Which US Universities Accept the Duolingo English Test

How wide Duolingo's US acceptance is now

The Duolingo English Test's own institution directory lists over 4,300 accepting institutions across North America as of August 2026.

This covers a mix of selective private research universities, large public systems, and community colleges, though acceptance still varies by campus and by specific program within a campus.

The test grew fast after 2020, when travel restrictions and closed test centers pushed many universities to accept it as a substitute for TOEFL and IELTS. A large share of that acceptance has stayed in place since, rather than reverting once test centers reopened.

Selective private universities that accept it

Several of the most selective universities in the US list Duolingo as an accepted English proficiency test for both undergraduate and graduate applicants, including Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, and Caltech. UC Berkeley accepts it for undergraduate applicants.

Acceptance at this tier does not always mean every department treats it identically. Some schools mark specific graduate programs as accepting Duolingo with conditions, meaning the program sometimes still requests a second form of English proof alongside your score, such as an interview or a supplemental writing sample. Harvard's Graduate School of Design is one program flagged this way on the official directory, so check your specific program page rather than assuming university-wide acceptance covers every department equally.

Large public university systems

Many large public university systems now list Duolingo among their accepted English tests, alongside TOEFL and IELTS. Because public systems often set a shared minimum policy across multiple campuses but let individual campuses or programs add their own conditions, check the specific campus and program page rather than the system-wide page alone.

Community colleges

Community colleges, which often serve as an entry point before transferring into a four-year university, have also added Duolingo to their accepted test list in growing numbers. If your plan is a community college transfer pathway into a four-year degree, confirm that both your starting community college and your intended transfer university accept your test, since a test accepted at one stage is not automatically accepted at the next.

Where Duolingo is not accepted or is limited

Not every US university accepts Duolingo, and some that do restrict it to undergraduate admissions only, or exclude specific graduate and professional programs such as law or medicine, which often set their own stricter English proficiency policy.

A school's general admissions page accepting Duolingo does not guarantee your specific program does the same.

Quick facts about the test itself

The Duolingo English Test is a roughly one-hour adaptive test taken on your own computer, priced at US$70 as of 2026. It is scored on a 10 to 160 scale, and results stay valid for 2 years. Because you take it on your own device without traveling to a test center, it remains one of the fastest and cheapest ways to prove English proficiency to any school on this list, provided your specific program accepts it.

How to check your specific school

Search the official Duolingo institution directory by name before you register for the test, and separately check the English proficiency requirement page on your target program's own website, since the two lists do not always update at the same time. When in doubt, email the international admissions office and ask directly whether a Duolingo score is currently accepted for your specific degree and department, and get the answer in writing before you commit to one test over another.

Why acceptance differs so much by program

A university's central admissions office and its individual graduate departments often set English requirements separately. Central undergraduate admissions accepts Duolingo broadly at many schools, while a specific graduate department, such as a law school, medical school, or a professional master's program, sets its own stricter policy that does not automatically follow the university-wide rule. This is why the same university appears on an accepted list while one of its own programs still asks for TOEFL or IELTS only.

What accepted with conditions usually means in practice

When a program is marked as accepting Duolingo with conditions, it typically means the score works as your primary proof of English but the program reserves the right to ask for more, such as a short interview, a supplemental essay, or a specific minimum score higher than its general published minimum. Contact the program directly and ask what the condition involves for your application round, since the directory listing itself does not always spell out the exact condition.

Building your list around test acceptance

If you are still choosing which schools to apply to, filter your list by confirmed Duolingo acceptance first, then check whether your intended major or department carries any conditions or exclusions. This avoids the common mistake of registering for and paying for a test before confirming every school on your list accepts it for your specific program.

What to do if your target school is not on the list

If your target program does not currently accept Duolingo, do not assume it never will, since institutions update their accepted test list between application cycles. Email the international admissions office directly and ask whether Duolingo is under consideration or accepted informally even if the published list has not caught up, since some programs accept it in practice before updating their website.