Admission Requirements
Academic Qualifications
You must hold a first university degree equivalent to at least a Bachelor’s degree representing three years of full-time study. If your degree uses ECTS, this means 180 credits minimum.
We cannot accept cumulative recognition, such as combining a two-year program with a two-year Master’s degree. Your first degree must standalone qualify as equivalent to a three-year Bachelor’s program.
English Proficiency
Since MARIHE is taught entirely in English, you must demonstrate academic-level proficiency through one of five accepted tests:
- TOEFL iBT: minimum 92/120
- IELTS Academic: minimum 6.5 overall, no component below 5.5
- PTE Academic: minimum 62/90
- Cambridge C1 Advanced: minimum grade C
- Cambridge C2 Proficiency: minimum grade C1
Motivation and interest
Applicants shall show a strong motivation and interest to learn and work in the field of development and management of research and innovation in higher education.
English Proficiency Requirements
MARIHE programme accepts the following five English language test certificates as proof of proficiency in English:
- TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language, internet based test) with a minimum score of 92 (out of 120); Note: scores from TOEFL ITP (institutional testing programme) and TOEFL PBT (paper based test) are not accepted.
- IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System); with a minimum overall score of 6.5 (out of 9) and no individual score below 5.5 .
- PTE Academic (Pearson’s Test of Academic English) with a minimum score of 62 (out of 90).
- Cambridge English C1 Advanced (formerly known as CAE) with a minimum result of grade C.
- Cambridge English C2 Proficiency (formerly known as CPE) with a minimum result of grade C1.
All editions of the above mentioned tests (test center, paper edition, home/online edition) are accepted.
You should book a language test well in advance. There might not be many test dates available, or they may get fully booked early. If applicants cannot provide an English test certificate in time, their application will not be considered for student selection.
Instructions for applicants who are unable to present the English language test until the application deadline: If you receive your English test results after the application deadline, you can ask to be granted an extension for this document until 25 January 2026 by filling in the signed Statement on late submission of English test score and submit it as application document No. 7 until the application deadline. The address for sending a scanned copy of the English test score certificate after the application period has ended and until 25 January 2026 is: marihe@donau-uni.ac.at
An English language test certificate you have taken in the past may have expired (usually after two years). We kindly advise you to check on your certificate. If an English language test certificate has expired before MARIHE Secretariat receives it, we may not be able to verify it and the application may be rejected due to formal reasons.
Applicants may ask for being exempted from the English language test requirement, if they have successfully completed one of the following:
- A Bachelor’s degree completed in English in a university or university of applied sciences in any country of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), or in Switzerland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States. You must have resided in the country while studying.
- A two-year Master’s degree completed in English in a university or university of applied sciences in any country of the European Union (EU) or in the European Economic Area (EEA), or in Switzerland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States. You must have resided in the country while studying.
- Full secondary education completed in English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States. (N.B.: A student exchange year is no case for exemption.)
In addition to submitting proof of an adequate degree or secondary education as described, applicants may also be interviewed before being exempted.
The MARIHE consortium can only accept the five English language test certificates listed, and can only grant exemptions on the basis of the three cases explained. Letters issued by universities stating the proficiency in English or similar documents are not accepted. Because of national and institutional requirements of the MARIHE consortium partners, and because the proof of proficiency in English for academic purposes is an admission requirement, we cannot make any exceptions.
Applicants who do not submit an appropriate proof will be rejected due to formal reasons.
Work Experience Considerations
Work experience is not required for MARIHE admission, but relevant professional experience can strengthen your application significantly. Experience in higher education institutions, research organizations, or innovation management roles particularly enhances your candidacy.
If you have relevant work experience, describe it clearly in your CV and include employer confirmation letters that detail your responsibilities and supervisor assessments of your performance.
Late Degree Certificate Submission
If you are completing your first university degree and will receive your diploma after the application deadline, you may request an extension for this document until 25 January 2026. To qualify for this extension:
- Complete and submit the signed statement on expected first university degree as application document No. 5 before the application deadline
- Send a scanned copy of your conferred degree certificate to marihe@donau-uni.ac.at after graduation and before 25 January 2026
Important deadline requirements: Please note that degree certificates received after 25 January 2026 cannot be accepted for the 2026 intake due to admission and visa processing requirements. Additionally, provisional certificates, progress letters, or similar documents cannot be accepted, as your conferred degree must demonstrate three years of study or 180 ECTS minimum. The MARIHE Consortium cannot make exceptions to these requirements, so if you cannot meet these deadlines, we encourage you to apply for the 2027 intake instead.
Translation and Legalisation of Documents
Translation of Documents:
If an applicant would like to submit original documents which are not in English, officially certified translations into English have to be provided in addition to the original. This is likely to apply to official documents and to university diplomas and transcripts.
Officially certified translation means that the translation has been done by a sworn and officially accredited translator, and that the document has to bear the translator’s stamp of accreditation. For countries where accredited translators do not hold such a stamp of accreditation, in most cases a public notary can confirm the translator’s accreditation.
For university documents, it is also possible to ask the issuing university to provide a certified translation into English. In this case, the university should apply its stamp on the translated document.
Legalisation of Documents:
For the application process, university documents do not require legalisation; but they may have to be translated into English (see above).
Legalisation may be necessary after a student has been selected for participation and is asked to submit university documents from the first university degree for the admission process at University for Continuing Education Krems (as coordinating institution of MARIHE programme). The specific legalisation requirements depend on the country where the university documents have been issued.
Since the legalisation process can be very time consuming, especially in the case of a full diplomatic legalisation, applicants may check the required form of legalisation of their first degree certificate and the required process well in advance. Please note that selected candidates have to cover all costs related to the legalisation process by themselves.
For more information, see the Info sheet on legalisation and translation of foreign documents provided on the website of University for Continuing Education Krems.