Duolingo English Test Course for Students in Japan — Online with Certified Instructors

Japanese universities that accept the Duolingo English Test

Duolingo’s own listing of accepting institutions in Japan includes the University of Tokyo, Tohoku University, Nagoya University, Kyushu University, Waseda University, Ritsumeikan University, Tokai University and Musashi University — largely for English-medium and international programmes rather than standard Japanese-language admission.

Ritsumeikan is the clearest published example, and it is also a lesson in reading the small print: the university states that it temporarily accepts the Duolingo English Test for the English proficiency requirement of its English-medium undergraduate programmes, that only tests on the 160-point scale taken after 15 July 2019 count, and that the College of Global Liberal Arts is excluded. Minimum scores live in the application handbook, not the announcement.

So the rule for Japan is: find the programme’s own application guide, check the year, and confirm whether DET is accepted for that specific faculty. A temporary policy can end between intakes.

Applying abroad from Japan

For outbound applications the picture is far wider — more than 6,000 institutions accept the DET, with the deepest acceptance in the United States, the UK, Canada and Australia:

Canadian minimums sit at 120 for Toronto, Waterloo, Queen’s and Ottawa, 125 for UBC and 115–125 for McGill; Australian requirements run from about 105 to 120.

In the UK, DET is mainstream at universities including York, Sussex, Southampton, Hertfordshire, Sheffield Hallam, Portsmouth and UCLan, typically at 105–125 with subscore rules that often read “overall 120, no subscore below 110” — see our UK score requirements guide.

The pattern: bachelor’s admission usually sits at 95–120 and postgraduate programmes at 115–135. Find your programme in Duolingo’s accepting-institutions directory, then confirm with admissions.

Choosing your target score for the universities Japanese students apply to

The DET reports an overall score on the 10–160 scale in steps of five, plus four subscores — Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation and Production. Universities publish a minimum overall score, and many publish a minimum in each subscore too, which is where unprepared candidates are caught: an overall 120 with a Production of 95 fails a requirement that the headline number appears to meet.

Work backwards from the requirements on this page rather than aiming at a round number:

• 95–110 is the usual band for bachelor entry at many US state universities and at a range of Australian institutions.
• 110–125 covers most UK degree courses, where the requirement is often written as “overall 120, no subscore below 110”, and much of the Canadian intake.
• 120–135 is postgraduate and highly selective territory: 120 at Toronto, Waterloo, Queen’s and Ottawa, 125 at UBC and NYU, 130 at Duke, Cornell and Penn, 135 at Columbia.

Pick the highest requirement on your shortlist and plan a comfortable margin above it, because subscore floors — not the overall number — are what most often send an application back. Send us your university’s English-requirements page on WhatsApp and we will read it with you before you start.

DET, IELTS, TOEFL or Eiken?

Japanese applicants often arrive with Eiken and TOEFL histories, which are useful domestically but not interchangeable abroad. Overseas universities publish their accepted tests explicitly, so the practical sequence is: read the requirement, then choose the exam.

Where the DET appears on the requirement page it is usually the most convenient route; where it does not, no amount of preparation substitutes for the exam the university names.

Visa and registration rules to check before you rely on DET

A university accepting your score and an immigration department accepting it are two different questions.

• Australia: universities may accept DET for admission, but the Department of Home Affairs does not accept it for the subclass 500 visa — that needs IELTS, TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic or another listed test.
• United Kingdom: DET is not a UKVI SELT. Degree-level admission is normally assessed by the university itself, but a pre-sessional or below-degree course can need a SELT.
• Canada: the Student Direct Stream ended in November 2024, so the regular study permit applies and your institution decides what English evidence it wants.

Get it in writing from admissions, and see our complete DET guide for score reporting.

Studying online from Japan

Studying with an academy in another time zone only works if nothing depends on your being awake at a particular hour. Every Teachero lesson is recorded, and you can review the recording afterwards, so a live session you cannot attend is never a session you lose.

Classes are taught fully in English by certified instructors who specialise in international English exams — the environment the DET asks you to perform in. Speaking and Writing are corrected personally, WhatsApp covers questions between sessions, and you sit full mock tests before the real thing. Arabic-language support is available for Arabic speakers.

Three shapes: the standard course (more days, fewer hours per day), the intensive course (fewer days, more hours per day) and the private tailored course, one-to-one around your weakest questions — see also our online course overview and DET FAQ.

Paying for the course from Japan

Your Teachero course is paid by card online (Visa or Mastercard) from any country. A JCB-branded card may not be accepted by every international merchant, while Visa and Mastercard credit cards are; check whether your card adds a separate overseas-use charge.

Other options are available on WhatsApp. Schedules are set per round — message us for the next round’s details.