From the New York big-city hustle, the laid-back charm of the Midwest to sunny California, the United States of America is undoubtedly one of the most popular study abroad destinations that has something for everyone.
From the global academic renown of its top universities, rich cultural diversity, breathtaking natural landscapes, and buffet of employment opportunities, there’s no question why students still seek out a taste of American opportunity till today.
Whether you’re looking to study abroad in USA or work there, you may be required to prove your proficiency in the English language with standardised tests such as the widely recognised International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
Prepare for IELTS early for the best chance at getting in the right place for your studies in the U.S.
Minimum scores for universities in the United States
U.S. F-1 student visa hopefuls should be aiming for an average minimum IELTS band score between 6.5 to 7.5, if they’re looking to pursue full-time academic studies in the ranks of the country’s massive choice of colleges and universities.
However, students who have the desire to enter some of the world’s top universities need to aim for a higher IELTS score overall to stand out among the candidates, which means strengthening your IELTS preparation for the IELTS Academic test.
The international standards and academic reputation of U.S. higher education institutions are undisputed and widely respected, so it’s crucial to find out all admission details that will help you through an application season.
There are three main intakes in the USA typically: Spring (classes start in January), Summer (in May), Fall (in September). The U.S. Department of State, EducationUSA advises at least one to one and a half years of planning ahead, prior to the academic year you hope to attend.
Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings in 2025
Times Higher Education (THE) is one of the three most established organisations responsible for the publication of global university rankings each year.
The organisation boasts highly extensive and sophisticated performance indicators to provide the most balanced and objective comparisons across all eligible universities in that particular year.
There are five key performance indicators that can be categorised into five aspects: teaching, research quality, research environment, industry income, and international outlook.
In the 2025 rankings this year, nine US universities retain their spots in the global top 15. This includes powerhouse institutions such as Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and Yale, to name a few.
Here’s a more in-depth look into the minimum IELTS requirements for the top universities under the 2025 THE World University Rankings.
Rank | University | Global rank | IELTS minimum requirement (undergraduate programmes) | IELTS minimum requirement (postgraduate programmes) |
1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 2 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
2 | Harvard University | 3 | 7.0 | 7.5 |
3 | Princeton University | 4 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
4 | Stanford University | 6 | Not available | Not available |
5 | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | 7 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
6 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | 8 | 6.5 | 7.0 |
7 | Yale University | 10 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
=8 | The University of Chicago | =14 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
=8 | University of Pennsylvania | =14 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
10 | Johns Hopkins University | 16 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
=11 | Columbia University | =18 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
=11 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | =18 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
13 | Cornell University | 20 | 7.5 | 7.0 |
14 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 22 | 7.0 | 6.5 |
15 | Carnegie Mellon University | 24 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
16 | University of Washington | 25 | 6.0 | 6.5 |
17 | Duke University | 27 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
18 | Northwestern University | 31 | 7.5 | 7.0 |
19 | New York University | 33 | 7.5 | 7.0 |
20 | University of California, San Diego | 34 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
QS World University Rankings in 2025
Alongside Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings is also among the top three most established and internationally acclaimed ranking systems.
This ranking system has a different set of assessment criteria that contribute to a university’s final score in the global performance tables.
Its eight key metrics include academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, faculty-to-student ratio, international student ratio and international faculty ratio, international research network, employment outcomes and sustainability. All of these play a crucial part in determining how an institution is perceived on a global scale.
In 2025, 10 universities made it to the top 20 of QS World University Rankings including Ivy League universities such as University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Yale and Columbia.
Here are the minimum IELTS requirements for American universities according to the QS world ranking system.
Rank | University | Global rank | IELTS minimum requirement (undergraduate programmes) | IELTS minimum requirement (postgraduate programmes) |
1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 1 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
2 | Harvard University | 4 | 7.0 | 7.5 |
3 | Stanford University | 6 | Not available | Not available |
4 | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | 10 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
5 | University of Pennsylvania | 11 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
6 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | 12 | 6.5 | 7.0 |
7 | Cornell University | 16 | 7.5 | 7.0 |
8 | University of Chicago | 21 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
9 | Princeton University | 22 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
10 | Yale University | 23 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
11 | Johns Hopkins University | 32 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
12 | Columbia University | 34 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
13 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | 42 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
14 | New York University | 43 | 7.5 | 7.0 |
15 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 44 | 7.0 | 6.5 |
16 | Northwestern University | 50 | 7.5 | 7.0 |
17 | Carnegie Mellon University | 58 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
18 | Duke University | 61 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
19 | University of Texas at Austin | 66 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
20 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 69 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
Further your studies in the United States with IDP!
Now that you have an idea of the minimum requirements needed to apply to top universities in the U.S., the next step would be to book IELTS to satisfy the English test requirement to study abroad!
As a co-owner of the IELTS test, IDP has decades of experience in helping students to prepare and achieve their target IELTS score for study abroad.
Prepare for IELTS with the all-in-one IDP IELTS Prep Hub and earn a top score for Australia’s universities and immigration. Learn how to tackle the different sections of the English test, use official IELTS Academic practice tests and hear from IELTS experts through video podcasts.
Book your IELTS test today!
