Skip to main content

Entry requirements for Qatar

Our entry requirements will vary depending on your level of study, the course you are interested in and your English language proficiency.

Foundation courses

"Cardiff is a compact city, so I usually walk everywhere. You can buy halal food easily and there are lots of Arabic restaurants."

Mohammed Mubarak Al-Mesaifri IFP Engineering

If you have graduated from the national high school system, you may be required to successfully complete an International Foundation Year before entering our undergraduate courses.

Undergraduate courses

Entrance requirements for undergraduate courses (ie. bachelor's courses) vary according to the course applied for and the background of the applicant. As a general rule, for entry on to our undergraduate programmes, admissions tutors would typically ask that one of the following conditions be met:

  • students have taken GCE A-level examinations and the International Baccalaureate (IB), achieving good grades
  • students have completed the International Foundation Programme
  • students have successfully completed a 2-year College Diploma
  • students have completed one or more years of undergraduate study at a recognised Qatari university.

Postgraduate taught courses

Entrance requirements for taught postgraduate courses (ie master's courses) vary according to the course applied for and the background of the applicant.

As a general rule, admissions tutors would require students who have completed a first degree with a GPA of 2.8 (out of 4) from a recognised university in Qatar will normally be considered for admission onto a one-year master's degree.

Postgraduate research courses

There are a number of possible entry routes to our postgraduate research courses. We will consider applicants who have successfully completed a Masters from a recognised Qatari institution.

In some cases, we will consider applicants who only have a Bachelor's degree (minimum Second Class, Higher Division), although applicants may be required to complete a Master's course at Cardiff University prior to embarking upon PhD studies.

English language

You will need to have a relevant English language qualification to satisfy the English language requirements for your course. The minimum admissions requirement is usually IELTS 6.5 but for some courses we may ask for higher grades.

You can improve your level of English language to meet the entry requirements for your course through our in-house English for University Study programme, a full-time course for international students planning to study at a UK university. The minimum entry requirement is IELTS 4.0 for September entry, 4.5 for January and 5.0 for April. The Exit Test results from this course are accepted as IELTS equivalents for entry to all degree courses at Cardiff University.

We also offer Summer Pre-sessional courses for applicants with academic offers that are conditional on improving their level of English language proficiency.