Second Degree in Malta: Routes, Rules and Costs for 2027

Three ways to study in Malta when you already have a degree

You have three routes and they are not interchangeable. A second bachelor’s is allowed outright — yes — with no quota, no surcharge and no restriction of the kind Germany applies to a Zweitstudium. A graduate changing field takes a named Preparatory Programme attached to the master’s: pre-requisite study-units first, the master’s after. A top-up into the final year of a bachelor’s exists, but only at private institutions licensed by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority.

What you already hold decides which one. With a full bachelor’s and a new subject in mind, the conversion route is the answer: master’s degrees in Malta are taught in English at every institution in the country, and the preparatory year costs less than a second undergraduate degree. With a higher diploma or two completed years of a degree, the top-up finishes the qualification in a single further year. A second bachelor’s makes sense in one situation only: a professional register at home demands a first degree in the new subject.

Unless a licensing body insists on an undergraduate degree in the new field, take the conversion master’s — it costs less, ends sooner and leads to the Graduate seeking-employment/business permit.

A second bachelor’s in Malta

Malta puts no bar on studying at a level you already hold. The University of Malta’s Admissions Regulations, 2016 set no rule against applicants who already hold a degree, and the Admissions Board may admit applicants as probationary students in a second or subsequent course. No quota, no separate graduate scheme, no published second-degree policy to argue with.

The fee point matters for African applicants specifically. Maltese and EU students get a first degree free and lose that entitlement on a second one; you were never inside that system. You pay the ordinary non-EU rate either way — €8,500–10,800 per year at the University of Malta, or €5,750–19,500 per year across the private colleges. Our cost of studying in Malta page sets out the rest of the budget.

One credit rule shapes the length. The same credits cannot count towards two separate qualifications unless Senate treats one as an interim qualification on the way to the other, so a graduate does not import a year of an unrelated degree. Recognition runs through MQRIC at the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority.

A second bachelor’s is 3 to 4 years at full price, so justify it with a licence requirement rather than with interest in the subject.

Changing field with a conversion master’s

Malta handles a change of subject before the master’s, not inside it: Yes, through a named one-year Preparatory Programme rather than bridging modules inside the Master's. A graduate holding a Bachelor's at Category II or better in a different field registers on the Preparatory Programme attached to the target Master's (for example Master of Arts in Criminology (Preparatory Programme), Master of Conservation (Preparatory Programme), Master of Arts in Disability Studies (Preparatory Programme)), takes 30–60 ECTS of pre-requisite study-units over one year depending on prior coursework, passes a board interview, then proceeds to the 90–120 ECTS Master's. Non-EU cost EUR 4,250–8,500 a year for arts and business, EUR 10,800 for science. Total time to the Master's is therefore about 2.5–3 years.

Classification is the gate, not the length of your first degree: a lower second — Category II — is the statutory minimum, and courses commonly ask for Category II Upper. Preparatory Programmes are a University of Malta instrument. The private universities in Malta run no equivalent but assess out-of-field graduates case by case: €8,900–10,900 per year at GBSB Global Business School, €9,000–10,000 per programme at Global College Malta and €10,000–12,000 per year at the American University of Malta. Ask admissions in writing whether your file attracts a Preparatory Programme before you budget: it is the difference between one year in Malta and roughly three.

HND and diploma holders: top-up routes

A genuine one-year top-up exists in Malta, unlike in several destinations we cover: Available at MFHEA-licensed private institutions, not at the University of Malta at undergraduate level. A UK Higher National Diploma, a Maltese higher diploma or 120 ECTS of completed Level 5 higher study (including the first two years of a degree) carries into a 60-ECTS, 12-month MQF Level 6 top-up bachelor's — for example the Bachelor of Arts (Top-Up) in Business and Management at Global College Malta (international cost: EUR 6,500 tuition + EUR 100 application + EUR 250 registration + EUR 200 visa support), and similar Level 6 top-ups at Learning Works, Learnkey and Misco. Credit given is the full 120 ECTS. Recognition of the incoming diploma is by MQRIC at the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority, which issues the comparability statement. The University of Malta publishes a top-up route only at Master's level (e.g. M.Sc. Financial Regulation and Compliance (Top-Up Degree)).

Two things follow. The comparability statement comes before the offer, and every certificate needs an apostille — yes. And a top-up sits at a private college, which raises your insurance bar: only University of Malta, MCAST and Institute of Tourism Studies students are exempt from the higher sum insured.

The top-up is the cheapest completed bachelor’s in Malta, but only a diploma MQRIC rates as two full years qualifies. If yours falls short, the foundation year route is the alternative.

Visa, age and funding for a second degree

Immigration looks at the course, not at your academic history. The study residence permit asks for an acceptance letter from a licensed institution stating the exact study period, plus full-time enrolment, health insurance, accommodation and funds. It is issued for one year or the length of the course, whichever is shorter, and renewed each year against fresh enrolment evidence. Neither Identità nor the EU Immigration Portal publishes a genuine-student, academic-progression or purpose-of-stay test for a second degree at the same level. Treat that as unwritten rather than settled: doubts about genuine intent to study sit among the Central Visa Unit’s refusal grounds, so put a paragraph in your file explaining why this degree follows from the first. Money is the harder test: €746–950 per month. See Malta student visa requirements.

Age is not a barrier: the limit is none, at admission and in the permit conditions alike.

Funding is where a second degree hurts. Endeavour II, the national postgraduate scheme, requires years of prior residence in Malta, so a new arrival cannot use it. Inside the scheme a master’s holder may apply for another master’s; a doctorate holder cannot apply. Erasmus Mundus is open to all nine origin countries and pays €1,400 per month, but A student who has already held an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master scholarship may not receive a second one. Work rights are unchanged: 20 hours/week — from 1st year for full-time MQF-recognised higher-ed students; after first 3 months for other MQF5+ courses (confirmed), with a Jobsplus employment licence first. See Malta scholarships.

How to apply with a degree in hand

The sequence is the same for all three routes; only step two differs.

1. Get your qualification recognised. Send the degree or diploma and full transcript to MQRIC (€10 already on database / €20 Maltese qualification / €50 foreign qualification + €2 postage). It decides whether you hold a degree, a diploma or two years of credit.
2. Choose the route. Conversion master’s where the field is unregulated; second bachelor’s where a licence demands the undergraduate degree; top-up where MQRIC rates your diploma as two full years of credit.
3. Apply to each institution. The route is Direct to university: Malta has no clearing house. At the University of Malta you file through esims.um.edu.mt, selecting Overseas Qualifications. Intakes are October, February (some).
4. Work back from the deadline. Undergraduate and postgraduate entry both close at 1 July 2026, 14:00 (confirmed, Oct 2026 intake; 2027/28 date not yet published).
5. Assemble the documents. Degree certificate, transcript, MQRIC statement, passport, references where the course asks for them, and an apostille on each certificate.
6. Prove your English. The floors are 6 for undergraduate and 6.5 for postgraduate entry, with no nationality-based exemption for any of our origin countries. See Malta without IELTS.
7. Build the money file and buy cover. Hold €746–950 per month and insurance at €150–400 per year, at your institution’s threshold.
8. File the visa. Apply for the National long-stay (D) visa as soon as the offer allows, pay €100–150, give biometrics and allow 3 to 9 weeks. The chest X-ray is post-arrival.