Scholarships Without IELTS: Waivers, MOI and Alternatives

A university waiver does not automatically apply to the scholarship. A scholarship waiver does not automatically satisfy a visa. UKVI, for example, can require a Secure English Language Test even when a university would accept other evidence. Always separate three layers: university admission, scholarship sponsor, and immigration.

These are the routes applicants actually use. Acceptance is program-specific and can change.

• Medium of Instruction (MOI) letter: an official letter stating that your previous degree was taught in English. Typical rules: registrar or letterhead, covering the full program, sometimes no older than two years. Competitive scholarships and some visa regimes do not accept MOI alone.
• TOEFL iBT: the most widely accepted alternative test.
• Duolingo English Test: faster and cheaper; accepted by many universities but by only a subset of scholarship sponsors.
• PTE Academic: common in Australia- and UK-linked programs.
• Cambridge English (B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency): sometimes accepted without the two-year expiry that applies to IELTS or TOEFL.
• Interview-based assessment: some universities test English in an admissions interview.
• Country or partner-institution waivers: prior study in a listed English-speaking system. Find the list on the admissions FAQ, not in third-party round-ups.
• Conditional admission plus a pre-sessional English course: scholarship sponsors rarely fund the language year; search that category separately.

A waiver means the institution accepts other evidence instead of an IELTS score. Request an MOI letter early; issuers often take weeks, and a missing stamp can cost you a deadline.

Wording such as “considered case by case” is not a guarantee. Email admissions with your exact combination of documents and keep the reply.

1. Open the host university’s graduate English-language page (prefer the live page over an old PDF).
2. Read the sentence on MOI or alternatives. “May be considered” is not the same as “accepted”.
3. Check whether the host country’s visa rules impose a secure test regardless of the university.
4. Check the validity window of your score or certificate (commonly two years for IELTS/TOEFL/Duolingo).
5. Email admissions if unclear; save the reply with the intake year in the subject line.

1. Read the language section of each scholarship listing and then the official source.
2. Look at English-taught degrees in countries where MOI or alternative tests are commonly discussed (for example Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Malaysia) — still verify per university.
3. Use our search for listings that mention IELTS alternatives. The flag reflects data at ingestion time.
4. Pair language planning with funding: see fully funded scholarships for international students.

• Obtain the MOI letter early and keep a certified copy.
• Take Duolingo or PTE if you need a score quickly and the program lists it.
• Write a clear, edited motivation letter. Follow our SOP guide.
• On your academic CV, list English-taught courses, publications or work done in English.
• Do not organize an entire cycle around avoiding a test. A valid IELTS or TOEFL score keeps more doors open than any waiver strategy.

Third-party articles often publish a list of countries “where you can study without IELTS”. That framing is misleading. Language policy is set by the university (and sometimes by each faculty), not by a country’s tourism brand. Two universities in the same city can disagree. The same university can waive IELTS for a taught master’s and still require a secure test for a visa.

Use country pages on this site to find programs, then read each institution’s English page. Do not treat a round-up list as eligibility.

MOI letters and admissions emails can arrive after a scholarship deadline. Book a test date you can still cancel, or sit Duolingo or PTE if the programs on your shortlist accept them. A score you never use is cheaper than a missed government deadline.

If you already have a score approaching the two-year expiry, check the test date against the program’s “must be valid on” rule — some want validity on the application day, others on enrolment day.

Universities decide whom they will teach. Immigration authorities decide whom they will admit. A scholarship cannot override a visa rule. If you need a Student visa in a country that names a Secure English Language Test, a university MOI waiver may get you an offer and still leave you unable to enter.

Read the immigration site for the destination country after you read the university page. We cannot give legal advice; we can tell you not to skip that second page.

A waiver is a request, not a right. Prepare a clean file before you write to the admissions office.

• An MOI letter from your previous university stating that teaching and assessment were in English.
• Your transcripts and degree certificate showing the language of study.
• Your country of study and the dates of your degree.
• Any other English evidence, such as a TOEFL, PTE or Duolingo result.
• The exact wording of the policy you are relying on, copied from the official page.

Send the waiver question early, ideally before the scholarship deadline. Ask in writing, quote the policy, and keep the reply. If the university accepts a waiver but the scholarship or the visa authority does not, you still need a recognised test, so ask about all three before you decide to skip one.