Wilfrid Laurier University Undergraduate Academic Calendar - 2006/2007
Canadian Excellence
Undergraduate Admissions  Proficiency in English 

Proficiency in English

A student attending Wilfrid Laurier University must have sufficient facility in the use of the English language to understand and profit from instruction given in English. Students whose native tongue is not English are to submit to the Admissions Office, evidence acceptable to the university of their proficiency in English. Normally, this evidence is an acceptable score on one of the following: the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MELAB), or the Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL). A minimum score of 560 is required in the paper-based TOEFL; a minimum score of 220 is required in the computer-based TOEFL; a minimum score of 83 with no component below 20 is required in the ibt (internet-based) TOEFL; a minimum score of 6.5 is required in IELTS; a minimum score of 85 is required in the Michigan Test; and a minimum score of 70 with no part below 60 is required for CAEL. These tests are offered in Canada, the United States and many other countries. Applicants must make their own arrangements to write the test by contacting:

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
Educational Testing Services, PO Box 6155
Princeton, New Jersey, 08541-6155 USA
Telephone: (609) 771-7100
Website: www.toefl.org
International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
Conestoga College
299 Doon Valley Drive
Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4M4
Telephone: (519) 748-3516
Fax: (519) 748-3505
Website: www.conestogac.on.ca/ielts
Email: ielts@conestogac.on.ca
Website: www.ielts.org (International Inquiries)
The English Language Institute (MELAB)
TCF Building, Suite 350
401 East Liberty
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2298 USA
Telephone: (734) 764-2416
Website: www.lsa.umich.edu/eli
Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL)
The CAEL Assessment Testing Office
Language Assessment and Testing Research Unit
124 Patterson Hall
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1S 5B6
Telephone: (613) 520-2600, ext. 2271
Fax: (613) 520-7872
Email: cael@carleton.ca
Website: www.cael.ca

Applicants who have studied successfully in an English instructional educational system on a full-time basis for a minimum of three years and who can present acceptable grades in English and other humanities/social science courses from their senior secondary year, may submit a request to be exempted from the English Language Proficiency requirement as stipulated above. Applicants who wish to apply for this exemption must provide the Admissions Office with a letter written by them detailing the reasons for their appeal and include a letter of recommendation from their secondary school principal or designate. The appropriate admissions committee assesses the request for exemption of this requirement.