University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, United States · Established 1867
Official website ↗Total Students
59,238
Intl. Students
22.5%
Student:Faculty
20:1
Setting
Suburban
Overview
Founded in 1867 as a land-grant institution, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois System and one of the largest public research universities in the United States, spread across the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign roughly 140 miles south of Chicago. Unlike the University of California campuses, UIUC accepts the Common Application (alongside the Coalition Application and a MyIllini application) for undergraduate admission, and unlike UC's test-blind policy, Illinois has returned to a test-optional approach where SAT/ACT scores can be submitted but are not required. UIUC is best known internationally for Engineering and Computer Science: the Grainger College of Engineering and the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science are consistently ranked among the strongest in the world, and UIUC's research lineage includes early work on the first computers built in the US (ILLIAC), the development of LCD display technology, and the original web browser (Mosaic, later commercialized as Netscape by UIUC alumnus Marc Andreessen). The Gies College of Business and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) are also nationally prominent, reflecting the university's land-grant agricultural research mission alongside its technology strength. For prospective IELTS or TOEFL candidates, UIUC publishes a university-wide floor of TOEFL iBT 79 or IELTS Academic 6.5 for undergraduate admission eligibility, but this bare minimum is considerably below what UIUC itself and its most selective colleges (particularly the Grainger College of Engineering and the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science, which can expect scores well above the floor) treat as genuinely competitive — applicants should target TOEFL 100+ or IELTS 7.0-7.5+ rather than the eligibility minimum, especially for Computer Science, one of the most selective majors at any US public university.
Rankings
US News National Universities
#36 (2026)
Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings · Overall (Global)
#41 (2026)
Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings by Subject · Computer Science
#19 (2026)
QS World University Rankings by Subject · Engineering
#26 (2026)
Admissions, Requirements & Costs
Requirements, deadlines, and test-score cutoffs differ significantly between undergraduate and graduate/Master's programs — shown separately below.
Undergraduate
Acceptance Rate
36.6%
Application Fee
$75
Documents required: Common Application, Coalition Application, or MyIllini Application, Official secondary school transcripts, SAT or ACT scores (test-optional; not required for admission), TOEFL iBT (79+), IELTS Academic (6.5+), or Duolingo scores for applicants who don't qualify for a waiver, Program-specific supplemental essays for some colleges (e.g. Grainger Engineering, Gies Business, Siebel Computing and Data Science)
| Term | Deadline | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | November 1 | Early Action |
| Fall | January 5 | Regular Decision |
Test Scores
IELTS Minimum
6.5 (Gabble rec. 7)
TOEFL Minimum
79 (4 new scale) · Gabble rec. 100 (5 new scale)
IELTS notes: University-wide minimum is 6.5 overall. This is a bare eligibility floor, not a competitive target — the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science in particular is commonly understood to expect scores well above the university-wide minimum for a genuinely competitive application.
TOEFL notes: University-wide minimum is 79 overall (for tests taken before ETS's January 2026 rescale). Treat 79 as a bare eligibility floor rather than a competitive target — aim for 100+ broadly, and check specific requirements for competitive colleges like Grainger Engineering and Siebel Computing and Data Science.
TOEFL scores shown as: legacy 0–120 scale (new 1.0–6.0 CEFR-aligned scale, effective Jan 2026).
Accepted tests: IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT, Duolingo English Test
Waiver: Applicants who have completed at least two years of full-time study in a country where English is the primary language, or have completed a degree at such an institution within a recent window, are generally exempt; exact criteria are set by Undergraduate Admissions.
Tuition (Intl.)
$42,248
Tuition (Domestic)
$18,048
Living Expenses/yr
$19,898
Total Cost of Attendance
$62,146
Scholarships
International Freshman Award / college-specific merit scholarships
Varies considerably by award; typically a partial tuition contribution rather than a full-cost scholarship
A rotating set of merit-based scholarships administered by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and individual colleges (Grainger Engineering, Gies Business, and others each maintain their own named scholarships) for incoming international students; most are automatically considered through the standard application.
Eligibility: Varies by scholarship; most are automatically considered through the standard admission application, with some requiring a separate application after admission
Popular Programs
Gabble Prep Insights
Where applicants lose points: Writing and Speaking both matter more than the university-wide minimum score suggests, since the most selective colleges at Illinois (especially Grainger Engineering's Computer Science major, one of the hardest single majors to get into at any US public university) evaluate supplemental essays closely and expect English proficiency well above the 79 TOEFL / 6.5 IELTS eligibility floor.
