diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index cea34068f..e150ae4ba 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ before_install:
   - eval "${MATRIX_EVAL}"
   - if [[ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" == "osx" && ! -x "$(command -v pip)" ]]; then sudo easy_install pip; fi
   - pip --version
-  - pip install --upgrade pip
+  - sudo pip install --upgrade pip
   - pip --version
   - pip install --upgrade setuptools wheel
   - python -c "import distutils.sysconfig as sysconfig; print(sysconfig.__file__)"