September 30, 2026

Notre Dame TOEFL Requirements 2026: Scores (1–6 and 0–120)

Notre Dame recommends 100 with Speaking 25 for undergraduates, while graduate admission uses 80 with Speaking 23 or official 4.5.

Verified requirement

Undergraduate previous scale: Notre Dame strongly recommends 100 overall with at least 25 in Speaking.
Undergraduate new scale: 5.5 average with no section below 5.0.
Graduate previous scale: 80 overall with at least 23 in Speaking.
Graduate new scale: 4.5 average with no section below 4.0.
Program note: individual graduate programs may require higher scores. The undergraduate page does not accept the Home Edition.

Last verified July 17, 2026. Always confirm on the official admissions page.

How the requirement works on the two score scales

Policy	0–120 scale	1–6 scale
Undergraduate guidance	100, Speaking 25	5.5 average, 5.0 each
Graduate base	80, Speaking 23	4.5 average, 4.0 each
Approximate old-scale band	95–106	about 5.0

Notre Dame publishes direct rules for both test periods and both degree levels. Applicants do not need to infer the new-scale undergraduate or Graduate School targets from a conversion table.

During dual reporting, both systems appear on TOEFL reports. The free TOEFL score converter remains useful for practice planning, but the official total and section floors control the application.

How competitive is Notre Dame really?

The undergraduate 100 and 5.5 figures are strongly recommended rather than presented as an absolute universal cutoff. The Speaking floor matters because a strong total cannot fully address a weaker productive-section result.

The graduate requirement is lower at 80 or 4.5, but programs can raise it. The 100 figure therefore represents undergraduate guidance, not the central graduate minimum.

Moving from 4.0 to a stable 4.5 generally requires several weeks of focused work. Reaching 5.5 with every section at 5.0 can require a longer cycle because the plan must improve both the average and the weakest section.

How to prepare for the target at Notre Dame

Use Target, Gap, Route. Set 100 and Speaking 25 for undergraduate planning, or 80 and Speaking 23 for the graduate base. On the revised scale, use the corresponding average and section floors.

Take a timed diagnostic and compare every section separately. An undergraduate applicant with a strong total but Speaking 23 has a specific Speaking gap, not a general total-score problem.

Route most weekly practice to the weakest section while keeping one full mock in the cycle. Graduate applicants should replace the central base with any higher requirement published by the program.

Start with the free Essentials Edition of the Aidoss Academy Target Score Diagnostic Workbook to identify the section gap, then use the Complete Digital Edition or the 90-Day Self-Study Planner to turn that result into a weekly route.

Keep one dated copy of the official policy beside every diagnostic record. Mark a result as ready only when the total and required section floor are met in the same sitting.

After each timed set, identify whether the loss came from comprehension, timing, response development, or language control. Use that cause to select the next exercise.

Schedule two full checkpoints before the deadline. The first measures whether the targeted route is working. The second checks repeatability and leaves time for another correction cycle.

Before submitting, confirm whether the applicant qualifies for an English-proficiency exemption and whether the intended program accepts the selected test format. These checks should happen before booking because a valid score still needs to satisfy the university’s delivery, date, and reporting rules.