Because Illinois publishes one low university-wide minimum that applies to every college, many applicants clear it easily but then discover their target major (particularly Computer Science) expects a meaningfully stronger, uncodified standard in practice — this gap between the stated floor and the real competitive bar catches unprepared applicants off guard more than at universities with explicit tiered requirements.
Figures above use UIUC's official 2026-27 international undergraduate cost of attendance at the Base Rate tuition tier: $36,970 tuition plus $5,278 mandatory fees ($42,248 combined, used as tuitionInternationalPerYear), plus $15,858 food and housing, $1,200 books and supplies, and $2,840 other expenses ($19,898 combined, used as livingExpensesPerYear). Note that tuition varies significantly by college — Gies College of Business and Grainger Engineering charge a considerably higher differential tuition (up to roughly $47,800 total for 2026-27) than the Base Rate figure used here, so applicants to those specific colleges should expect a higher total cost. The Illinois-resident tuition-and-fees figure ($18,048) is used as tuitionPerYear. The 36.6% acceptance rate is UIUC's own published Fall 2025 overall first-choice admit rate and does not represent a separately published international-only rate; admit rates vary enormously by first-choice major, from roughly 7% for Computer Science within Grainger Engineering up to around 48% for Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.
Recommended prep timeline: 10 weeks
Graduate (Master's & PhD)
Application Fee
$90
Documents required: Statement of Purpose, Official transcripts from all previously attended institutions, Three letters of recommendation, CV/resume, TOEFL iBT or IELTS scores for applicants who don't qualify for a waiver (Graduate College minimum; individual departments may require higher), GRE or GMAT scores, only where a specific department or professional program (e.g. Gies MBA) requires it — many engineering and computing graduate programs have dropped the GRE requirement
| Term | Deadline | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Department-specific; many programs cluster around December 15 to January 15 for Fall entry | Regular Decision |
Test Scores
IELTS Minimum
6.5 (Gabble rec. 7)
TOEFL Minimum
79 (4 new scale) · Gabble rec. 103 (5 new scale)
IELTS notes: Graduate College's published university-wide minimum is 6.5 overall; individual departments (particularly Engineering programs) commonly expect 7.0+ for a genuinely competitive application.
TOEFL notes: Graduate College's published university-wide minimum is 79 overall; several Engineering departments publish a considerably higher departmental expectation, commonly cited around 103, so always check your specific program's page rather than relying on the university-wide floor.
TOEFL scores shown as: legacy 0–120 scale (new 1.0–6.0 CEFR-aligned scale, effective Jan 2026).
Accepted tests: IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT, Duolingo English Test
Waiver: Applicants who completed at least two years of full-time study, or a graduate degree, in a country where English is the primary language of instruction within five years of enrollment are generally exempt from the Graduate College's English-test requirement.
Scholarships
Graduate Assistantships (Teaching and Research)
Varies by department and appointment type; typically covers tuition/fees plus a living stipend for the academic year
The dominant form of PhD funding at Illinois: most PhD students are funded through a mix of teaching assistantships (TA) and research assistantships (RA), which typically cover tuition, mandatory fees, and a living stipend.
Eligibility: Offered selectively by individual departments as part of a PhD admission offer; generally not guaranteed for most terminal master's students
Popular Programs
Gabble Prep Insights
Where applicants lose points: Writing is generally the toughest section for graduate applicants, since a research-focused Statement of Purpose is scrutinized closely across Illinois' competitive engineering and computing graduate programs and demands sustained academic argument well beyond what a bare-minimum English test score guarantees.
Applicants to Engineering and Computer Science graduate programs, which commonly expect scores well above the Graduate College's 79 TOEFL / 6.5 IELTS floor, most often underestimate the real departmental bar; applicants to business and social-science master's programs tend to need more Writing-specific preparation for proposal- and case-study-heavy coursework.
Illinois does not publish one consolidated, university-wide graduate tuition and cost-of-attendance figure comparable to its official undergraduate cost calculator — tuition varies substantially by department and differential-tuition college (particularly Gies Business and Grainger Engineering, which charge considerably more than a base graduate rate), and this dataset was not able to confirm one single representative figure with the same confidence as the undergraduate numbers, so all graduate cost fields are left null rather than estimated; check your specific program's page directly. GRE/GMAT: many Illinois engineering and computing graduate programs have dropped the GRE requirement in recent years; GMAT or GRE is required for some professional programs including the Gies MBA. Illinois does not publish one official aggregate graduate acceptance rate (admission is decided independently by each department), so that field is left null.
