PTE Score Required for UK in 2026: Visa Rule and University Scores

  • Last Updated on: October 15, 2026 by
  • Shiva Sai Bejawada
PTE Score Required for UK
PTE Score Required for UK

For a master’s, the PTE score required for UK study is 64 overall at Leeds and 67 at Birmingham for most subjects. LSE asks 70 overall with 62 in each skill for 2027-28 entry. The Student visa has its own minimum on the Home Office list of approved English tests. For a degree course, it is 59 in each of the four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening). For a course below degree level, it is 43 in each skill. Not sure whether to book PTE Academic or PTE Academic UKVI, the version approved for UK visas? Your course level decides. The tables below give the test for each route and the official scores at 9 universities.

Written by
Shiva Sai Bejawada
Senior Counsellor (British Council Certified) -UK & Ireland
Shiva Sai Bejawada is a British Council Certified overseas-education counsellor at AOEC India who guides Indian students through UK and Ireland university selection, admissions, and student visa documentation.
6 Years, 96% visa approval rate
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • The Student visa asks for 59 in each PTE skill for a degree course and 43 in each skill below degree level.
  • Master’s bands start at 61 overall at Sheffield. The most demanding courses ask 76 at four universities, LSE Law asks 78, and Manchester typically asks 79 or more where a course wants IELTS 7.5.
  • Cambridge and Edinburgh’s postgraduate lists don’t include PTE.
  • Plain PTE Academic usually works for a bachelor’s or master’s; for a foundation year or pre-sessional English course, book PTE Academic UKVI.
  • PTE Home and the withdrawn PTE Academic Online can’t support a Student visa.
  • PTE Academic and PTE Academic UKVI each cost INR 18,900 in India, and a score lasts two years.
Table of Contents
PTE score required for UK by study route Scroll here ↓ PTE score for UK universities: master’s bands by university Scroll here ↓ PTE score for UK bachelor’s, foundation and pre-sessional entry Scroll here ↓ PTE Academic or PTE Academic UKVI: which one should you book? Scroll here ↓ PTE exam fee in India and how long your score lasts Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

PTE score required for UK by study route

Your course level decides the PTE score required for UK study, and which version of the test to book. The UK Student visa rules set the English level on the CEFR scale (the Council of Europe’s scale of language levels). A bachelor’s or master’s needs B2 (upper-intermediate English). A foundation year or a pre-sessional English course (a short English course before your degree) needs B1 (intermediate).

Book PTE Academic UKVI, the same exam as PTE Academic, when your result must count as a Secure English Language Test (SELT), a test the Home Office approves for visas. Your CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) is the reference number your university issues for your visa. Some pre-sessional courses come with their own CAS, separate from the degree’s. You then get a visa for the pre-sessional alone; at Leeds it can be extended in the UK if you meet the visa rules. Scores below read overall / each skill.

Your profileTest to bookVisa minimumUniversity minimumFirst step
Graduate going to a UK master’sPTE Academic, unless the offer names UKVIB2: 59 in each skill64 / 60 at Leeds; 70 / 62 at LSERead the PTE band on your course page
CBSE or ISC Class 12 going to a bachelor’sPTE Academic, unless the offer names UKVIB2: 59 in each skill60 / 59 at Leeds; 59 in each skill at WestminsterCheck the course page for a Class 12 English waiver
State-board Class 12 going to a foundation yearPTE Academic UKVIB1: 43 in each skill59 / 53 at NottinghamAsk the university if the foundation and degree come on one CAS
Pre-sessional English with a separate CASPTE Academic UKVIB1: 43 in each skill43 / 43 lowest at Leeds; B2 (59 in each skill) on its 10-week courseBook a SELT-approved centre
Already holds a PTE Home or PTE Academic Online resultPTE Academic or UKVI, freshly bookedNot met by either resultNeither result acceptedRebook before you apply

For most graduates and CBSE students, it’s the offer letter, not the visa minimum, that names the test and the score you need. Still choosing a level or city? Start with the wider route to studying in the UK.

