The US Department of State requires scholars to have “sufficient proficiency in the English language, as determined by an objective measurement of English language proficiency, successfully to participate in his or her program." [22 CFR 62.11(a)(2)].

If you have not earned a degree from a U.S. institution or if you were educated in a country where English is not the primary language of instruction, you will need to document that you have sufficient English Proficiency to participate in the J-1 exchange Visitor Program.  

Please see the chart below for acceptable standardized test scores.

Submitting your score:

1.  J-1 Applicant must request that the testing company send an electronic copy of the TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic score report to Temple University's Graduate School within two years of the applicant's test date. The School Code for Temple University is 2906.
2.  J-1 Applicant should upload a copy of the testing score to their DestinyOne application 

If you earned an academic degree that was taught primarily in English, we will consider a letter from the university, diploma or transcript, stating that the degree was earned in English.

The TUTEP is an alternative to the other test options listed above. The interview is an online, face-to-face interview administered through ZOOM. This interview serves as the assessment for the US Department of State’s requirement to determine whether a prospective visitor’s oral English language skills are sufficient for participation in an exchange visitor program. More precisely, this interview will assess English language functionality “on a day-to-day basis” and “outside of the direct activity of the exchange (e.g., outside the lab)”.

The TUTEP takes approximately 20 minutes and consists of 12 interview style questions ranging from common to professional to societal. The questions are general in nature and are designed to inform the interviewer(s) of the examinee’s communication skills. This interview must be recorded and documented.

More information will be provided on how to register for the TUTEP once the inviting department begins an application for the J-1 applicant. Prospective J-1 exchange visitors should not take the TUTEP until your department has advised you to do so.

Scoring:

•  4.0 to 6.0 Pass; Scholar has met the language proficiency requirement for J-1 Scholar Program
•  3.0 to 3.99 Fail; Scholar may retest after 2 months
•  0.0 to 2.99 Fail; Scholar may retest after 6 months
• A scholar may retest no more than two times in an 18-month period.