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

Universities Nepali students apply to with a DET score

Students from Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Butwal and Chitwan mostly plan the DET around the United States, Canada, the UK and Ireland — Australia needs different thinking, as the next section explains. These are the published requirements Nepali applicants meet most often.

United States

• Arizona State University: 95 for most undergraduate majors, 105 for higher-requirement Fulton Engineering programmes.
• Northeastern University (College of Professional Studies): 105 for graduate and bachelor’s-completion programmes, 120 for doctoral study.

Canada

• University of Toronto: 120 overall with 120 in Production for undergraduate entry (tests from 1 July 2024).
• University of British Columbia: 125 overall, with 115 Reading, 115 Listening, 120 Writing, 120 Speaking.

United Kingdom and Ireland

• Most UK degree courses that take the DET quote a band between 110 and 130, the more selective universities at the top of it. The DET is not a UKVI Secure English Language Test — see the visa section.
• Trinity College Dublin: 120 with 100 in every subscore for standard entry, 130 with 110 for higher entry.
• University College Dublin: from 90 with 80 in each subscore, rising to 100–110 and above depending on the master’s.

Germany and Australia

• Germany is mixed: private and international institutions are likeliest to accept it — Constructor University (Bremen) lists 110 for graduate entry — while many public universities still ask for IELTS or TOEFL. Check the programme page.
• Some Australian providers accept the DET for admission (UNSW College publishes Duolingo bands across its pathway programmes), but not for the student visa — see below.

Before you book anything, ask admissions one question in writing: do you accept the Duolingo English Test, and what overall and subscore minimums apply to this programme?

Is the DET used inside Nepal?

Nepali universities and their affiliated colleges teach in English but admit through their own entrance processes, so a DET certificate is rarely needed locally. Its value here is outbound: foreign admissions files and scholarships wanting an internationally recognised score. If a college delivering a foreign-affiliated degree asks for English evidence, get the answer in writing — it follows the awarding university abroad.

The visa question Nepali students must answer first

Australia is one of the largest destinations for Nepali students, and it is exactly where the DET does not work for the visa. Read this before you commit to a test:

• Australia. Home Affairs accepts a fixed list of tests (IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge C1 Advanced, OET, LanguageCert Academic, CELPIP, Michigan English Test) and does not accept tests delivered completely online. Some providers take a DET score for admission, but the subclass 500 visa still needs a listed test — if Australia is your plan A, budget for it from day one.
• Canada. The Student Direct Stream ended in November 2024. Under the regular study permit, your designated learning institution decides which English evidence it accepts for admission, and many Canadian institutions accept the DET.
• United Kingdom. The DET is not a Secure English Language Test, but a licensed higher-education sponsor may assess your English itself for a degree-level course and confirm it on your CAS. Below degree level, you need a SELT.
• USA and Ireland. Admission drives everything, and a strong DET score is enough for many programmes.

Choosing your target score for the universities Nepali 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:

• 90–105 covers a large share of undergraduate entry — Arizona State at 95, Northeastern’s professional-studies programmes at 105, University College Dublin from 90 with 80 in each subscore.
• 110–125 is the band most UK degree courses and mainstream Canadian entry sit in, and where European institutions such as Constructor University (110) land.
• 120–130+ is selective and graduate territory: Toronto at 120 with 120 in Production, UBC at 125 with subscore floors, Trinity College Dublin at 120 with 100 in every subscore and 130 with 110 for higher entry.

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 vs IELTS from Nepal: the format comparison

Both exams test the same language in different shapes, and once acceptance is settled the choice comes down to format.

Sensible strategy from Nepal: use the DET for the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland, and take a listed test only if your destination is Australia or another route that requires one.

Why an online course suits students in Nepal

Nepal’s time zone (UTC+5:45) lines up with almost nobody, so a live class made for another region rarely lands where you want it. That is the problem a structured online course solves.

Every Teachero course runs as live online classes taught by certified instructors specialised in international English exams, with lesson recordings you can review afterwards. If a session lands at an awkward hour in Nepal, you watch the recording, submit the same homework, receive the same corrections and sit the same mock tests as everyone else.

• Standard course — more days, fewer hours per day.
• Intensive course — fewer days, more hours per day, when the test is close.
• Private tailored course — one-to-one around your weak questions.

All of them include personal Speaking and Writing correction, full mock tests and WhatsApp support between sessions, taught by our instructors. Schedules are set per round — ask on WhatsApp, or read the DET FAQ.

Paying by card from Nepal

Paying an education provider abroad from Nepal means having a card that can hold or draw US dollars:

• Get a dollar card. Nepali commercial banks issue USD prepaid or dual-currency cards, physical or virtual, some the same day through the bank app. You will normally need an account, citizenship certificate or passport, PAN card, a photo and a stated purpose such as an exam or a course.
• Know your limit. The Nepal Rastra Bank foreign-currency facility for general users is commonly described as around US$500 a year, counted across all your dollar cards together, with higher limits for some categories. Tuition and academic payments can also be remitted through a bank against verified institutional documents — ask about that route if your card allowance is tight.

Once loaded, the card pays online like any Visa or Mastercard. If it is declined, message us on WhatsApp for alternatives, and message us on WhatsApp.