IELTS vs Duolingo for European Universities (2026)

Last verified: 15 September 2026, checked against Duolingo’s own official institution directory and individual university admissions pages.

A lot of study-abroad advice repeats that “Duolingo is accepted everywhere now.” Checking the actual official sources tells a different story for Germany and Italy specifically. Here is what we found when we looked university by university, not blog by blog.

Quick facts

• Duolingo in Germany: mainly accepted by private universities and applied-science institutions, not confirmed for most public research universities
• Duolingo in Italy: confirmed only for SDA Bocconi’s graduate programmes, and even there with a possible request for additional proof
• What public universities accept instead: most commonly PTE Academic, Cambridge English exams, or an official letter proving your bachelor’s was taught in English
• The safest move: check the specific program’s own admissions page — the exemption or accepted-test list is often program-specific, not university-wide

What the Duolingo directory itself actually shows