Qualifying English Test
What is QET?
The Qualifying English Test (QET) is an English Language test set by the Centre for English Language Communication. It must be taken by students who do not possess the necessary English Language qualifications when they enter the university.
The criteria for exemption from the QET are listed HERE.
The purposes of the QET are to:
- determine which students will benefit from the Foundation Academic English course (ES1000) before proceeding to the English for Academic Purposes course (ES1103),
- determine which students will benefit from the English for Academic Purposes course (ES1103) and
- identify which students may be exempted from taking either of the above-mentioned courses.
The QET will be conducted in digital format using Examplify with remote invigilation via Zoom.
| Next Test Date | QET 1 : 7 July 2026 |
| Reporting Time | 9am / 2pm |
Date and time are in Singapore local time (GMT +8)
Students will be informed of the Zoom group they are assigned to on Friday, 3 July 2026.
Detailed flow of events and test exemption criteria can be found at Office of University Registrar's QET page.
Briefing Registration
It is compulsory for students to attend the QET/Examplify briefing before they are allowed to take the QET.
For the briefing and the actual test, students are required to prepare:
· a laptop or desktop to complete the paper using Examplify and
· a mobile phone for remote invigilation using Zoom video conferencing tool.
The briefing will be conducted virtually via the mobile phone using the Zoom app. During the briefing, students will be able to practise how to position their mobile phone for Zoom invigilation.
Students should register for one briefing session from the list below by logging in as 'NUS Students'.
Registration for the QET briefing is from 15 to 22 June 2026.
| Date of Briefing | Time | Session 1 | Session 2 |
| Friday, 26 June 2026 | 10 AM | Link | Link |
| 2 PM | Link | Link | |
| Monday, 29 June 2026 | 10 AM | Link | Link |
| 2 PM | Link | Link | |
| Tuesday, 30 June 2026 | 10 AM | Link | Link |
| 2 PM | Link | Link |
Important Notes
- Students may only sign up for one session.
- Students must use their student number to sign up for the briefing if they have completed Onboarding.
- Only students who have signed up for the briefing with a valid NUS ID will be added to Canvas on 24 June 2026 to complete the prebriefing quiz found HERE.
- Students will receive their briefing Zoom information for the through their NUS email address by 5pm on 25 June 2026.
- If a student is unable to attend the chosen briefing session, they may cancel and register for another timeslot.
Preparation for the QET
Though there is no specific recommended preparation for the QET, students should ensure that they are familiar with the format of the QET. Students are required to read a text and then respond to the question prompt. They need to show that they can use English accurately to write an argumentative essay. The essay will be assessed for its content, organisation and language.
- Content:
- fulfillment of task
- sophistication and sufficiency of ideas
- analysis and use of information from the reading text and your own knowledge to support ideas
- Organisation:
- clarity of overall structure
- logical development of ideas within and across paragraphs
- Language:
- accuracy – grammar, sentence structure and cohesive devices
- fluency – communicative quality and vocabulary use
- academic style - argumentation, source acknowledgement and integration, and register
What do the QET results mean?
- Students who obtain Band 1 will have to take ES1000 followed by ES1103.
- Students who obtain Band 2 will have to take ES1103.
- Students who obtain Band 3 are exempted from these English courses.
Students required to do ES1000 or ES1103 will participate in the Online Course Registration (EduRec). Please refer to the Office of the University Registrar’s website for updates.
For more information on the courses, ES1000 and ES1103, please refer to the Undergraduate Courses page on CELC website.
AI may be used to evaluate the QET/DET submissions, under human supervision. This is to enhance consistent and fair assessment of the scripts.