PTE score for UK universities: master’s bands by university

Master’s PTE bands at nine UK universities start at 61 overall with 56 in each skill, under Sheffield’s postgraduate English requirements. A band is the score one group of courses asks for. Westminster’s standard band asks 59 in each skill with no overall score.

The most demanding courses at Birmingham, Sheffield, Queen Mary and Westminster ask 76 overall, and LSE Law asks 78. Manchester typically asks 79 or more where a course wants IELTS 7.5. Cambridge and Edinburgh’s postgraduate lists don’t include PTE, and Oxford’s graduate English language requirements don’t list it either.

UniversityLowest band (overall / each skill)Highest band (overall / each skill)
University of Leeds64 / 6074; 74 in Speaking (courses asking IELTS 7.5)
University of Birmingham64 / 59 (Science)76 / 67
Imperial College London62 / 5669 / 62
LSE70 / 6278 / 70 (Law)
King’s College London62 / 5969 / 62
University of Sheffield61 / 5676 / 72
Queen Mary University of London71 / 6576 / 65
University of Westminster59 in each skill76 / 59
University of Manchester70 to 75 (matches IELTS 6.5)79 or more (courses asking IELTS 7.5)
University of CambridgeNo PTE listedNo PTE listed
University of Edinburgh (postgraduate)No PTE listedNo PTE listed

LSE and King’s publish these for 2027-28 entry. Birmingham and Westminster still show 2026 entry, so recheck them before you apply for 2027. The others give no entry year. Most Birmingham subjects sit at 67 / 64. Queen Mary Law asks 76 overall with 71 in Writing. Law and humanities courses usually sit in a university’s higher band, often with a tougher Writing minimum. Engineering and science usually sit in a lower one. It varies: King’s puts Nursing and Dentistry in its lowest band.

If the course page gives only an IELTS score, use that university’s own PTE equivalent, not a general chart. Manchester treats IELTS 6.5 as PTE 70 to 75.

Check your score in each skill before your overall score. A 72 overall with 58 in Writing fails Leeds, King’s lowest band and Westminster. Retake rules differ:

  • Birmingham counts only your most recent score, so a weaker retake replaces a stronger first try.
  • Queen Mary normally accepts only your latest result.
  • Westminster won’t combine scores from two PTE sittings.

If you miss one skill by a few points, you may be able to take a pre-sessional English course first. It asks for a lower score, but on a separate CAS it needs the UKVI version. Compare the top UK universities for a master’s before you book.

Sheffield and Imperial accept 56 in a skill, below the visa’s 59, because for a degree course the university checks your English itself. A PTE Academic UKVI result used for the visa still needs 59 in each skill.

If Oxford, Cambridge or Edinburgh is on your master’s shortlist, pick a test from that university’s own accepted list. Elsewhere, UK universities that accept Duolingo give you another test option.

PTE score for UK bachelor’s, foundation and pre-sessional entry

For a bachelor’s straight after Class 12, the PTE score you need is close to the visa minimum: 60 overall with 59 in each skill at Leeds, and 59 in each skill at Westminster.

As a rough guide, Pearson’s typical range for undergraduate degrees is a minimum of 51 to 60, but your course page sets the real score.

Under Manchester’s India entry requirements, only five state boards qualify for direct entry: Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat. A Telangana or Andhra Pradesh board student isn’t on that list, so the other way in is a foundation programme (a one-year course before the degree), and it changes which PTE you book.

  • Foundation certificate at Nottingham: 59 overall, at least 53 in each skill, on PTE Academic UKVI.
  • Pre-sessional at Leeds with a separate CAS: PTE Academic UKVI only. Scores start at 43 in each skill and depend on the pre-sessional’s length and the degree that follows. For a visa covering only its 10-week pre-sessional, Leeds asks for B2 (59 in each skill).

Edinburgh waives the English test if you score at least 85% in Standard XII CBSE or CISCE. Edinburgh lists that waiver for Medicine only, so don’t count on it for other subjects. Our page on studying in the UK after 12th covers the full Class 12 route.

