When students enter the program, they are given a battery of placement tests:

1. The Accuplacer ESL Placement Test, an objective, multiple-choice online examination that tests grammar, reading and listening comprehension, and sentence building.
2. A writing sample based on an assigned topic.

The four scores are converted to an overall score on a 120 point scale. Students who score between 0-61 are referred to the Center for Continuing Education. Students who score between 110-120 are referred to the undergraduate program.  Students who score between 62-109 are then placed into one of three levels corresponding to their scores:

Students who have successfully completed Level 3 in the Intensive English Program are not required to present a TOEFL score when seeking undergraduate admission to the American University of Kuwait.