English Proficiency South Carolina Board of Nursing

English Proficiency Requirements

An applicant whose native language is not English shall submit evidence of passing an English proficiency exam administered by a board approved service.

Exemption from the English Language Proficiency Requirements

To be exempt from having to take an English language proficiency examination, you must meet BOTH of the following requirements:

  1. English must have been the language of instruction, including the language of the textbooks.
  2. Your entry level nursing education was completed in one of the following countries:
    • Australia
    • Barbados
    • Canada
      (However, Quebec is French speaking, the only schools approved for exemption in Quebec are: McGill University, Dawson College, Vanier College, John Abbott College, and Heritage College)
    • Ireland
    • Jamaica
    • New Zealand
    • South Africa
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    If you meet these criteria, you do not need to take an English language proficiency examination.

Board Approved Enflish Proficiency Services

NOTE: All individual test results will be valid for seven years. "Super-Scoring" is valid for two years prior to the application date.

Tests Passing Standard
Cambridge English C1; Overall score of 176 with a minimum speaking score of 185.
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Overall score of 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in Reading, Writing, and Listening; AND 7.0 in Speaking.
LanguageCert Academic Overall score of 70 - 74; with a minimum of 70 - 74 in Reading, Writing and Listening, AND a minimum Speaking score of 75 - 79.
Michigan English Test (MET) Overall score of 55 with a minimum of 55 in Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking.
Occupational English Test (OET) Minimum of 350 in Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking.
Pearson PTE Academic Overall score of 55 with a minimum of 50 in Reading, Writing, and Listening; AND 63 in Speaking.
Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet Based Test (TOEFL iBT) Overall score of 83, with a minimum Reading, Listening & Writing Combined score of 57; AND a score of 26 in Speaking.
Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) A minimum score of 725 in Reading and Listening; 150 in Writing, and 160 in Speaking.
International Test of English Proficiency (iTEP) Academic Overall score of 3.8 with a minimum of 3.5 in Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking.