Admissions Requirements

The following guide will help you understand the step to step admission requirements for studying abroad in Malaysia:

  • Selecting an Institute to Pursue Your Education in Malaysia
  • Selecting a Suitable Study Program
  • English Language Requirements
  • Academic Requirements
  • Arranging Required Documents
  • Submitting Application Online
  • Waiting for Acceptance Letter from University

Selecting An Institute To Pursue Education In Malaysia

Studying abroad in Malaysia process begins with selecting the right university in Malaysia to pursue your study program. Malaysia is home to many top-ranking universities in the world. There are branch campuses of UK, Australian, USA, and Canadian Universities in Malaysia. Malaysian Universities have strong collaborative partnerships with international universities and many of them are offering twinning programs allowing you to study a part of your study program in Malaysia and to study another part you can transfer to another country’s institution to complete your degree. Studying in Malaysia has many such perks, it has an affordable fee and top-quality education which is greatly reputed. While selecting universities in Malaysia compare tuition fees and other expenditures before making the final decision and look for the following features:

  • Its world ranking
  • If it offers the course you aim to study.
  • Scholarships and student loans.
  • On-campus living facility.
  • Affordable tuition fee.
  • Entry requirements.
  • If it is located in the city of Malaysia you wish to stay.

Selecting A Suitable Study Program

Studying a twinning program in Malaysia has a huge academic advantage and employers prefer hiring students who have studied in more than two countries as it enhances skills and capabilities. Additionally, the twinning program is an affordable option and offers to study in two countries at one cost. Malaysian Universities have gained massive popularity because of international partnerships and collaborations. The national quality assurance organization of Malaysia verifies the course structure and makes improvements in the education system consistently. Therefore, any study program you choose to study in Malaysia will have international recognition. While choosing a study program assure it has a career scope and it interests you and also ascertain if you meet the entry requirements of the study program.

English Language Requirements

English is the language of instruction in most of the study programs offered in Malaysian Universities. The applicants would be required to provide a certificate of their proficiency in the English language through IELTS, TOEFL, or CAMBRIDGE Test scores.
The minimum IELTS or TOEFL scores required can be different according to your selected study program and the university you have chosen.
Malaysia follows a similar admission process as western countries as it shares the same academic standards and has partnerships with international institutes.
The minimum score for IELTS for undergraduate programs (engineering, B-Tech, Business courses) must be an overall 6.0, and for the undergraduate programs (arts/science) the minimum score for IELTS must be 6.5 overall. For postgraduate programs, the minimum score of IELTS must be 6.0 with no individual band below this average.

Academic Requirements Of Malaysia Universities For Pakistani Students

Under Graduate Programs: For admissions to graduate programs every university has its own minimum grade requirements. Overall, at least 75% of grades (825/1100) must be acquired by students with previous degrees to meet the entry requirements of Malaysian Universities.
Masters Programs: The entry requirements are different for every program. Typically, high grades attained in Bachelor’s honors degree will be accepted for admission to the post-graduate program (Master's). The bachelor's honors degree must be attained from a well-recognized institute in Pakistan.
Ph.D.: For admission in a post-graduate (Ph.D.) program the applicant must have completed a bachelor's honors degree and a Masters two years degree with good grades. Apart from that a strong research proposal and previous research experience would be required.

Arranging Required Documents

or international students the requirements of admission include visa perquisites and evidence of funds. The documents generally required by Malaysian Universities along with the application are enlisted below:

  • Copy of valid national passport (must be valid for at least 14 months).
  • Two passport-size photos with white backgrounds.
  • Transcript of the academic record of previous degrees (certificates and diplomas if applicable).
  • English proficiency test certificate (IELTS, TOEFL) (if the candidate can’t provide IELTS or TOEFL certificates he can be given the option to sit in the university’s English language assessment test).
  • Letter of intent (written by the applicant stating his academic and professional goals and explaining why he has selected a certain study program to pursue his degree).
  • Letters of Recommendation (at least two letters written by two of the applicant’s professors).
  • Employment letter (if applicable).
  • Work experience (if applicable).
  • Updated CV (for Ph.D. programs).
  • Research proposal (for Master in research and Ph.D. research programs).
  • Evidence of funds (in form of a credit card statement or bank statement proving the applicant can afford living and study expenses in Malaysia).
  • Health examination form completed and original (if applicable).
  • All the documents must be original and certified.
  • You will be requested to mail certified copies of your original documents to the university’s postal address for verification.
  • Completed application form.
  • Details of the course you have chosen to study.
  • The application fee which will be around RM100 (can be paid online through a credit card) will be non-refundable.

Submitting Application Online

You will create an online application account at your selected Malaysian University’s website. The application form of admission along with the electronic format of your documents would be submitted to the Malaysian university you intend to study.
Make sure to enter a valid email address as the letter of acceptance would be sent to a similar email address that you used while submitting an application. The application must be submitted before the deadline. There are two intake periods for admission application submission in Malaysia one starts in February and the other in October. Make sure the application form you submit must be completely filled out.

Letter Of Acceptance

Your selected Malaysian university will send you an acceptance letter after verifying your documents and assessing your eligibility to take admitted to the study program you have chosen. You will have the option to track your application progress. In case the university accepts your admission application, it will send you an acceptance letter, acceptance documents, a letter of offer, and an offer guide. As you accept the admission offer of the university, you will be asked to pay your tuition and registration fee.

Scholarships In Malaysia For International Students

The Malaysian government is running several scholarship programs to encourage international students to study in Malaysia. International students can apply for admission in Malaysia if they meet the eligibility criteria of the following scholarships programs:

  • Fully Funded MDEC-TAR UC merit awards for Diploma Programme in Malaysia.
  • Heriot-Watt-Velesto Petroleum Engineering funding for International Students in Malaysia.
  • UCSI University graduate funding opportunities for International and Malaysian Students.

Malaysia Study Visa Requirements

Malaysia hosts international students from more than 100 countries. The process of a student visa for Malaysia is gradual and has to be done step by step, you will get a visa after having arrived in Malaysia. The student visa process starts right after you accept an admission offer from Malaysian University. The next step is to pay your fees directly by yourself or through your home institution.

  • 1 passport-size photograph with white background.
  • Copy of your passport (passport data page showing name, bio-data of the candidate, all pages of your passport with previous visa information but if your passport is empty and this is your first travel then copies of empty pages of the passport are not required).
  • The passport must be valid for 12 months duration.
  • Observation page (detailing if there were any extensions, name clarifications, and your previous passport number if any).
  • Offer letter (copy of offer letter issued to you by your host Malaysian institution, the offer letter or acceptance letter is a form which is filled by students accepting all terms and conditions of institutions and accepting the admission offer).
  • Certified copies of your previous academic reports and transcripts translated into English (some courses and study programs require additional tests for eligibility, if applicable you are taking admission in any such course then you will also provide results of additional tests).
  • Medical examination reports (Lab report, chest x-ray) the report must be written in the English language.
  • Personal bond (the immigration department of Malaysia requires a personal bond submitted by a Malaysian institution on behalf of students. The personal bond is a sum of the amount reserved as security. For submitting a personal bond your host institution will ask you to submit some of the amounts which will be returned to you upon completion of your study program or your withdrawal from the Malaysian institute if you do not violate Malaysian immigration law during your stay in Malaysia).
  • English Language proficiency test certificate (With visa approval letter (VAL), the candidate will be asked to prove a certain level of proficiency in the English language in form of a passed test certificate such as IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English), CAE (Cambridge English Advance), CPE (Cambridge English Proficiency) and MUET (Malaysian University English Test) (Know Upcoming IELTS and TOEFL Test Dates From Here).