Test Scores
Depending on your admitting program’s requirements, you may need to take one of the following tests. Please review the information below to see which, if any, applies to you.
Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
Some departments may require the results of the GRE test. Please visit your program’s website to determine their requirements. See the Academic Programs page for a list of all programs and their websites.
- Official scores must be taken no more than five years before the intended quarter of entry and must come directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). For example, to be considered valid for Fall 2023 admission, GRE scores must be no older than September 2018.
- Please request that ETS send your GRE scores to The Graduate School (TGS) using our ETS institution code of 1565. This includes applicants who are applying to doctoral programs in Kellogg. Please do not use the Kellogg code. That code is specific to the MBA.
- You will also be asked to scan and upload a copy of your score report (if you have it available) while submitting your online application. This uploaded version is not considered “official” and will only be used for preliminary review purposes, until your official scores have been received from ETS.
See the GRE website for more information.
Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
If you are applying for a doctoral program in the Kellogg School of Management, you may substitute results of the GMAT for the GRE results. The institutional code for this test, which transmits your results directly to Kellogg, is 6WZ-3J-54. Please use this code, and only this code, for the GMAT. If your results are not sent to this code, Kellogg will not receive them.
You will also be asked to scan and upload a copy of your score report (if you have it available) while submitting your online application. This uploaded version is not considered “official” and will only be used for preliminary review purposes, until your official scores have been received from GMAT.
See the GMAT website for more information.
TOEFL or IELTS
TOEFL or IELTS test scores are required of most international applicants. Please visit your program's website to determine their specific requirements. See the Academic Programs page for a list of all programs and their websites. Students admitted to PhD or MFA programs will be required to fulfill The Graduate School's English proficiency requirement to become eligible for funding as a teaching or graduate assistants. Please see the Graduate and Teaching Assistantships page for details.
TOEFL
- Official scores must be taken no more than two years before the intended quarter of entry and must come directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). For example, to be considered valid for Fall 2023 admission, TOEFL scores must be no older than September 2021.
- The TGS's school code for TOEFL is 1565.
- Test takers may be asked by ETS to choose the "department" to which they want their scores sent. While you should choose the department most closely aligned to the program to which you are applying, we do not use this information to distribute scores. ALL scores sent to school code 1565 are made available to our programs, regardless of the "departments" selected on the ETS form.
- TGS accepts the "MyBest scores." A new reporting structure released by ETS in August 2019. These scores may be entered in the TOEFL section on the "Test Scores" page of the application form.
IELTS
- Official scores must be taken no more than two years before the intended quarter. For example, to be considered valid for Fall 2023 admission, IELTS scores must be no older than September 2021.
- You will also be asked to scan and upload a copy of your score report (if you have it available) while submitting your online application. This uploaded version is not considered “official” and will only be used for preliminary review purposes, until your official scores have been received from IELTS.
- The Graduate School accepts the electronic version of the test. Test takers should select our organization (Northwestern University - The Graduate School) when booking the test to ensure we receive the official score results.
COVID-19 Update
TGS will accept the submission of TOEFL test scores through their at home testing service to meet this requirement.
TGS will accept the submission of IELTS test scores through their at home testing service (IELTS Indicator) to meet this requirement.
These options are only available while testing centers are closed due to the impact of COVID-19. If you are unable to complete a TOEFL or IELTS exam in-person due to testing centers being closed, please inform the program to which you have applied. TGS’s Office of Admissions and Recruitment will work directly with programs/departments to offer guidance to individual applicants.
TGS will not accept DuoLingo or TOEFL Essentials.
See the TOEFL website or the IELTS website for more information.