English-taught bachelor's programmes in Europe 2026: a comprehensive map of undergraduate degrees that require zero local language

European higher education is overwhelmingly taught in national languages at the bachelor’s level. The English-taught master’s programmes that attract hundreds of thousands of international students are the exception, not the rule, at the undergraduate level. But the exception is growing — and for a secondary school leaver who wants to start university in Europe without first learning German, Dutch, French, or Italian, the map of available programmes defines the realistic destination set.

Here is that map as of the 2026 intake.

Netherlands: the clear leader

The Netherlands offers more English-taught bachelor’s programmes than any other non-Anglophone European country. As of 2026, approximately 400 English-taught bachelor’s programmes are available across the 14 research universities and the universities of applied sciences.

What is available: Business, economics, international relations, psychology, liberal arts and sciences, computer science, artificial intelligence, data science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and biomedical sciences are the most common fields. University colleges — liberal arts and sciences honours colleges at Utrecht, Maastricht, Amsterdam, Leiden, Rotterdam, and Groningen — offer broad, interdisciplinary English-taught bachelor’s programmes with small class sizes and residential components.

What is harder to find: Law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and teacher education are predominantly or exclusively Dutch-taught at the bachelor’s level. Pre-clinical medicine is available in English at the University of Groningen and Maastricht University, but the clinical years require Dutch.

Tuition: €8,000 to €15,000 per year for non-EU students at research universities. University colleges are at the higher end of this range.

Admissions: Competitive. University colleges typically require a combination of grades, a motivation letter, a CV, and an interview. Standard research university programmes are threshold-based — meeting the published requirements is sufficient for admission. Numerus Fixus programmes — psychology at several universities, some business programmes — have fixed places and competitive selection.

Sweden: strong provision, single application round

Sweden is the second-largest provider of English-taught bachelor’s programmes in continental Europe after the Netherlands.

What is available: Approximately 120 English-taught bachelor’s programmes across Swedish universities. Business, economics, computer science, engineering, international relations, and development studies are the most common. Lund University, Uppsala University, the University of Gothenburg, and Stockholm University offer the widest range. The Swedish application round — a single annual window from 16 October to 15 January — applies to all programmes.

Tuition: SEK 80,000 to SEK 250,000 per year (€7,000 to €22,000). Scholarships — the Swedish Institute, university-specific awards — provide tuition reductions for competitive applicants.

Admissions: Competitive, based on academic merit alone. The selection is by grade ranking through the centralised universityadmissions.se platform. No motivation letter, no references, no extracurricular activities — grades and the secondary school qualification determine the outcome.

Germany: rare at public universities

Germany has fewer English-taught bachelor’s programmes than its size and reputation would suggest. The reason is straightforward: Germany’s public university mandate is to educate German-speaking students, and the political consensus supports maintaining German as the primary language of instruction at the undergraduate level.

What is available: Approximately 80 to 100 English-taught bachelor’s programmes, of which roughly half are at private universities and universities of applied sciences. At public research universities, English-taught bachelor’s programmes are concentrated in international programmes — international business, international relations, and some engineering programmes — at a handful of institutions, including the University of Freiburg, the University of Göttingen, Jacobs University Bremen (private), and Constructor University Bremen.

Tuition: €0 at public universities in most states, plus semester fees of €150 to €400. Private universities charge €8,000 to €25,000 per year.

Admissions: The secondary school qualification recognition requirement is the primary filter. Students whose qualifications are not recognised as equivalent to the German Abitur must complete a Studienkolleg year before applying. English-taught Studienkolleg programmes exist but are rare.

Reality check: A student who wants to study in Germany at the bachelor’s level without German should focus on the small number of English-taught programmes at public and private institutions, or accept that learning German to the C1 level is part of the pathway.

Denmark: moderate provision

Denmark offers approximately 60 to 80 English-taught bachelor’s programmes.

What is available: Engineering, natural sciences, business, and IT are the main fields. Aarhus University, the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and Aalborg University offer the most programmes.

Tuition: €6,000 to €15,000 per year for non-EU students. Danish government scholarships are available for a small number of students from specific countries.

Admissions: Competitive, based on grades and the secondary school qualification. Denmark uses a quota system that allocates places between Danish and international applicants.

Ireland: the obvious choice for English speakers

Ireland is an English-speaking country. Every bachelor’s programme is taught in English. This makes Ireland the simplest destination for English-speaking secondary school leavers who want a European undergraduate degree.

What is available: The full range of university subjects — arts, humanities, social sciences, business, law, engineering, science, medicine, nursing, veterinary medicine, architecture, and education.

