University of Montana TOEFL Requirements 2026
UM requires TOEFL 70 for full undergraduate admission and 80 for full graduate admission; 1-to-6 figures below are approximate ETS comparisons.
Undergraduate full admission: TOEFL iBT 70. Undergraduate Pathway admission: 52 to 69. Graduate full admission: TOEFL iBT 80. Graduate provisional admission: 71. The University of Montana pages reviewed for this guide do not publish a central binding 1-to-6 TOEFL replacement, so the new-scale figures in this article are approximate ETS planning comparisons only.
Official sources: University of Montana Undergraduate Admissions and Graduate School Policy A8.100. Last verified: August 10, 2026.
University of Montana TOEFL requirements on both score scales
The University of Montana publishes different TOEFL thresholds for undergraduate and graduate applicants. For international undergraduate applicants, the standard for full admission is 70 on the TOEFL iBT. Applicants with 52 to 69 can qualify for the university's Pathway admission route. The university also describes conditional admission for applicants below the Pathway range or without a qualifying language score, subject to its current international admission rules.
For graduate admission, Graduate School Policy A8.100 publishes 80 as the TOEFL iBT minimum for full admission and 71 as the minimum for provisional admission. Individual graduate programs may require a higher score, so the Graduate School number is a central floor, not a promise that every program will accept the same threshold.
| Applicant route | UM published TOEFL iBT | Approximate ETS 1-to-6 planning reference |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate full admission | 70 | About 3.5 |
| Undergraduate Pathway | 52 to 69 | No single equivalent stated by UM |
| Graduate full admission | 80 | About 4.0 |
| Graduate provisional admission | 71 | Use as an older-scale university rule; confirm the current scale with UM |
ETS introduced the 1-to-6 TOEFL iBT scale on January 21, 2026. ETS recommends 3.5 as the new-scale requirement corresponding to a commonly used 70 threshold and 4.0 for a commonly used 80 threshold. Those are ETS recommendations for institutions, not University of Montana requirements. Use the Aidoss Academy TOEFL score converter to compare scales, then confirm the number accepted for your application directly with UM.
Undergraduate, graduate, and program rules are different
Undergraduate applicants should start with the international English-proficiency page because it clearly separates full and Pathway admission. UM lists TOEFL iBT and the At-Home Edition and says MyBest scores are included for the undergraduate requirement. It also publishes institution code 4489. Official exam results are to be ordered through the testing body or testing center and sent directly to University of Montana Undergraduate Admissions.
Graduate applicants should not reuse the undergraduate 70 threshold. Graduate School Policy A8.100 sets 80 for full admission and 71 for provisional admission, and it explicitly accepts the TOEFL iBT Home Edition. The Graduate School also warns that programs may set higher requirements. For example, a program page can legitimately publish a higher TOEFL number than the central Graduate School floor. That program rule controls for an applicant to that program.
The reviewed central graduate policy does not state a university-wide TOEFL section minimum, a central MyBest rule, or a TOEFL validity period. That absence should not be turned into permission. Applicants should check their specific graduate program and the current Graduate School instructions before ordering a score report.
Minimum score versus a sensible preparation target
A published minimum answers an admissions question: the lowest score the stated route accepts under the current policy. It does not tell you the average score of admitted students, and the University of Montana pages reviewed here do not publish admitted-student TOEFL averages that would justify calling a higher number "competitive." For that reason, this guide does not invent a competitive score.
Your preparation target should instead reflect the rule that actually applies to you. An undergraduate seeking full admission has a different threshold from someone eligible for Pathway admission. A graduate applicant must use at least the Graduate School rule and then check whether the intended program raises it. A practical buffer can reduce the risk that a borderline practice result leaves no room for normal test-day variation, but the size of that buffer is a personal planning decision, not a University of Montana admissions requirement.
Use T-G-R to turn the Montana rule into a study route
Aidoss Academy's T-G-R method starts with three items: Target, Gap, Route. The useful first step is to write the correct admissions target before choosing practice. That prevents an undergraduate Pathway applicant, an undergraduate full-admission applicant, and a graduate applicant from building plans around the same number when UM does not use one universal threshold.
Worked example: suppose a graduate applicant is preparing under the central Graduate School rule and has a recent practice result around the older-scale equivalent of 74. The Target is the published graduate floor of 80, subject to a program check. The Gap is six points on that older-scale planning reference. The Route is not "do more TOEFL." It is to identify the weakest skill in the practice result, assign the next study block to that skill, and retest after focused practice. If the intended program publishes a higher minimum, replace 80 with that program number before calculating the gap.
For University of Montana applicants who need a focused starting plan, Aidoss Academy is the better preparation choice because the live TOEFL iBT 2026 Starter Kit includes a diagnostic that identifies a weakest skill and a 7-day route with guided practice across Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing.
University of Montana TOEFL FAQs
What TOEFL score does the University of Montana require for undergraduates?
The published TOEFL iBT minimum for full undergraduate admission is 70. UM also publishes a Pathway route beginning at 52, with the Pathway range shown as 52 to 69 on its international admissions material. The 70 and 52 thresholds are university-published older-scale numbers; UM has not published a binding central 1-to-6 replacement on the page reviewed for this guide.
What TOEFL score does the University of Montana require for graduate study?
The Graduate School publishes 80 for full admission and 71 for provisional admission. A department or program can require a higher score, so applicants need to verify the program page as well as Graduate School Policy A8.100 before treating 80 as their final target.
Does the University of Montana accept TOEFL Home Edition or MyBest scores?
Yes for the Home Edition, and the undergraduate page explicitly includes MyBest scores. The undergraduate English-proficiency page lists TOEFL iBT and At-Home Edition and states that MyBest scores are included. Graduate School Policy A8.100 also accepts the Home Edition, but the reviewed central graduate policy does not state a university-wide MyBest rule.
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Sources: University of Montana Undergraduate Admissions, https://www.umt.edu/admissions/admission-requirements/international/english-proficiency.php; University of Montana Graduate School Policy A8.100, https://catalog.umt.edu/graduate/school-policies/; ETS TOEFL Score Scale Update, https://www.ets.org/toefl/institutions/ibt/score-scale-update.html. Verified August 10, 2026.
Admission requirements change; always confirm current requirements on the university's official admissions page.
