Deferral (Examine on Arrival) of English Language Proficiency Requirement

The English language proficiency requirement may be deferred with permission from the Graduate School if the applicant’s TOEFL/IELTS score meets the university’s minimum score requirement but is or will be out of date by the time of enrollment. International applicants who are granted a deferral will be required to sit for the UB Institutional TOEFL (a paper-and-pencil test) when they arrive on campus (“Examine on Arrival”). The Graduate School has sole authority to grant or deny a deferral. Departments seeking deferrals must submit a written request to the Graduate School with an explanation and/or evidence supporting the request. If the deferral is granted, the Graduate School will issue an approval memo; this should be submitted to the office of International Admissions in lieu of a TOEFL/IELTS score. Departments are responsible for informing such applicants that the Examine on Arrival test is a paper-and-pencil Institutional TOEFL test and not the more usual computer-based TOEFL test.

International students who have been granted an English language proficiency deferral (Examine on Arrival) must meet the following score requirements (if the student’s initial TOEFL score, upon which conditional admission was granted, is higher than the paper-and-pencil Institutional TOEFL score, then it will be used):

  • Those who achieve an Institutional TOEFL score of at least 550 are exempt from English as a Second Language (ESL) course requirements (with the exception of international teaching, research, and graduate assistants, who may be required to register for ESL 512; see International Teaching, Research, and Graduate Assistants, below).
  • Those who achieve an Institutional TOEFL score of 537 – 547 (inclusive) must register for and successfully complete one ESL course during their first semester of academic study. These students may not register for more than four courses, including supervised teaching and ESL courses, until they complete their ESL course requirement.
  • Those who achieve an Institutional TOEFL score of 523 – 533 (inclusive) must register for and successfully complete two ESL courses during their first semester of academic study. These students may not register for more than four courses, including supervised teaching and ESL courses, until they complete their ESL course requirement.
  • Those who achieve an Institutional TOEFL score below 523 are not eligible to matriculate and/or enroll in any university credit-bearing courses.

Letters of Admission with admission based an Examine on Arrival TOEFL score must clearly state the terms and conditions associated with the score requirements (as specified above), and that admission may be withdrawn if the minimum requirements are not met and/or that an Intensive English Program may be required with the student being responsible for tuition and fees.