Tuition: €10,000 to €25,000 per year for non-EU students, varying by programme. Medicine and veterinary medicine are at the upper end, above €25,000 per year.

Admissions: Through the Central Applications Office (CAO) for most programmes. The standard deadline is 1 February. Admissions are based primarily on secondary school examination results — A-levels, IB, or equivalent national qualifications. Some non-EU students apply directly to Irish universities outside the CAO system.

Finland: growing provision

Finland has expanded its English-taught bachelor’s provision over the past five years.

What is available: Approximately 50 to 60 English-taught bachelor’s programmes, concentrated in engineering, business, IT, and international business. The universities of applied sciences offer more English-taught bachelor’s programmes than the research universities.

Tuition: €4,000 to €12,000 per year. Scholarship coverage is high — roughly 50 percent of non-EU students receive tuition reductions. The Finland Scholarship provides a first-year tuition waiver and a €5,000 relocation grant.

Admissions: Competitive, with entrance examinations for some programmes. The joint application to Finnish higher education institutions typically runs in January for the following autumn intake.

Italy, France, Spain: limited English provision at the bachelor’s level

These three countries have large higher education systems but minimal English-taught bachelor’s provision:

Italy: Approximately 30 to 40 English-taught bachelor’s programmes, concentrated in engineering, economics, and political science at a small number of universities — the University of Bologna, the University of Rome Tor Vergata, the Polytechnic University of Milan, the University of Padua, and Bocconi University (private).

France: English-taught bachelor’s programmes are rare in the public university system. The American University of Paris (private), Sciences Po (public grande école), and a handful of business schools offer English-taught undergraduate programmes. The total count is approximately 20 to 30 programmes.

Spain: A growing segment of approximately 40 to 60 English-taught bachelor’s programmes, concentrated at private universities — IE University, University of Navarra — and a few public universities — Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of Carlos III Madrid, Pompeu Fabra University. Business, international relations, and engineering dominate.

Central and Eastern Europe: a growing segment

Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and the Baltic states have expanded English-taught bachelor’s provision over the past decade:

Poland: Approximately 100 English-taught bachelor’s programmes, the largest number in Central and Eastern Europe. Medicine, engineering, IT, business, and international relations are the primary fields. Tuition: €2,000 to €5,000 per year.

Czech Republic: Approximately 80 English-taught bachelor’s programmes at Charles University, Masaryk University, Czech Technical University, and the University of Economics in Prague. Tuition: €3,000 to €12,000 per year for English-taught programmes at public universities.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania: Combined, approximately 60 English-taught bachelor’s programmes. Tuition: €1,500 to €5,000 per year — the lowest in the European Union.

A note on liberal arts colleges

A distinctive feature of the European English-taught undergraduate landscape is the emergence of liberal arts and sciences colleges — four-year bachelor’s programmes modelled on the American liberal arts tradition, taught entirely in English, and offered at both public and private institutions.

The Dutch university colleges — University College Utrecht, University College Maastricht, Amsterdam University College, Leiden University College, Erasmus University College, and University College Groningen — are the most established. Students take courses across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences before specialising in a major. Class sizes are small, instruction is seminar-based, and residential living is typically encouraged or required.

Outside the Netherlands, liberal arts colleges operate at the University of Freiburg (University College Freiburg), Leuphana University Lüneburg, Bard College Berlin, the European College of Liberal Arts in Berlin, and several institutions in Eastern Europe.

The bottom line for secondary school leavers

A student who wants to study a bachelor’s programme in Europe in English in 2026 and who does not speak the local language has a clear hierarchy of options:

1. Netherlands: The largest selection, strong quality, competitive admissions, moderate to high tuition
2. Sweden: Strong selection, high quality, single application round, high tuition with scholarship availability
3. Ireland: Every programme in English, no language barrier, high tuition, high living costs
4. Denmark: Moderate selection, high quality, high tuition
5. Poland and Czech Republic: Growing selection, moderate quality, low to moderate tuition
6. Germany, Italy, France, Spain: Limited selection, requires research to find available programmes

Source notes

English-taught bachelor’s programme availability is from the 2026 international programme databases of Nuffic (Study in Holland), the DAAD, universityadmissions.se, Study in Denmark, Study in Finland, Study in Poland, and Study in the Czech Republic. Programme counts are approximate and reflect the 2026 intake cycle. Tuition ranges are from 2026 published non-EU fee schedules. Admissions procedures are from the 2026 intake calendars of Studielink, universityadmissions.se, the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science, Studyinfo.fi, and individual university international admissions offices.