English Placement Policy

All undergraduate students at Iowa State University are required to complete the ISUComm Foundation Courses, ENGL 1500 and ENGL 2500, to develop core communication proficiency – either by regular attendance or test-out. Detailed information about these courses and requirements is available on the main Foundation Communication page. The information below focuses specifically on English placement and how students are assigned to their initial course.

Placement for students whose first language is English

Students whose first language is English and who demonstrate certain levels of proficiency may be placed directly into English 2500 or 2500H. In order to meet the six-credit hour graduation requirement, students placed in English 2500 or 2500H earn an additional 3 hours of English 1500 T (test-out) credit if they meet the placement criteria below and receive a C or better in English 2500/2500H taken at Iowa State University.

If you do not have transfer credit in English composition, placement in English will be based on the guidelines below.

SUMMER 2021 AND BEYOND – English 2500 placement for undergraduate students entering Iowa State University

Placement based on official ACT-E or SAT-ERW or University Honors Program acceptance.

NOTE: High school rank no longer considered for English placement.

ACT-E SCORES

• score of 24 or higher

SAT-ERW SCORES (SAT testing date of March 2016 or later)

• score of 600 or higher

UNIVERSITY HONORS PROGRAM

• Students accepted to the University Honors Program will be placed in English 2500H unless they would otherwise be required to take the English Placement Test for Non-Native Speakers of English (see more information below).

If you do not meet the above placement criteria for English 2500, you will be placed in English 1500.

Note for guided self-placement process

Students who do not have ACT-E or SAT-ERW scores and who meet specific additional criteria will be contacted by email to participate in a Guided Self-Placement process. For more information see the Guided Self-Placement – Student Guide and Guided Self-Placement – Advisor Guide.

Placement for students whose first language is not English

Beginning Fall 2026, undergraduate students whose first language is not English are placed into their initial English course based on their English proficiency test scores from admission. No additional placement test is required.

Who is exempt from these requirements?

Students in the following categories are exempt from English proficiency score requirements and will be placed using the same criteria as native English speakers:

• International students whose primary language is English and who are residents of a country where English is the only official language
• International students whose primary language is English, who are residents of a country where English is one of the official languages, and who completed their schooling in English-medium institutions
• Students who graduated from an English-medium high school in the United States, including Puerto Rico and Saipan

Writing Placement

Students are placed into the highest course for which they meet the criteria. Students who do not meet the score thresholds for ENGL 1500 or 1010C will be placed into ENGL 1010B, which has no prerequisite.

Test Abbreviation Key

TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language
PTE – Pearson Test of English Academic
DET – Duolingo English Test
IELTS – International English Language Testing System

Note: TOEFL updated its scoring scale effective January 1, 2026 (new scale: 1–6; old scale: 0–120). Scores are valid for two years. Students may present scores from either scale through 2028.

For placement into ENGL 2500 directly, see the criteria for all students in the section above.

Speaking Placement

Students may also be placed into ENGL 0990S, an oral communication support course, based on their speaking and listening scores. Students who meet the minimum scores below are exempt from ENGL 0990S; all other students will be enrolled.

Test Abbreviation Key

TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language
PTE – Pearson Test of English Academic
DET – Duolingo English Test
IELTS – International English Language Testing System

Note: For ENGL 0990S placement, students must meet the minimum score in both the listening and speaking sections of their test (or the Duolingo conversation score). Overall or band scores are not used for this determination.

Note for Continuing Students

Students who were previously expected to take the EPT but have not yet done so may qualify for their English courses using the same score-based criteria described above.

Note for Advisors

To determine whether a non-native English speaking advisee is exempt from these requirements, check whether their native language is listed as English in Workday, or whether they meet the high school criteria above. The Orientation Student Academic Details report now includes columns for English proficiency test scores, high school country of attendance, and native language that can help you advise students on their placement.

Advanced Placement (AP) credit for English 1500

• English Language and Composition Exam. Students who earn a score of 3 or better receive credit by examination, T (test-out) credit, for English 1500.
• English Literature and Composition Exam. Students who earn a score of 4 or better receive credit by examination, T (test-out) credit, for English 1500. Students who have already placed into English 2500 because of an ACT-E or SAT-ERW score, will receive 3 credits of English 1000P (English Literature).

Students do not receive credit for English 2500 based on Advanced Placement (AP) Exam scores.

Transfer placement

Iowa State University’s English composition curriculum is built around an innovative WOVE (Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic) pedagogy, so all students are encouraged to take their English courses, especially English 2500, at Iowa State.

Students with transfer credit will be placed in English 1500 or 2500 depending on the coursework they have taken. For further information on how transfer students fulfill the ISUComm Foundation Courses requirement, please see Transfer Credit Policies.

When does English 1500 T (test-out) credit appear on a student’s degree audit?

English 1500 T credit is recorded on a student’s degree audit after the student receives a C or better in English 2500 or English 2500H taken at Iowa State University. We do not attach English 1500 T credit to courses taken at other colleges or universities.

If the 3 T credits for English 1500 do not appear on the student’s degree audit, the student’s advisor must email Candy Miller at isucommsupport@iastate.edu to request the English 1500 T credit.

When do students not earn T (test-out) credit for English 1500?

Students who do not earn a C or better on their first try in English 2500 or who drop English 2500 on their first try may repeat English 2500 to earn a C or better and still receive T credit for English 1500. Students who do not earn a grade of C or higher after two tries forfeit their exemption. At that point, they need to enroll in English 1500.

We do not attach English 1500 T credit to courses taken at other colleges or universities. Therefore, students who take English 2500 at a college or university other than Iowa State University forfeit their English 1500 exemption. Students who come to Iowa State with credit for English 2500, but not credit for English 1500, will be advised to take an advanced communication course (English 2750, 3020, 3090, 3120, 3130, or 3140) to complete their sequence of composition courses. Before this is done, they must receive permission from their advisor and approval from the ISUComm Foundation Courses office. For approval from the ISUComm Foundation Courses office, the student’s advisor must submit an Academic Requirement Override listing the advanced communication course (English 2750, 3020, 3090, 3120, 3130, or 3140) the student plans to take at Iowa State in place of English 1500.

NOTE:  We do not allow students to take the English 1500 Test-Out when their transfer credits show they are already beyond that course level.

Contact Information