New Zealand universities have agreed to use the results of the English test administered by Duolingo as a criterion for international admissions.
From 2026, many major New Zealand universities such as Otago, Massey, Canterbury, and Victoria have accepted international students based on their Duolingo English Test (DET) results. This is an English proficiency assessment program organized and managed by the Duolingo language learning app.
This is a noteworthy move in the context of increasingly fierce competition to attract international students.
Duolingo states that their test utilizes computer vision technology, artificial intelligence, and an online monitoring system to verify identity and detect cheating throughout the test. A major advantage of this test is its flexibility.
Candidates do not need to schedule an appointment and can receive their results within just two days, which is faster than many traditional exams.
This trend isn't limited to New Zealand. By 2025, eight Ivy League universities in the US will have accepted Duolingo scores, demonstrating the increasing global recognition of this test.
However, New Zealand immigration authorities continue to use familiar international certificates like IELTS to assess language proficiency in visa applications, indicating that Duolingo now plays a supplementary role rather than a complete replacement.
In addition to its academic testing services, Duolingo has also established itself as the world's most downloaded educational app, with over 50 million daily active users.
Duolingo's expansion of content in recent years has also fueled interest in languages such as Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Portuguese, clearly reflecting the impact of global economic and cultural factors.