Language requirements for European master's programmes in 2026: IELTS, TOEFL, and the local language thresholds that actually matter

Language requirements for European master’s programmes come in two layers: the English proficiency requirement for English-taught programmes, and the local language question — whether you need it for admission, for daily life, or for the job market after graduation.

This guide covers both layers for every major destination in 2026.

English proficiency thresholds by country

Germany — public universities:

• IELTS: 6.5 overall, typically with no sub-score below 6.0
• TOEFL iBT: 90 overall, typically with no section below 20
• Cambridge English: C1 Advanced (CAE) with a grade of C or above
• Alternatively: a bachelor’s degree taught entirely in English from a recognised institution in an English-speaking country exempts the applicant from the English test requirement at most German universities. A bachelor’s degree taught in English from a non-English-speaking country — such as an English-medium programme in China, India, or Bangladesh — is sometimes accepted and sometimes not. Check with the specific university.

Netherlands — research universities:

• IELTS: 6.5 overall, with no sub-score below 6.0. Competitive programmes require 7.0 or higher.
• TOEFL iBT: 90 overall, with no sub-score below 21. Competitive programmes require 100 or higher.
• Cambridge English: C1 Advanced with a grade of C.
• Dutch universities are stricter than German universities about English proficiency. A conditional admission with a promise to submit a score later is uncommon. The English test score must be submitted with the application.

Sweden:

• IELTS: 6.5 overall, no sub-score below 5.5
• TOEFL iBT: 90 overall, no section below 20
• Cambridge English: C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency
• Sweden is the only Nordic country where IELTS 6.5 with a sub-score of 5.5 is routinely accepted. This is a lower sub-score threshold than in Denmark or Finland.
• English exemption: a bachelor’s degree from a country where English is the only official language, or a bachelor’s degree taught entirely in English from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.

Denmark:

• IELTS: 6.5 overall
• TOEFL iBT: 88 overall
• Cambridge English: C1 Advanced
• Denmark’s IELTS threshold of 6.5 is comparable to Sweden’s, but the TOEFL threshold of 88 is lower than Sweden’s 90 and the Netherlands’ 90 to 100.

Finland:

• IELTS: 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in writing
• TOEFL iBT: 92 overall, with a minimum of 22 in writing
• Cambridge English: C1 Advanced
• Finland specifies a minimum writing sub-score — a detail that catches applicants who have high overall scores but weaker writing performance.

Ireland:

• IELTS: 6.5 overall, with no sub-score below 6.0
• TOEFL iBT: 90 overall
• Cambridge English: C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency
• For an English-speaking country, Ireland’s English proficiency requirements for non-native speakers are comparable to continental European universities. An applicant who has studied in English at the secondary or undergraduate level may be exempt.

France:

• IELTS: 6.0 to 6.5 for English-taught programmes at public universities; 6.5 to 7.0 at grandes écoles
• TOEFL iBT: 80 to 90 at public universities; 90 to 100 at grandes écoles
• Cambridge English: B2 First at public universities; C1 Advanced at grandes écoles
• France has the widest range of English proficiency thresholds in Europe. The level required depends on the institution and the programme’s proportion of English-language instruction.

Italy:

• IELTS: 6.0 to 6.5
• TOEFL iBT: 80 to 90
• Cambridge English: B2 First to C1 Advanced
• Italian universities often set English requirements at the programme level rather than the institutional level. An engineering programme may require IELTS 6.0 while a programme in international relations at the same university requires 6.5.

Spain:

• IELTS: 6.0 to 6.5
• TOEFL iBT: 80 to 90
• Cambridge English: B2 First to C1 Advanced
• English proficiency requirements at Spanish universities are generally at the lower end of the European spectrum, reflecting the fact that English-taught programmes in Spain are a smaller and more recent segment of provision.

