Applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit the results of a test of English proficiency to the Office of International and Graduate Admissions.  Students who are exempt from submitting a test of English proficiency are those from Canada (excluding Quebec), Bermuda, the Bahamas, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Applicants who have previously attended a high school, college or university in the United States for more than two years and have earned passing grades in English courses may be exempt from an English proficiency exam.

The following exams are accepted as proof of proficiency in English:

Conditional Admission and ELS Language Center

Students who are academically prepared to pursue a university program but are unable to meet the minimum English proficiency requirement may apply to the intensive English language program offered by the ELS Language Center on Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Metropolitan campus in Teaneck, New Jersey. 

For more information on the procedure for conditional admission, please visit our Conditional Admission and ELS webpage.

English Proficiency Placement Examination

Upon matriculation to Fairleigh Dickinson University, ALL new international undergraduate and graduate students, except for those who are exempted, will be tested once again for English proficiency during orientation.  New international students should not assume that they are exempt from taking this English test even though they have had many years of English education in their home countries or abroad or met the above English proficiency requirements.

Depending on test results, new international undergraduate and graduate students may be placed into an English for Professional Success (EPS) course that focuses on the student's major field of study.

See complete information about FDU Programs in Language, Culture, and Professional Advancement (PLCPA).

EPS for Undergraduate Students:

Undergraduate students who are placed into an EPS course must take the class and co-requisite lab and will be charged tuition upon registration.  Credits in EPS will apply to the undergraduate student’s General Education requirement.

EPS for Graduate Students:

Graduate students who are placed into an EPS course and matriculate into a University College or Silberman College of Business degree program will be required to take the class and co-requisite lab.  Graduate students who are placed into an EPS course and matriculate into degree programs in Petrocelli College will be recommended to take the class and co-requisite lab.  Graduate students who enroll in EPS courses will be charged a nominal fee and credits from the course will not count towards a degree.