English Proficiency Requirements

All students who are not native or primary speakers of English must demonstrate proficiency in English to be admitted to the University. Stony Brook has established overall minimum English language competency requirements for admission to graduate study. Students may be conditionally admitted without meeting some admission requirements, but under no circumstances may students teach in a class or laboratory until they have met Stony Brook University’s speak competency requirements.

A native speaker of English is someone who learned English as a child and uses English as his or her primary language at home. A primary speaker of English may speak a language other than English at home but has developed native fluency as a result of using English exclusively in most social and educational contexts.

All students must declare their native language as part of the admission process. Intentional misrepresentation by a student of his or her native language is academic dishonesty and is grounds for dismissal from the graduate school.

English Proficiency Requirements for Admission

There is no need to submit an English language proficiency test if:

• you hold a degree such as a high school diploma, bachelors, masters, or PhD from an institution where the primary instruction was in English
• you are a US citizen (or US National)
• you served as a Teaching Assistant at an institution where the primary instruction was in English

To be considered for admission, an applicant who is not a native or primary speaker of English or do not qualify to be exempt from a language proficiency exam based on their answers to the application questions listed above, must present a minimum score for either the TOEFL or IELTS tests, as defined below. Students who fail to meet this requirement must enroll in a course at the Intensive English Center (IEC) and achieve satisfactory grades before admission to graduate study. At the request of the program, conditional admission may be offered to students who do not meet minimal language requirements for admission.

Note: Students whose scores are more than two years old must retake the test.

• IELTS: Overall score of 6.5, with no subsection recommended to be below 6
• TOEFL iBT:
  • Exams taken prior to 1/21/2026: Overall score of 90 for doctoral applicants and 80 for master’s applicants.
  • Exams taken after 1/21/2026: Total score of 5 for doctoral applicants and 4.5 for master’s applicants
• Gateway English Test: Overall score of 495 for doctoral and master’s applicants.

Please instruct ETS to send your official score reports electronically to the State University of New York at Stony Brook, code 2548.  View TOEFL website →