Non-IELTS, non-TOEFL alternatives

Most European universities accept a range of English proficiency tests beyond IELTS and TOEFL:

• Cambridge English Qualifications (B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency): Accepted by virtually all European universities. No expiry date — Cambridge certificates are valid indefinitely, unlike the two-year validity of IELTS and TOEFL.
• Pearson PTE Academic: Accepted by an increasing number of universities, particularly in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Typical threshold: PTE Academic 59 to 65.
• Duolingo English Test: Accepted by a growing minority of European universities. Typical threshold: 105 to 120. The test is cheaper and can be taken online from home, but it is not universally accepted — verify acceptance before registering.
• Previous education in English: A bachelor’s degree taught entirely in English often exempts the applicant from a test score. The document required is typically a letter from the degree-awarding institution confirming English as the medium of instruction, not an assumption based on the country where the degree was earned.

The local language question

English proficiency gets you into the programme. The local language determines what you can do after — in the job market, in social life, in administrative interactions. The importance of local language proficiency varies dramatically by country.

Germany: German proficiency is the variable most strongly correlated with post-graduation employment outcomes. The DAAD’s 2025 survey of international graduates found that B2 German speakers were employed in qualification-appropriate roles at nearly double the rate of A1/A2 speakers. The German job market evaluates German proficiency as a professional qualification, not a courtesy. Learning German during a two-year master’s programme is a high-return investment; arriving with zero German and graduating with zero German restricts the graduate to the English-language segment of the German economy — which is significant but limited.

Netherlands: Dutch proficiency is less essential than German proficiency in Germany, but it widens the employment funnel. International companies, tech firms, and academic institutions operate in English. Small and medium-sized enterprises — which account for the majority of Dutch employment — prefer or require Dutch. A graduate with conversational Dutch (B1) has access to approximately twice as many potential employers as a graduate with no Dutch.

Sweden: Swedish proficiency is useful but not critical. The Swedish tech and engineering sectors operate extensively in English. Learning Swedish improves social integration and broadens employment options, but a graduate with zero Swedish can build a career in Stockholm, Gothenburg, or Malmö. The trade-off: without Swedish, the graduate remains outside the social circles where career-advancing informal networks form.

France: French proficiency is essential for the French job market. English-taught programme graduates who do not speak French are restricted to a narrow band of multinational employers and English-language teaching jobs. A graduate with B2 French and an English-taught master’s degree is competitive across the full French labour market. The investment in French — language courses, tandem partners, immersion — should begin the day the student arrives, not the semester before graduation.

Italy, Spain: Local language proficiency is a practical requirement for daily life — administrative procedures, medical appointments, rental contracts — and a near-requirement for employment outside of international organisations and English-language teaching. A student who plans to study in Italy or Spain and does not speak Italian or Spanish should budget for intensive language study alongside the degree programme.

Ireland: The local language is English. No additional language hurdle exists. This is Ireland’s single largest competitive advantage as a study destination.

The practical timeline for language preparation

For an English-taught programme starting in September:

• Eighteen months before: Take an English proficiency test if the student does not already have a valid score. Taking the test this early allows time for a retake if the score falls short of the target.
• Twelve months before: If the target country requires local language proficiency for the job market (Germany, France, Italy, Spain), enrol in a language course. Even one hour per week over twelve months builds a foundation that accelerates post-arrival learning.
• Six months before: Submit applications with English test scores. Continue local language study.
• On arrival: Enrol in the university’s language centre for intensive local language courses. Language learning that happens during the degree programme — while immersed in the country — is dramatically more efficient than pre-arrival study alone.

Source notes

English proficiency thresholds are from the 2026 admission requirements published by individual universities, consolidated through the DAAD international programmes database, the Study in Holland portal, universityadmissions.se, the Study in Finland portal, and individual university international admissions pages. Language proficiency testing policies and score validity periods are from IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge English, Pearson PTE, and Duolingo as of 2026. DAAD employment outcomes data by German proficiency level is from the 2025 International Student Barometer and DAAD integration surveys.