All applicants for whom English is not their first language must provide proof of English Language proficiency. Accepted assessments are listed below. Fanshawe College will waive language proficiency requirements in certain circumstances. If you have questions about our language requirements, please contact our Pre-Admissions Advisors who can help provide clarification.
English Language Requirements by Program Type
The following chart below shows the score you need to achieve for the language test. The scores may be different based on the program credential. Our health career programs require a higher score because these careers involve interacting with patients. Please read the exceptions to find any programs that require specific scores.
Note: test results must be within the last 2 years
| Test | Diplomas, Advanced Diplomas & Certificates 1 | Degrees & Graduate Certificates | Health Career Programs 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOEFL iBT | 79 | 88 | 92 (22 writing, 26 speaking, 20 reading and 20 listening) |
| IELTS Academic | Overall score of 6.0 with no score less than 5.5 in any of the four bands | Overall score of 6.5 with no score less than 6.0 in any of the four bands | Overall score of 7.0 with no score less than 6.5 in reading and listening and a score of 7.0 in writing and speaking |
| CAEL | Overall score of 60 with no score less than 50 in any of the four bands. score of 80 in listening | Overall score of 70 with no score less than 60 in any of the four bands | 70 in writing, reading and speaking and a score of 80 in listening |
| PTE Academic | 53 | 59 | 65 |
| Cambridge English | Overall score of 169 with no language skill less than 162 | Overall score of 176 with no language skill less than 169 | Overall score of 185 with no language skill less than 176 and a score of 185 in listening |
| ESL4/GAP5 | Minimum grade of 80% in Level 8, 75% in Level 9, or 70% in Level 10 | Minimum grade of 80% in Level 9 or 75% in Level 10 | Minimum grade of 80% in Level 10 |
| Duolingo | Overall score of 105, with no score lower than 95 | Overall score of 120, with no score lower than 105 | Overall score of 135, with Literacy minimum 130 and no other sub-scores below 125 |
Exceptions
Business Fundamentals (BFS2)
TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Home Edition: 61
IELTS Academic: Overall score of 5.5 with no score less than 5.0 in any of the four bands
CAEL: Overall score of 50 with no score less than 50 in any of the four bands
PTE Academic: Minimum score of 47
Cambridge English Test (FCE/CAE/CPE): with an overall score on the Cambridge English Scale of 162 with no language skill less than 154
Fanshawe College ESL4/GAP5 students: Minimum grade of 70% in ESL4/GAP5 Level 8
Duolingo: Overall score of 105, with no score lower than 85
Collaborative Nursing program (Collaborative Degree) (NSG3)
Admissions for the Collaborative Nursing program are done in conjunction with Western University. Please see their website for admissions details. https://www.uwo.ca/fhs/nursing/undergrad/bscn/admission.html
911 and Public Safety Communications (PSC1)
TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Home Edition: 79
IELTS Academic: Overall score of 6.0 with no score less than 5.5 in any of the four bands
CAEL: Score of 70 in writing, reading and speaking and a score of 80 in listening
PTE Academic: Minimum score of 53
Cambridge English Test (FCE/CAE/CPE): with an overall score on the Cambridge English Scale of 169 with no language skill less than 162
Fanshawe College ESL4/GAP5 students: Minimum grade of 75% in ESL4/GAP5 Level 10
Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership (ELC1)
TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Home Edition: 88
IELTS Academic: Overall score of 7.0 with no score less than 6.5 in reading and listening and a score of 7.0 in writing and speaking
CAEL: Score of 70 in writing, reading and speaking and a score of 60 in listening
PTE Academic: Minimum score of 65
Cambridge English Test (FCE/CAE/CPE): with an overall score on the Cambridge English Scale of 185 with no score less than 176 in reading and listening and 185 in writing and speaking
Fanshawe College ESL4/GAP5 students: Minimum grade of 80% in ESL4/GAP5 Level 9 or 75% in ESL4/GAP5 Level 10
Pharmacy Technician (PTN1)
TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Home Edition: 91
IELTS Academic: A minimum of 7.0 in Reading, Listening, and Speaking and a minimum of 6.5 in Writing
- Exceptions Diplomas, Advance Diplomas & Certificate Programs include: Business Fundamentals (BFS2), 911 and Public Safety Communications (PSC1), and Pharmacy Technician (PTN1). Click on “exceptions” to see details.
- Exceptions to Degrees include: Collaborative Nursing program (Collaborative Degree) (NSG3), Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership (ECL1). Click on “exceptions” to see details.
- The Health Career programs include: Dental Hygiene (DHY3), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI1), Paramedic (PAR2), Respiratory Therapy (RST4), Practical Nursing (PNG5 & PNG5W), Medical Radiation Technology (MRT1), Occupational Therapist Assistant and Physiotherapist Assistant (OPA1)
Waiving Requirements for Language Proficiency
In specific circumstances, Fanshawe College will not require an applicant whose first language is not English to submit a language proficiency assessment result. These include:
- Applicants who have a grade 12 English college or university level credit from a school in Canada. For health career programs, applicants must have English credits at the college or university level (not ESL) from grade 9, 10, 11 and 12 in Canada in order for the requirement to be waived.
- Applicants who come from a country where the official language of the country is English.
- Applicants who hold a university or college credential (or combination of credentials equal to a minimum of two years) from an accredited higher education institution where the language of instruction is English.
Accepted Tests
TOEFL
- Test of English as a Foreign Language
- Fanshawe’s TOEFL institution number is 9120.
- We will accept TOEFL iBT and TOEFL iBT at home edition; we do not accept essentials
IELTS Academic
- International English Language Testing System - Academic
- We accept the IELTS Indicator Test
CAEL
- Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) Test
- We accept CAEL Online for all programs except Pharmacy Technician
PTE Academic
- Pearson Test of English - Academic
Cambridge English Test
- We accept results from FCE (Cambridge English: First), CAE (Cambridge English: Advanced) and CPE (Cambridge English: Proficiency).
ESL4/GAP5
- Fanshawe College’s own academic program, English as a Second Language/General Arts and Science - English Language Studies
Duolingo Language Test
Student Direct Stream (SDS) Program Applicants
International students applying through the SDS Program (Student Direct Stream) from Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Vietnam should note that the SDS IELTS requirements are 6.0 with no score less than 6.0 in any of the four bands. For programs listing a higher IELTS requirement, the higher score will be required. Please note: There may be additional country-specific requirements. For more information, please see the government of Canada's updates on Student Direct Stream (SDS).
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