Medium of Instruction Letter for US Grad School

Medium of Instruction Letter for US Grad School

A medium of instruction (MOI) letter only helps at US graduate schools whose English rule accepts institution-level proof. Of the six schools checked here, Georgia Tech accepts one at application and Stanford may ask for one after you accept an offer. MIT, Berkeley, Illinois and UCLA decide by country or by their own lists, so a letter does not replace the test there.

So confirm the rule before you chase your registrar. If a school accepts the letter, make it say what the school's own wording requires: that English was the sole language of instruction for the whole degree. If you want a broader view of which schools waive the test, the TOEFL waiver for English-medium degrees guide covers that question. This page covers the letter.

Every university page quoted below was checked on October 30, 2026. English rules change between cycles, so recheck before you request the letter.

Who accepts it and who does not

The letter matters at two of the six:

At the other four the letter does not decide the exemption. MIT exempts degrees from six named countries and lists an English-medium degree from anywhere else as not eligible. Berkeley and Illinois go by the country of the degree. UCLA goes by the country's entry in the World Higher Education Database. The TOEFL waiver guide linked above quotes all six exemption rules side by side.

Two notes. MIT says some departments "will consider requests for waivers" with their own criteria, so a letter might support a department waiver request; check the program page. And Stanford's rule is self-certification at application: "no additional documentation is required at the time of application" (test scores). The letter comes later, if Stanford asks.

Our view: at country-list schools, an MOI letter is wasted effort and can cost you a deadline if you wait for it instead of booking a test. The countercase: if a program at one of those schools runs its own waiver process, the letter can still be the evidence it asks for. Read the program page, not just the graduate school page.

What the letter must state

Georgia Tech's FAQ is the most detailed of the six schools' rules. It asks for "a Medium of Instruction certificate or other official university document stating that English is the sole official language of instruction", and adds: "Our office will manually verify submitted documents. If we determine that English is not the sole official language of instruction, you must meet this requirement through one of the approved methods" (Georgia Tech FAQ). It also asks for a final transcript showing the degree-awarded date, or an official degree certificate, submitted "at least 30 days before the start of the term to which you applied."

Our recommendation, built from the Georgia Tech and Stanford wording, is a letter with all of these:

1. Your full legal name exactly as on your passport, plus your student or enrollment number. If the university's records use another spelling, see the name mismatch guide.
2. The exact degree title and major as printed on your degree certificate.
3. Dates of enrollment and the date the degree was awarded (or the expected date).
4. A sentence that English was the sole medium of instruction and assessment for the entire program. Georgia Tech uses "sole official language"; Stanford uses "taught exclusively in English".
5. The issuing office: registrar, controller of examinations or equivalent.
6. Official letterhead, a dated signature with the signer's name and title, and the university seal if it uses one.
7. An office email address and phone number for verification.

Template you can hand to the registrar

Constructed template, written by us, not an official form of any university. Replace every bracketed field.

[University letterhead]

[Date]

To Whom It May Concern:

This is to certify that [full legal name as on passport], [student/enrollment number], was enrolled in the [exact degree title, e.g. Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering] program at [university name] from [month year] to [month year]. The degree was awarded on [date] / is expected to be awarded on [date].

The sole medium of instruction and assessment for the entire program, including all lectures, coursework, laboratory work and examinations, was English.

[Signature]

[Name], [Title, e.g. Registrar / Controller of Examinations]

[Office email] · [Office phone]

[Seal]

Ask for it on official letterhead, signed. Georgia Tech asks you to upload it to your application; if another school asks the university to send it directly, follow that instruction. If your other records need translating, the graduate transcript translation guide covers who may prepare what.

When your degree was partly in English

Do not ask your registrar to sign a sentence that is not true. If some courses, exams or a thesis were in another language, the letter cannot say "sole" or "exclusively", and Georgia Tech says it will check. Take an accepted test instead. A letter that overstates is a false document, and it will not survive the verification Georgia Tech describes.

The same problem applies outside the US. ETH Zurich, for example, has its own strict version of this rule, covered in the ETH English-medium proof guide.

Questions about MOI letters

Does an MOI letter replace the TOEFL at every US grad school?

No. Of the six schools above, Georgia Tech accepts it at application and Stanford may ask for one after you accept. MIT, Berkeley, Illinois and UCLA use country or database rules.

Who should sign the medium of instruction letter?

The registrar, controller of examinations or another official records office, on letterhead, with a name, title and date.

Is an MOI letter from my college enough if my university awards the degree?

The pages we read do not say. Georgia Tech asks for documentation "from the institution where English was the sole official language of instruction". If a separate university awards your degree, ask the admissions office which one should issue it.

Should I mention my English-medium degree in my statement of purpose?

No. The application's English section handles it. The SOP is for preparation and fit; the graduate school essays hub covers that writing. If no waiver applies, check which US graduate schools accept the Duolingo English Test before you book a test.

Get a free review of your statement of purpose

Get a free Quick Review of your statement of purpose against GradPilot's general MS statement of purpose rubric. It reads your purpose, academic goals, program fit and evidence of preparation, so the statement does its own job while the letter handles English. The SOP review page explains the review.

Sources

Retrieved October 30, 2026.

• Georgia Tech Graduate Education, English Proficiency and FAQ article 130 (no cycle stated): accepted MOI documents, "sole official language", manual verification, 30-day proof rule.
• Stanford Graduate Admissions, Test Scores and English Proficiency conditions of admission: self-certification; later institutional statement.
• MIT Office of Graduate Education, ELP exemptions: MOI outside listed countries not an exemption; department waivers.
• UC Berkeley Graduate Division, Requirements: TOEFL/IELTS exemption criteria.
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Graduate College, International Applicants: exemption by U.S. or approved-country degree.
• UCLA Graduate Education, English Requirements: WHED-based exemption.