Recommended prep timeline: 10 weeks
Programs Offered
BS in Computer Science
Undergraduate · 4 yr
BS in Electrical Engineering
Undergraduate · 4 yr
BS in Business Administration
Undergraduate · 4 yr
BS in Statistics and Data Science
Undergraduate · 4 yr
MS in Computer Science
Masters · 2 yr
MBA / iMBA
Masters · 2 yr
MEng in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Masters · 1 yr
PhD (various departments)
PhD · 5 yr
Campus Life
UIUC's campus spans the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign, with a large, walkable Main Quad at its center and more than 1,600 registered student organizations spanning academic, cultural, political, and hobby interests. The Fighting Illini compete in NCAA Division I athletics as a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, one of the oldest and most prominent collegiate athletics conferences in the US. As a major land-grant research university with deep engineering and computing traditions (including the historic ILLIAC computers and the original Mosaic web browser), Illinois has an unusually large and active hackathon, robotics, and technical-society culture layered on top of its Big Ten sports and Greek life traditions.
Notable clubs: Illinois Student Government (ISG), The Daily Illini, Illinois' independent student newspaper, Engineering Open House and other flagship engineering student events, Illinois Marching Illini, Over 1,600 registered student organizations
Outcomes
Undergraduate
Graduate
Notable Alumni
Marc Andreessen — Co-author of the Mosaic web browser and co-founder of Netscape; earned his BS in Computer Science at Illinois
Max Levchin — Co-founder of PayPal and Affirm; earned his BS in Mathematics/Computer Science at Illinois
Robert L. Johnson — Founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), the first Black American billionaire; earned his degree in history at Illinois
Scott Altman — NASA astronaut and veteran of four Space Shuttle missions; earned his degree at Illinois
Visa Interview Prep
The University of Illinois's International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) office issues Form I-20 to admitted students once financial documentation is submitted, which the student then uses to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee and schedule the F-1 visa interview at a US embassy or consulate. The US F-1 process centers on an in-person consular interview assessing genuine student intent and non-immigrant intent, alongside financial and academic documentation; ISSS recommends starting this process as soon as the I-20 is issued given known visa-appointment backlogs in some countries.
- Clarity on the specific program of study and why Illinois specifically
- Demonstrating strong ties and credible intent to return home after studies
- Financial sufficiency and clear documentation of funding sources for the full program length
- Consistency between prior academic background and the chosen field of study
FAQs
What TOEFL or IELTS score do I need to apply to UIUC as an undergraduate?Undergrad
UIUC's published university-wide minimum is TOEFL iBT 79 or IELTS Academic 6.5. This is a bare eligibility floor rather than a competitive target — applicants should aim for TOEFL 100+ or IELTS 7.0+ broadly, and check specific expectations for highly selective majors like Computer Science.
Does UIUC use the Common Application?Undergrad
Yes. Unlike the University of California campuses, UIUC accepts the Common Application, the Coalition Application, or its own MyIllini application for undergraduate admission.
Do I need to submit SAT or ACT scores to apply to UIUC?Undergrad
No, but you may. Illinois is currently test-optional: SAT/ACT scores can be submitted and considered if you believe they strengthen your application, but they are not required for admission.
How competitive is UIUC's Computer Science program specifically?Undergrad
Extremely. Within the already-selective Grainger College of Engineering (around 21% admit rate for first-choice applicants), the Computer Science major specifically admits only around 7% of first-choice applicants, making it one of the hardest single undergraduate majors to get into at any US public university.
Will I need to attend a visa interview to study at UIUC?
Yes. As a US institution, UIUC issues an F-1 Form I-20 through its International Student and Scholar Services office, and admitted international students must attend an in-person interview at a US embassy or consulate as part of the standard F-1 visa process.
Is the GRE or GMAT required for UIUC graduate programs?Grad
It depends on the program. Many Illinois engineering and computing graduate programs have dropped the GRE requirement in recent years; GMAT or GRE is required for some professional programs including the Gies MBA — always check your specific program's current policy.
How many international students does UIUC enroll?
UIUC enrolls one of the largest international student populations of any US public university — roughly 13,350 international students, or about 22-24% of its total student body, split across undergraduate and graduate programs.
How many weeks should I spend preparing for IELTS or TOEFL before applying to UIUC?
A realistic window is 8-10 weeks, more if you're targeting Computer Science or another highly selective major, since UIUC's published minimum score is considerably lower than what's actually competitive for its most in-demand programs.