-format TOEFL), you will have to take the UF Academic Written English Program's screening test.
The department you are majoring in may also require you to take this test regardless of your language test scores. This test is free.
Depending on your screening test scores, you may have to take a course during your first semester at UF in the UF Academic Written English Program to help improve your English-language reading and writing skills. More information.
UF Academic Spoken English Program
The UF Academic Spoken English Program provides courses designed to improve your English-language speaking and comprehension skills.
You may choose to take a course if you do not feel confident about your skills in these areas.
You also may be required to take one course if the UF Graduate School or your department do not feel your skills are strong enough for competitive performance in the classroom or research arena. This program also monitors non-US students' SPEAK or TSE scores, which are required and must meet a certain minimum if you are going to be a graduate teaching assistant. More information.