Duolingo English Test Course for Students in Palestine — Scholarships, Destinations and Scores

Universities Palestinian students apply to with a DET score

Published DET requirements at destinations that take a large share of Palestinian applications and scholarships:

United Kingdom and Ireland

• University of Hertfordshire (UK campus): 105 overall with no less than 95 in each band where the course asks for IELTS 6.0, and 120 overall with no less than 95 in each band where it asks for IELTS 6.5.
• Trinity College Dublin: 120 overall with 100 in each subscore for standard entry, 130 with 110 for higher entry.
• University College Dublin: 90 with at least 80 in each subscore as the standard requirement, rising to 100/90 and 110/100 for taught master’s tiers and higher for the most demanding programmes.

Germany, United States and Canada

• Constructor University (Bremen, Germany): minimum 110 for graduate study.
• Arizona State University: 95 for most undergraduate majors, 100 for the BSc Nursing, 105 for the Fulton Schools of Engineering and 120 for the Cronkite School of Journalism.
• Northeastern University (College of Professional Studies): 105 for graduate and bachelor’s-completion programmes, 120 for doctoral programmes.
• Concordia University (Montreal): 105 with no subscore under 90 for undergraduate admission.
• University of Ottawa: 120 overall with 120 in Literacy for direct undergraduate entry; conditional entry through its English Intensive Program starts at 85 overall with 85 in Literacy.

Gulf and Egypt

• Heriot-Watt University Dubai: 100 overall with 95 in each component for Foundation, 120 with 110 in each component for undergraduate entry and STEM master’s, 120 with Writing 115 for non-STEM master’s, 125 with 120 for research degrees.
• University of Hertfordshire hosted by GAF (New Administrative Capital): 65 for non-medical programmes, 75 for medical programmes, 105 for transfer students.
• Coventry University at The Knowledge Hub (TKH), New Administrative Capital: 95 overall with a minimum of 85 in each subscore for the Foundation Year, 105 overall with a minimum of 100 in each subscore for Year One.

Turkey, honestly. It is the most popular destination on this list, and it is where the DET is weakest. The English-proficiency pages we opened at Bilkent, Koç, Sabancı, Özyeğin and Istanbul Medipol list IELTS, TOEFL and their own proficiency exams and do not list the Duolingo English Test; Bahçeşehir (BAU) states outright that Duolingo results are not acceptable. If Turkey is your only target, plan for the university’s own exam or a listed test. The DET earns its place when your list also includes the UK, North America, Ireland or the Gulf.

Scholarship programmes set their own English rules. Read the current year’s call: some accept the DET outright, others name IELTS or TOEFL only. The university finder lists every university requirement we have verified.

Is the DET used inside Palestine?

Not for admission, as a rule. Palestinian universities assess English through the Tawjihi result and their own placement exams. The Arab American University admission page, for example, refers applicants to its internal English Placement Test and does not list the Duolingo English Test. Where an English-taught master’s or a joint programme with a European partner asks for an international certificate, ask the programme office in writing whether a DET certificate counts and at what score. For most Palestinian students the DET is the document for abroad.

Visa rules that decide which test you take

• United Kingdom — the DET is not a Secure English Language Test (SELT). For degree-level study, UK Visas and Immigration lets a licensed Higher Education Provider assess your English itself at CEFR B2, which is how a DET-based offer leads to a CAS. For courses below degree level you need a SELT such as IELTS for UKVI.
• Canada — IRCC discontinued the Student Direct Stream in November 2024, so everyone applies through the regular study-permit process and your designated learning institution decides which English evidence it accepts; many accept the DET.
• Australia — the Department of Home Affairs accepts a fixed list of tests (IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge C1 Advanced, OET, LanguageCert Academic, CELPIP General, Michigan English Test) and does not accept tests delivered completely online. The DET will not satisfy the student-visa English requirement.

For Germany, Ireland, the Gulf and Egypt the university’s own acceptance is what counts; no separate language-test visa rule applies.

Choosing your target score

The DET reports an overall score on the 10–160 scale and four subscores — Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation and Production. Palestinian applicants usually plan for one of these bands:

• 65–105: Hertfordshire (GAF, Egypt) at 65–75, University College Dublin from 90 with 80 in each subscore, Arizona State and Coventry (TKH) Foundation at 95, Concordia and Coventry Year One at 105.
• 110–120: Constructor University at 110, Hertfordshire’s UK campus at 105–120, Ottawa at 120 with 120 in Literacy, Trinity College Dublin at 120 with 100 in every subscore, Heriot-Watt Dubai at 120 with 110 in each component.
• 125–130: Trinity’s higher entry at 130 with 110 — the band that competitive scholarships tend to reward.

For a scholarship, aim from above: committees compare candidates, and a stronger score is a stronger file. Check your weakest subscore against the floor, and send your programme page on WhatsApp so we can read it with you.

DET vs IELTS from Palestine

Both exams measure the same four skills in different shapes. Once you have confirmed acceptance, the choice is about format.

The DET’s biggest advantage from Palestine is access: no travel to a test date. Use it wherever your universities publish a Duolingo band, and keep IELTS for Turkish universities that do not, for Australia and for UK study below degree level. Compare any IELTS or TOEFL requirement with the DET score converter, and read which Duolingo score you need before you decide.

Studying online from Palestine

Palestine and Egypt share the same clock for most of the year, so live classes sit at a normal hour in the West Bank and Gaza. When electricity or connectivity fails mid-class — as it does — the same-day recording means you lose nothing, and WhatsApp support between sessions keeps you on track.

Every Teachero course runs as live online classes taught in English by highly qualified, certified instructors, with Arabic-language support available whenever a point is easier to grasp in Arabic. Lesson recordings are uploaded the same day, so a session you miss is never lost. Each course includes personal Speaking and Writing correction, a full mock test before your exam and WhatsApp support between sessions.

• Standard course — more days, fewer hours per day.
• Intensive course — fewer days, more hours per day, for a test that is close.
• Private 1-on-1 course — tailored to you.

Tell us your target university and exam date on WhatsApp and we will say which of the three fits. Palestine is part of our worldwide DET coverage.

Paying from Palestine

Visa and Mastercard cards from Palestinian banks work for the course once international online purchases are enabled — ask your bank to switch them on if a first foreign charge is refused. Many students pay with a card held by a relative abroad, which works just as well. If neither is possible, message us on WhatsApp and we will find an option. The Arabic version of this page is on our Arab-world DET hub.