Conditional Admission

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​DePaul University offers conditional admission to qualified applicants in select disciplines. Conditional admission may be offered to students who have been educated in a language other than English and whose academic record qualifies them for admission, but whose level of English proficiency, as measured by accepted English tests, is lower than admission requirements.

If you are conditionally admitted, you will attend DePaul's English Language Academy (ELA) to study English. ELA is a full-time intensive academic language program focused on the language and academic skills used in degree programs. Students that earn the University Bridge Certificate meet the English proficiency requirement for DePaul degree programs.

You can read more below about conditional admission based on applicant type below.

For Undergraduate Applicants

As an international student, you may request to be considered for conditional admission in the test information section of the DePaul freshman or transfer online application.

In order to be conditionally admitted, you must apply and meet all international admission requirements, and meet the minimum English proficiency requirement, which can be found by clicking below.

Note: Effective for TOEFL exams taken on or after January 21, 2026, the ETS TOEFL IBT score scale will change from a 0-120 score range to a 1-6 score range. Minimum requirements for both scales are listed in the table below.​

For Graduate Applicants

Graduate departments may offer conditional admission if the applicant meets all graduate college requirements and meets the minimum English proficiency requirement, which can be found by clicking below. 

Note: Effective for TOEFL exams taken on or after January 21, 2026, the ETS TOEFL IBT score scale will change from a 0-120 score range to a 1-6 score range. Minimum requirements for both scales are listed in the table below.

Deadlines to Accept Conditional Admission Offer

Student may receive a conditional admission offer at various times of the year based on their application to their degree program. When you accept a conditional admission offer, you need to submit an ELA fee and take a pre-placement test. For this reason, there are deadlines to accepting a conditional admission offer. You may receive a conditional admission offer after the deadline. In that case, your ELA entry term will be updated to the next available term to ensure ample time for processing.

​ 

​Frequently Asked Questions about Conditional Admission