Universities in UK are ranked according to their ranking metric some of which are research, Citations, teaching environment, international outlook, subject rankings, etc. Although our major focus is the minimum IELTS requirements of these top ranking schools but there is a need to expose my readers to the reason why some schools are on top of the league tables.
It is important to let you know that UK universities require IELTS score from countries that are regarded as non-English speaking countries. Any anyone seeking undergraduate or postgraduate admission from these school must meet the requirements.
Read: How to prepare and ace IELTS with band 8.0
The IELTS score gives competitive advantage to applicants that has it especially when applying to highly competitive universities in UK and the score has the following interpretation
| IELTS SCORE | Interpretation |
| 9.0 | Excellent |
| 8.0 | Very Good |
| 7.0 | Good |
| 6.0 | Competent |
| 5.0 | Moderate |
| 4.0 | Limited |
| 3.0 | Very Limited |
| 2.0 | Intermittent |
| 1.0 | Non User |
| 0 | Test Not Attempted |
Top UK Universities With Minimum IELTS Requirements
| Top UK Universities | Minimum IELTS Score |
| University of Cambridge | Undergraduate and Postgraduate accepts IELTS score 7.5 with minimum of 7.0 band in each module (listening, reading, writing, speaking) |
| University of Oxford | Undergraduate and Postgraduate programme accepts a minimum IELTS score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 band in each module |
| University of St Andrews | 6.5 is the minimum required IELTS score (with a minimum of 6.5 in each module). |
| London School of Economics and Political Science | Minimum scores required are: IELTS – overall score of 7.0 (6.0 in speaking and writing and 6.5 in listening and reading) |
| Imperial College London | Offers conditional on English are either for: the STANDARD entry level – IELTS 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in any element (or equivalent) or the HIGHER entry level – IELTS 7.0 overall with no less than 6.5 in any element (or equivalent) |
| Durham University | IELTS test scores with a minimum overall score of 6.0, with no band score below 6.0 |
| Loughborough University | Overall score of 6.5 with not less than 6.0 in each test |
| University College London | minimum required IELTS score is 6.5 for both undergraduate and postgraduate programme |
| University of Bath | 7.0 overall with no less than 6.5 in each component |
| University of Warwick | IELTS (International English Language Testing System) of at least 6.5. |
| Lancaster University | 6.5 overall, minimum of 5.5 in each element |
| University of Exeter | at least 6.5 overall and no less than 6.0 in the writing section and no less than 5.5 in any other section |
| University of Bristol | 6.5 overall with 6.0 in all skills |
| University of Glasgow | overall 7.0 with no sub-test less than 7.0 |
| University of Leeds | The minimum University language requirement is IELTS band score 6.0 – with not less than 5.5 in any skill area |
| University of Southampton | 6.5 overall, minimum 5.5 in listening, speaking, reading and writing. |
| University of Edinburgh | 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each section |
| University of Manchester | Minimum of 7.0 |
| University of Birmingham | 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in every band |
| University of York | 6.5 minimum |
| University of East Anglia | 6.0 overall with minimum of 5.5 in each component |
| Royal Holloway, University of London | 6.5 overall. Reading and writing 6.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5. |
| University of Dundee | Overall: 6.5 Writing: 6.0 Listening: 5.5 Reading: 5.5 Speaking: 5.5 |
| University of Sheffield | Undergraduate applicants are required to achieve a minimum of IELTS 6.0 with 5.5 in each component or equivalent. Postgraduate applicants are required to achieve a minimum of IELTS 6.5 with 6.0 in each component or equivalent. |
| University of Strathclyde | 6.5 overall (no individual band less than 5.5) |
Lastly, like I have said earlier, the IELTS Score is an average from the four sections;- listening, writing, reading and speaking, each section has a score which is sum up and divided by four.
