Last updated by Cassandra Rosado, Summer 2021

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Who takes the EPT?

The Illinois English Placement Test (EPT) assesses English ability of newly admitted international students to provide their ESL placement results for both writing and speaking courses. 

Any students who wish to take ESL courses need to take the EPT to get their appropriate placement into courses. Many newly admitted international students are required to take the EPT according to their pre-arrival scores on either of two internationally-recognized, standardized English proficiency exams: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Further details about TOEFL and IELTS requirements are given at the following websites: 

In addition to the requirements as explained at the above two websites, individual departments and/or advisors may require or encourage students to take the EPT, and students themselves may elect to take the test so that they can enroll in ESL courses at Illinois. 

Test Procedure

The EPT will usually be given during the week before registration each semester. It consists of two parts: a written test and an oral interview. The EPT is offered both online and on campus. Since Fall 2017, the Written EPT has been offered as computer-based.

The writing test lasts about 3 to 4 hours and requires students to produce an academic, argumentative essay based on the information obtained from a short lecture and a set of reading passages on a given topic. 

On each essay test date, the Oral EPT is administered in the afternoon. The oral interview consists of three tasks including warm-up questions and a read-aloud passage. Since Fall 2017, TOEFL or IELTS scores replace the EPT oral exam for ESL placement. If a student does not have valid TOEFL or IELTS scores or a graduate student has TOEFL or IELTS scores lower than the cut-scores, they will be offered the Oral EPT either online (undergraduates only) or on campus.

The results, both written and oral, will be provided to students by email within 3 business days. Students will be able to register for the appropriate ESL course when they receive their EPT results. 

Please refer to the EPT website to find out more about the test procedures. 

Research Opportunities

The EPT office conducts EPT-related research projects throughout the year and provides research opportunities for ESL instructors and graduate students. 

The EPT office hires summer research assistants for the test administration and EPT-related research. In Spring semesters, the EPT Content Development team is formed with research assistants to develop the test prompts. The RAs can get hands-on experience with test administration, test development and related language assessment research projects.

To learn more about EPT-related research, please visit the EPT research page. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact EPT Research Assistants.