Study in Malta Without IELTS

Can you study in Malta without IELTS? The straight answer

Partly. Every degree at every recognised institution in Malta is taught in English, so the teaching language is never your obstacle. The obstacle is the English evidence each institution demands, and Malta sets no single national rule. The national floor is IELTS 6 for a bachelor’s and 6.5 for a master’s, but four institutions sit below it. St Martin’s Institute publishes IELTS 5, and MCAST, the Institute of Tourism Studies and Global College Malta all publish 5.5 at bachelor’s level. Five of the 8 recognised institutions accept a medium-of-instruction letter in place of a test; the University of Malta accepts a WAEC English pass instead. So “without IELTS” is real at most Maltese institutions, and impossible at one: Queen Mary University of London’s Malta campus wants IELTS 7 or a GCSE English Language pass, nothing else. What no institution does is waive English evidence because your country speaks English. That single point causes more refused applications from Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya than anything else on this topic.

“No IELTS” is not “no English” — the distinction

Agents sell “no IELTS” as though it means no language check. It never does. Maltese institutions decide English on three routes: an accepted test, an accepted school or degree qualification, or a letter from your last school confirming it taught you in English. Skipping IELTS moves you from the first route to the second or third; it does not remove the gate. The route that works is a document you already hold or a cheaper test you can actually sit, not your passport. The visa side mirrors this. Malta’s student rules ask your admission letter to confirm you know the language of your course, which is your institution’s English decision written down a second time. If the institution never made that decision, the letter cannot carry it.

Typical English requirements at universities in Malta

Each institution publishes its own floor, and they differ more than in most countries. The University of Malta asks IELTS 6 at bachelor’s level and 6.5 at master’s, or TOEFL iBT 80. Its accepted-test list is short — IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT and Pearson PTE Academic — and its exemptions page is exhaustive: a medium-of-instruction letter is not on it, a WAEC English pass is. MCAST sets 5.5 at both bachelor’s and master’s level, or TOEFL iBT 87. The Institute of Tourism Studies asks 5.5 for a bachelor’s and 6.5 for a master’s, or TOEFL iBT 60 — the lowest TOEFL floor published in Malta. Global College Malta asks 5.5 and 6. GBSB Global Business School and the American University of Malta both sit at 6 and 6.5, with TOEFL iBT 80. St Martin’s Institute publishes one bachelor’s figure, IELTS 5, waived if you hold an SEC or GCE/GCSE English pass at the grade it names; no master’s figure is published. Read the institution’s own page, not a country average: the gap between 5 and 7 decides where you apply. Several institutions also require a recent certificate, so check the validity window before booking. Our IELTS alternatives guide compares the tests themselves.

Universities that accept students without IELTS

Five institutions accept a medium-of-instruction letter, a signed statement from your school or university that your studies were taught in English. MCAST accepts one, as do the Institute of Tourism Studies, GBSB Global Business School, Global College Malta and the American University of Malta. Global College treats the letter as discretionary rather than automatic, and the American University of Malta waives the test outright when your secondary education was completed in English. That is the widest door for a Nigerian, Ghanaian, Kenyan, Ugandan, Zambian, Zimbabwean or South African applicant whose whole education was in English.

The University of Malta closes the letter route but opens another: a WAEC English pass sits on its exemptions list, which matters for applicants from Nigeria and Ghana. St Martin’s Institute waives IELTS for an SEC or GCE/GCSE English pass. GBSB also accepts the Duolingo English Test and Pearson PTE Academic alongside TOEFL iBT 80, so a cheaper, faster test can replace IELTS with no letter at all.

Queen Mary University of London’s Malta campus is the one place where none of this works: it takes IELTS 7, a GCSE English Language pass, or a qualification from its own approved list, and no medium-of-instruction letter. Institution-by-institution detail sits on our Malta universities page.

Local-language programmes: Malta’s other door

In Germany or Türkiye the local language is a second door: study in German or Turkish and skip the English test. Malta does not have that door. The country’s languages are English, Maltese, and all 8 recognised institutions teach their degrees in English at every level — the Institute of Tourism Studies, for example, lists 3 English bachelor’s programmes and 2 English master’s programmes. No Maltese-taught degree route for international applicants is published, and Maltese is not tested at admission or at the visa stage.

For a francophone applicant from Morocco this cuts twice. There is no French-taught degree route in Malta, so English evidence is unavoidable, and a French-medium school certificate cannot support a medium-of-instruction letter. Your realistic options are an institution with a low test floor, or a foundation year that builds the evidence first — see Malta foundation programmes. Maltese is worth learning for work and daily life, not for admission.

When you still need a recognised English test

Four situations remove the shortcut. Medicine is the first: Queen Mary’s Malta campus asks IELTS 7 at €39,500 per year, and the University of Malta’s own medical degree runs at €26,000 per year with no letter route. Competitive programmes are the second: where places are capped, a test score is the tiebreaker. Scholarships are the third — Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters consortia set their own English rules, usually a test. The fourth is any institution whose admission letter must state your language ability for the National long-stay (D) visa, because that letter can only restate a decision the institution actually made. If any of these apply, book the test early instead of arguing the exemption.

The honest bit: what “without IELTS” does and doesn’t buy you

It buys a cheaper, faster route to the same admission decision. It does not lower the academic bar: you still need a school qualification recognised through MQRIC, Malta’s credential body, with apostilled documents, and there is no German-style APS. It does not shorten the visa, which runs 3 to 9 weeks. It does not lower the money: €746–950 per month of proof of funds and tuition of €8,500–10,800 per year at the University of Malta apply whichever English route you take — see what studying in Malta costs. The English route changes one document in your file, not the strength of the file. Insufficient funds and inconsistent papers are named refusal grounds; a missing IELTS certificate is not.