How to Get Into a University in Malta as an International Student

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Malta has no central application system. You apply directly to each institution. The University of Malta (UM) sets minimum entry requirements and, for courses with limited places, ranks applicants against published criteria. Our catalogue lists 226 bachelor's programmes in Malta, 224 of them taught in English. See the overview of studying in Malta for the full list. The details below are based on official pages checked in October 2026.

Where you apply

University of Malta: one online application, open from November for the October start. A smaller intake is held in February.
MCAST (the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology): its own online admissions portal. MCAST treats anyone who is not Maltese as an international applicant, and non-Maltese qualifications must come with an MQRIC statement (see document recognition for Malta).
Private institutions licensed by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA): each admits students on its own terms and has its own form.

Local or overseas qualification

UM decides this by your qualification, not your nationality. The Matriculation Certificate, the IB Diploma and the European Baccalaureate count as local qualifications. Qualifications such as GCE A and AS Levels, the Italian Diploma di Esame di Stato or the Dutch VWO diploma count as overseas. You choose the type in the online form after choosing your course. IB students should read IB Diploma admission in Malta.

General entry requirements

UM's general requirements are the Matriculation Certificate (two subjects at Advanced Level, three at Intermediate Level and Systems of Knowledge) plus a pass at SEC grade 5 or better in English, Maltese and Mathematics. If your qualification was earned abroad, UM accepts it when it gives access to a recognised university in your country and is of comparable breadth and standard. UM publishes a list of country-specific qualification pages, and it assesses them against your own national framework.

Maltese is not a problem for most overseas students: someone educated entirely abroad may, with the Admissions Board's approval, offer another language (not English) in place of Maltese. Medicine has its own Maltese rule.

Many courses add special course requirements. For example, the Electrical and Electronic Engineering degree asks for Advanced Level passes at grade C or better in Pure Mathematics and Physics, and the Doctor of Medicine and Surgery asks for Advanced Level grade B in Biology and Chemistry. Check the course page before you apply.

Application fee and documents

The fee is €100 for overseas qualifications and €35 for local qualifications before the first deadline, and €200 and €75 for late applications. It is not refundable. Upload scans (jpeg, gif or pdf) of:

certified copies of your qualifications and transcripts, with certified English translations where needed;
an English language test result, or a declaration from a test centre of when you will sit it (see bachelor's degrees in English in Malta);
a detailed CV;
anything the course asks for.

You may list two course preferences. A third is allowed only if your first two are limited-number courses.

Deadlines for October 2026

UM published these dates for the October 2026 intake. Dates for October 2027 had not yet been published when we checked, so confirm them on the UM page.

1 July 2026, 14:00: non-EU applicants who need a visa.
22 July 2026, 14:00: standard deadline.
15 September 2026, 14:00: late deadline, with late fees.
30 January 2026, 14:00: Doctor of Medicine and Surgery with overseas qualifications.

Late applications are not accepted for the medical degree or for limited-number courses. Applying early matters most if you need a visa: see student visa for Malta.

Offers and enrolment

UM issues a letter of acceptance for the course you applied for. When a letter is issued for your first preference, your second preference is withdrawn automatically. For limited-number courses, places are not given first come, first served; ranking takes place in September. If you hold overseas qualifications, you must show your original documents to the International Admissions Office before you enrol. In 2026 this took place in person at the Help Hub on set days from 14 September to 9 October.

If your school education is not comparable to the Maltese one, UM runs a one-year Foundation Studies programme that leads to the Certificate in Foundation Studies.

Where to look next

Official sources

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.