Can my language requirement be waived?

Please note that we do not waive the requirement to provide evidence of your language ability under any circumstances and we will not be able to respond to requests for a waiver under most circumstances.

The following applicants usually do not need to take an approved Language test to meet the language condition:

1. Nationals of countries in list A

https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/download/language-status-country

2. Applicants who have completed or are about to complete at least 3 years UK Bachelor’s level study in a List A country, and the date of the completion is no more than 2 years before the start of your Cambridge course. If your study is conducted entirely in English for 2+ years then you may be eligible for an internal Language Assessment with our Language Centre.

All other applicants MUST take a language test to meet the language requirement for admission. You will only meet the language requirement by sitting and providing the results from one of these accepted tests.

We cannot accept language test results unless the examination was sat within 24 months of the course start date.

You do not need to take the language test before you apply, unless you are applying for the LLM or MCL (the latter will have a deadline they accept tests by, please see the course directory for further details & department contact details). If you receive an offer of study then you will not need to meet our language requirements until the offer conditions deadline.