The aim of this study is to examine the perspectives of 35 student teachers’ at two different universities on the extent to which the MA in TEFL programmes are effective in preparing them to be knowledgeable and skillful teachers of English as a foreign language. The two programmes examined are the MA in TEFL programme at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Rijeka, Croatia and the MA in English Philology at the Institute of English Studies at the University of Wrocław, Poland. Using an on-line questionnaire data were collected on the student teachers’ general experience with the enrolled TEFL programme; how prepared and satisfied they feel with the programme, the outcomes they have achieved and the programmes’ strengths and weaknesses they have noticed. The findings show that even though both TEFL programmes comprise similar courses and student obligations, they are carried out very differently, with the main disparity being the organization of studies and the pre-service training. Student teachers’ preparedness to teach was evaluated through seven EPOSTL categories (i.e. areas of teacher competences) and was identified as moderate in both student teacher groups. They share the feeling that the extensive theoretical knowledge is their most achieved outcome, while a more hands-on experience is still needed. All student teachers are also moderately satisfied with the TEFL programme, but their perceptions on its strengths and weaknesses suggest that there is room for improving the curriculum and implementing new strategies to maximize the effectiveness of the relevant teacher training programmes.