03 UC/12Postgraduate Awards/1

UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY
Te Whare Wnanga o Waitaha
Template 3: UC Regulation Changes

Proposal Description

Purpose of the proposal:

To amend the English Language requirements for entry to postgraduate study, as detailed below
1. that the minimum UC English language requirements for international postgraduate
students be set at:
IELTS
6.5 overall;no section lower than 6.0
TOEFL (iBT) 90; with writing no lower than 20
TOEFL + TWE 575 / 4.5
2. that Departments/Schools/Programmes have the discretion to set higher levels if they
wish
Justification
All international students whose first language is not English, or have not completed prior
tertiary education in the English language, are required to provide satisfactory evidence of their
proficiency in English. This is usually through an IELTS or TOEFL score. The requirements for UC
are higher than all other New Zealand Universities (see Table below) and indeed are higher than
the vast majority of international Universities of repute. The current proposal is to lower the UC
requirements for PG study to match those of the other NZ universities.
It has become apparent in recruitment efforts that this higher English Language requirement is
an impediment to recruitment of international PhD students. Many potential students choose
not to apply to UC because of our stringent English language requirements and international
institutions have indicated that they do not recommend UC as a destination to their students as
a consequence of this more stringent requirement. As a result we are missing out on the
opportunity to consider for admission academically able students.
English Language Minimum Requirements for Postgraduate Study at New Zealand
Universities
UNI

IELTS

TOEFL (iBT)
Section

TOEFL + TWE

Overall

Section

Overall

AU

6.5

6.0

90

21 Writing

575

4.5

AUT

6.5

6.0

90

575

4.5

LU

6.5

6.0

600

4.5

MU

6.5

6.0

90

20 Writing

575

4.0

Overall

03 UC/12Postgraduate Awards/1

UC

7.0

6.5

100

22 Writing
23
Listening
23 Reading

UO

6.5

6.0

90

20 Writing

587

4.5

UW

6.5

6.0

90

22 Writing

600

5.0

VUW

6.5

6.0

90

20 Writing

575

5.0

7.0 Writing for PhD

600

5.0

One band can be 5.5

For some disciplines e.g. Medicine, Law and teacher training, higher requirements are set.

Calendar Form
New Regulations

(Page 14 UC Calendar 2012) Admissions Regulations A 3(d) Note 3

For postgraduate entrants: either
(a) TOEFL paper-based test score of 575 and TWE of 4.5
(b) TOEFL internet-based score of 90 with minimum band score for Writing of 20
(c) IELTS 6.5 with no section score lower than 6.0
(d) APIEL score of 4 of higher
(e) Cambridge English Test, CPE grade
(f) University of Canterbury Certificate for Tertiary Studies (CertEnglishTertStudies;
postgraduate module), grade C or higher or Certificate in English for University Study
(CertEUS)1

1 The Certificate in English for University Study (CertEUS) is subject to CUAP approval.
2