Master's Degree in Malta for African Students

What a master’s degree in Malta looks like

Malta awards a Master (M.A., M.Sc., M.B.A., LL.M. and equivalents), at MQF Level 7 — the same second-cycle level as a master’s anywhere in the EU. The standard size is 90 ECTS over 1.5 to 2 years, and the University of Malta’s postgraduate regulations require a dissertation in every taught master’s.

Teaching starts in October, February. October is the larger intake; February runs at some institutions only.

English is the working language of Maltese higher education, so an English-taught master’s is the norm, not a special track. The University of Malta, MCAST, the American University of Malta, GBSB Global Business School and Global College Malta all teach master’s programmes in English. The Institute of Tourism Studies lists 2 and St Martin’s Institute of Higher Education 1.

Queen Mary University of London’s Malta campus runs no master’s at all — it teaches the undergraduate MBBS only. Malta is in the EU and in Schengen, and the degree gives direct access to a doctorate.

Is an African bachelor’s accepted?

Yes, in principle. Malta publishes no year rule at master’s level: admission is by classification, not by the length of your first degree. You need a first-cycle degree at MQF or EQF Level 6 from a recognised university; three-year and four-year African degrees are both assessed against the classification requirement.

The University of Malta’s statutory minimum is Second Class Honours, or Category II — a lower second. Individual courses commonly set Upper Division, and some admit Third Class Honours where relevant qualifications or field experience are shown.

UM’s country pages for Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Egypt and Morocco all state that master’s applications are assessed case by case, so your classification decides, not your passport. A South African three-year bachelor’s without Honours is judged on classification, not excluded by rule.

Private institutions say the same in their own words: a degree at EQF or MQF Level 6, or a recognised equivalent, assessed case by case. MCAST goes further and wants an MQRIC statement confirming Level 6 equivalence first.

Recognition runs through MQRIC at the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority, and your certificate and transcript must be apostilled. If your first degree is in another discipline, the route is a one-year Preparatory Programme — see studying a second degree in Malta.

How much a master’s costs in Malta

Public master’s tuition for non-EU students is €10,800–13,400 per year. The University of Malta’s own range, which includes its Executive MBA, is €10,800–14,400 per year; arts and business sit at the bottom of it and science at the top.

Private colleges undercut that. The band is €7,750–20,000 per year, and the schools most African applicants use sit low in it: GBSB Global Business School at €8,900–10,900 per year, Global College Malta at €9,000–10,000 per programme, MCAST at €7,900–10,000 per programme, the Institute of Tourism Studies at €4,250 per semester and the American University of Malta at €10,000–12,000 per year.

Living costs are the other half of the bill. The national band is €950–1,600 per month, and 950 euro a month excluding tuition is the figure Malta’s immigration authority uses. Around the UM campus in Msida, budget €1,360–1,630 per month, of which €550–700 per month is a room in a shared flat.

Add insurance at €150–400 per year: the real figure is one year of tuition plus twelve months of living, in euro. Full breakdown on our Malta cost of study page.

English requirements for a master’s

The national floor at master’s level is IELTS 6.5. The University of Malta, GBSB Global Business School, the American University of Malta and the Institute of Tourism Studies all ask 6.5. Global College Malta accepts 6 and MCAST 5.5, the lowest published master’s band in the country. On TOEFL iBT, UM asks 80, MCAST 87 and the Institute of Tourism Studies 60.

A medium-of-instruction letter is accepted at MCAST, the American University of Malta, GBSB, Global College Malta and the Institute of Tourism Studies, but not at the University of Malta. UM grants no nationality-based exemption to applicants from any of our nine countries, so a Nigerian or Kenyan degree taught in English still needs a test. The alternatives are on our Malta without IELTS page.

Universities to look at for a master’s

University of Malta, Msida. The only public university, founded in 1592, with 12,000 students. Non-EU master’s fees are €10,800–14,400 per year and it is ranked #696 (QS 2027). It asks IELTS 6.5.

MCAST, Paola. Public and vocational, ranked 701–900 (QS 2026), with 8,905 students. Master’s cost €7,900–10,000 per programme on IELTS 5.5. The catch is delivery: master’s run part-time by default, and full-time teaching — which a study visa needs — depends on applicant numbers.

GBSB Global Business School, Birkirkara. 98 per cent of its 358 students are international. Its one-year MSc in Management and MBA cost €8,900–10,900 per year including registration and administrative fees, on IELTS 6.5.

American University of Malta, Cospicua. Founded in 2015, charging €10,000–12,000 per year on IELTS 6.5, with rolling admission to most graduate programmes.

Global College Malta, SmartCity in Kalkara. Twelve-month MBA and MSc programmes at €9,000–10,000 per programme on IELTS 6, with intakes running near-monthly.

Institute of Tourism Studies, Luqa. Public, €4,250 per semester — the cheapest master’s route in the country. Only one of its two master’s is full-time, the MBA in International Hospitality Management; the other is part-time and will not support a visa.

St Martin’s Institute of Higher Education, Ħamrun, has 1 English master’s among 196 students and publishes neither a fee nor an English band. The full list is on our Malta universities page.

Scholarships for a master’s

Malta runs no national scholarship for incoming non-EU master’s students. The one scheme that funds a full master’s here is Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters, and all nine of our origin countries — Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Morocco — are eligible.

It covers tuition in full and pays €1,400 per month for the whole programme. You apply via-consortium — to the consortium that runs the programme, not to a Maltese university — and you do not need an admission offer first.

Maltese institutions publish no general fee waiver for non-EU master’s students, so Erasmus Mundus or your own money is the realistic answer. The current cycle is 2027/28, and a student who has already held one of these scholarships cannot receive a second. More on funding: Malta scholarships.

How to apply for a master’s in Malta

1. Get your degree recognised. Send your certificate and transcript to MQRIC for a comparability statement: MQRIC (€10 already on database / €20 Maltese qualification / €50 foreign qualification + €2 postage).
2. Shortlist on classification and English band. Check your degree class against Second Class Honours or Category II and your score against each institution’s bar before paying a fee.
3. Apply direct. The route is Direct to university; there is no national postgraduate portal. At the University of Malta you apply online through esims.um.edu.mt, selecting “Overseas Qualifications”.
4. Work to the visa-holder deadline. The published date is 1 July 2026, 14:00 (confirmed, Oct 2026 intake; 2027/28 date not yet published), with a later general deadline in September. Master’s by research is admitted on a rolling basis.
5. Prepare the documents. Apostilled certificate and transcript, IELTS or an accepted medium-of-instruction letter, passport, CV and references. Malta uses no APS certificate.
6. Accept, pay and insure. Settle the tuition or deposit your offer names and buy medical cover of at least 30,000 euro. Students outside UM, MCAST and ITS face a higher threshold for the permit.
7. Prove your money. Show €746–950 per month using Bank statements (last 3 months) / sponsor bank statement + signed declaration letter.
8. Apply for the visa. The National long-stay (D) visa costs €100–150 plus €50 for the permit, and takes 3 to 9 weeks — see the Malta student visa guide.

After the master’s

A Maltese master’s earns you 9 months on the Graduate seeking-employment/business permit, applied for with a residence card fee of €27.50. That permit is non-renewable, so nine months is the whole window in which to find a job or register a business. Turning it into work means an employer, a work permit and a Jobsplus employment licence.

The other route on is a doctorate: 3 to 5 years at €11,000 per year, starting in October, December, February, April, June and applied for direct to a supervisor. Malta operates no doctoral stipend open to newly arriving third-country nationals, so it is self-funded. See PhD study in Malta.