For a foundation year or a pre-sessional, check whether it comes with a separate CAS or a combined CAS (one CAS for that course and your degree together). With a separate CAS, you need a SELT such as PTE Academic UKVI. With a combined CAS, it depends on the university:

  • Manchester still asks for a SELT on a combined CAS.
  • Leeds asks for a SELT for its pre-sessional unless you qualify for a combined CAS or study the pre-sessional online.

PTE Academic or PTE Academic UKVI: which one should you book?

The UK Student visa sets no overall PTE score: the Home Office approved-test list gives PTE Academic UKVI one pass mark for each skill.

For a bachelor’s or master’s, plain PTE Academic is usually enough, because a university the Home Office trusts can check your English itself. Your offer letter says if it wants the UKVI version instead. Manchester takes both versions at degree level. The same rule is why studying in the UK without IELTS is possible at some universities.

For a foundation year, or a pre-sessional with a separate CAS, book PTE Academic UKVI. It has the same content, format and scoring as plain PTE Academic, but your result counts as a SELT for UK student visa requirements and comes with a reference number the Home Office checks. Pearson has 57 PTE centres across India, but the Home Office list of approved test centres of 25 September 2026 names only 17 Pearson centres in India. Hyderabad’s Banjara Hills centre is one of the 17. At any other centre, check that it’s on the list before you pay.

Three things that won’t work for the Student visa:

  • PTE Home: despite the name, you take it at a test centre. It tests speaking and listening only, for family and settlement visas; the Student visa needs all four skills.
  • PTE Academic Online: the at-home version, withdrawn in November 2023. Any result from it is now more than two years old, so it has expired.
  • A medium-of-instruction letter (your college’s letter saying you studied in English): it isn’t a SELT, and Manchester doesn’t accept these letters from India. Our list of MOI-accepted UK universities names those that take one.

PTE exam fee in India and how long your score lasts

As of October 2026, PTE Academic and PTE Academic UKVI each cost INR 18,900 in India, on Pearson's test centres and fees page. A score lasts two years from the test date, so a test taken too early can expire before a university's own cut-off date.

Your score has to be recent enough on two dates:

  • For the visa: your SELT result must have been awarded in the two years before the day you apply for your visa.
  • For the university: LSE wants tests less than two years old on 1 October 2027, and Birmingham takes none more than two years old.

For an LSE start in autumn 2027, a test from September 2025 is already too old. Each PTE booking costs INR 18,900, so book once your shortlist is fixed.

Most test takers get their PTE Academic UKVI result within two business days of the test, and some wait up to five. Count five working days back from your deadline.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Only below degree level. Scores from 43 to 58 sit at B1 (intermediate English), so 50 in every skill meets the visa minimum of 43 for a foundation or pre-sessional course. It misses every master’s band in the university table; the lowest is 61 overall with 56 in each skill at Sheffield.

Yes, for most master’s courses, if each skill score is high enough too. A 70 passes LSE’s standard band if you also score 62 in every skill. At Birmingham, it passes the 67 band most subjects use if you score 64 in each skill. Scores from 59 to 75 sit at B2 (upper-intermediate English).

There’s no official ranking of the two. The choice that matters is acceptance, because Cambridge and Edinburgh’s postgraduate lists include IELTS but not PTE. Check your shortlist first: if every university on it takes PTE, book the format that suits you; if Oxford, Cambridge or Edinburgh is on it for a master’s, book a test from that university’s list.

As of October 2026, an initial Skilled Worker application needs 59 or higher in each of the four sections (B2 level) on PTE Academic UKVI. Switching to this visa from another one usually needs the same. Book the UKVI version, not plain PTE Academic, for this visa.

Yes, at degree level, when your university checks your English itself and says so on your CAS. Manchester, for example, takes both versions at degree level. For a foundation year, a pre-sessional with a separate CAS, or an offer letter that asks for it, you need PTE Academic UKVI.

Ardent Overseas runs UK admissions and Student visa counselling from offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati. On a UK file, we check the offer’s English condition (test, version and score in each skill), the CAS details and the visa documents before anything is booked or filed.

Sources

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