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

Which universities in Saudi Arabia accept the Duolingo English Test?

Ask this question before you pay for a test, because the answer inside the Kingdom is mixed. Here is what the universities themselves publish:

• Prince Sultan University (Riyadh) accepts the DET for undergraduate admission with a minimum overall score of 60, listed alongside STEP 50, Academic IELTS 4 and PTE Academic 22. It is the clearest DET acceptance we have found on a Saudi admissions page.
• KAUST lists the Duolingo English Test among the tests it does not accept as evidence of English proficiency, with a single exception for visiting-student applicants. Its published requirements are IELTS 7.0, TOEFL iBT 95 or PTE Academic 71.
• Alfaisal University asks international applicants for a TOEFL or IELTS score record; the Duolingo English Test is not mentioned on its international-student requirements page.
• Public universities — King Saud, King Abdulaziz, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and the others — build their English requirements around STEP (Qiyas), TOEFL and IELTS. The DET is not a general standard in Saudi public admissions, so treat any programme as a no until its admissions office confirms otherwise in writing.

The practical rule: if your target is inside Saudi Arabia, email admissions first and keep the reply. If your target is abroad, keep reading — the picture changes completely.

Universities abroad that Saudi students apply to with a DET score

Saudi applicants use the DET for the UK, the United States, Canada and Ireland far more than for local admission. These are published requirements you can plan against, each taken from the university’s own page:

United States

• Arizona State University: 95 for most undergraduate programmes, 100 for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, 105 for higher-requirement Fulton Engineering programmes and 120 for higher-requirement Cronkite journalism programmes.
• Northeastern University (College of Professional Studies): 105 for bachelor’s-completion and graduate programmes, 120 for doctoral study.

United Kingdom

• Heriot-Watt University (its Dubai campus publishes the same DET bands): 100 with 95 in each component for foundation, 120 with 110 in each component for undergraduate and STEM or design master’s, 120 with Writing at 115 for non-STEM master’s, and 125 with 120 for PhD.
• University of Hertfordshire: 105 with no less than 95 in each band for undergraduate, 120 with 95 in each band for postgraduate.

Canada

• University of Toronto: 120 overall with 120 in Production for tests taken on or after 1 July 2024.

Ireland

• Trinity College Dublin: 120 with 100 in every 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 through 100, 110, 120 and beyond depending on the taught master’s.

Use the university finder to check more institutions, and before you book, ask each admissions office one question in writing: do you accept the Duolingo English Test for this programme, and what overall and subscore minimums apply?

Scholarships, sponsors and the visa rules that decide your test

A DET score can win you an offer and still be the wrong document for the people paying for your degree or issuing your visa. Three checks matter for Saudi applicants:

• Your sponsor. If your study abroad is funded through a government scholarship, an employer or a university sponsorship, the sponsor’s written rules decide which certificate goes in your file, and scholarship bodies in the region frequently specify IELTS or TOEFL. Read the sponsor’s requirements before relying on the DET alone, and use the DET where it is accepted: the university application itself.
• United Kingdom. The DET is not a Secure English Language Test. For degree-level study, however, gov.uk states that your Higher Education Provider can assess your level of English itself, provided the level is equivalent to CEFR B2 — that is how DET-based offers at UK universities work. Below degree level you need a SELT from an approved provider at CEFR B1.
• Canada. The Student Direct Stream ended on 8 November 2024. Applications now go through the regular study permit stream, and your designated learning institution decides which English evidence it accepts.
• Australia. The Department of Home Affairs accepts a fixed list of tests — IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge C1 Advanced, OET, LanguageCert Academic, CELPIP and the Michigan English Test — and states that it does not accept tests delivered completely online. The DET will not satisfy the student visa English requirement.

If your shortlist mixes the UK or the US with Australia, or a sponsor that names IELTS, plan for two tests before you pay for either.

Choosing your target score

The DET reports an overall score on the 10–160 scale and four subscores — Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation and Production. Universities publish a minimum overall score, and many also publish a minimum in each subscore, which is where unprepared candidates get caught: an overall 120 with Production at 105 does not meet Toronto’s requirement even though the headline number does.

Work backwards from the pages above rather than aiming at a round number:

• 60 is the published floor at Prince Sultan University — but treat it as a local exception, not a benchmark for anything abroad.
• 90–105 covers a large share of undergraduate entry abroad: University College Dublin from 90 with 80 in each subscore, Arizona State at 95, Hertfordshire at 105 with 95 in each band, Northeastern’s professional-studies programmes at 105.
• 120 with subscore floors is where selective and graduate entry sits: Toronto at 120 with 120 in Production, Heriot-Watt at 120 with 110 in each component, Hertfordshire postgraduate at 120, Trinity College Dublin at 120 with 100 in every subscore.
• 125–130+ is PhD and higher-entry territory: Heriot-Watt’s PhD band at 125 with 120, Trinity’s higher entry at 130 with 110.

Pick the highest requirement on your shortlist and prepare for a comfortable margin above it, because subscore floors — not the overall number — are what most often send an application back. Not sure which band you need? Read which Duolingo score do I need, convert an IELTS requirement with the score converter, or send us your programme’s English-requirements page on WhatsApp and we will read it with you.

DET vs IELTS for Saudi students: the format comparison

Most Saudi students have met IELTS or STEP before, so the useful comparison is format, not language.

The adaptive format rewards people who know each question type cold and punishes people who improvise; that, rather than vocabulary, is what most Saudi students need to train. Use the DET wherever your universities accept it, and keep IELTS for sponsors and visa routes that require it.

Studying online from Saudi Arabia with live classes

Saudi Arabia sits at UTC+3, one hour ahead of Cairo for most of the year, so Teachero’s live sessions fall at a workable time for students in the Kingdom rather than in the middle of the night. If you miss a session, the recording is uploaded the same day.

Every course runs as live online classes taught in English by highly qualified, certified instructors, with Arabic-language support for the moments when a strategy is easier to grasp in Arabic first.

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

All three include personal Speaking and Writing correction, a full mock test before the exam and WhatsApp support between sessions. Keep up with test changes on DET news.

Paying by card from Saudi Arabia

Visa and Mastercard payments from Saudi banks work normally. Two generic points save time: make sure online and international transactions are switched on for your card with your bank, and keep your phone nearby, because a bank may ask you to confirm a first international charge through the app or by SMS. If a card is declined, that is almost always the reason. Message us on WhatsApp if you need another way to pay.