Duolingo English Test Course for Students in Yemen — Where the DET Works and Where It Does Not

Universities Yemeni students apply to with a DET score

Egypt — the closest option with published DET scores

• 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.
• European Universities in Egypt (EUE), New Administrative Capital: accepts the DET, with the required score depending on the programme and partner university.

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.

Gulf

• 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.
• American University of Sharjah: states that only TOEFL and IELTS are accepted.

United States and Canada

• 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.

Malaysia, honestly. The undergraduate English pages we opened at Universiti Malaya, Monash University Malaysia, Asia Pacific University (APU) and Taylor’s University list IELTS, TOEFL, PTE or MUET and do not list the Duolingo English Test. Do not assume Malaysian acceptance from agent websites — ask the university in writing before you book.

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.

Every number above comes from the university’s own page. Search other universities in the university finder and confirm the figure for your intake in writing.

Is the DET used inside Yemen?

Not for admission. Yemeni universities admit on the secondary-school certificate and their own placement exams, and we found no Yemeni university publishing a Duolingo requirement. Where an English-taught programme or a postgraduate department asks for an international certificate, ask in writing whether a DET certificate counts and at what score. For Yemeni students the DET is the document for abroad — and for the Egyptian branch campuses, which many Yemeni families choose because no visa language rule applies and the published DET minimums are within reach.

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 Egypt, the Gulf, Malaysia and Turkey the university’s own acceptance is what counts, which is why the notes above about Malaysian and Turkish universities matter so much.

Choosing your target score

The DET reports an overall score on the 10–160 scale and four subscores — Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation and Production. Yemeni 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, Coventry (TKH) Foundation and Arizona State at 95, Coventry Year One, Concordia and Northeastern’s professional-studies programmes at 105.
• 110–120: Hertfordshire’s UK campus at 105–120, Trinity College Dublin at 120 with 100 in every subscore, Heriot-Watt Dubai at 120 with 110 in each component.
• 125–130: Heriot-Watt Dubai research degrees at 125 with 120, Trinity’s higher entry at 130 with 110.

Check your weakest subscore against the floor — that is what sends applications back — and plan a margin above the highest requirement on your list. Send your programme page on WhatsApp and we will read it with you.

DET vs IELTS from Yemen

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

Use the DET for Egypt’s branch campuses and for every destination above that publishes a Duolingo band; keep IELTS for the Malaysian and Turkish universities that do not, and for Australia. Compare any IELTS or TOEFL requirement with the DET score converter, and read which Duolingo score you need before you decide.

Studying online from Yemen

Yemen is one hour ahead of Egypt, so live classes land at a normal hour in Sana’a and Aden. Connectivity in Yemen is unreliable, which is exactly why every lesson recording is uploaded the same day and why WhatsApp support between sessions is part of the course rather than an extra.

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. Yemen is part of our worldwide DET coverage.

Paying from Yemen

International Visa and Mastercard cards from Yemeni banks are limited, and many students pay with a card held by a relative in Egypt, the Gulf, Malaysia or Europe — that works exactly the same. If you have no card option at all, message us on WhatsApp and we will find a way that works from where you are. The Arabic version of this page is on our Arab-world DET hub.