Universities in UK offer thousands of scholarships for international students, which can help pay your tuition fees and also support you throughout your studies.

Read the information below about how to apply for a scholarship and the types of scholarships available.

How to Apply for a Scholarship

Scholarship deadlines are often many months before the start of the course. In general, you need to apply for a course at the university before you can apply for the scholarships.

To begin your search, follow these steps:

1. Search the Study UK course database for your preferred subject, and save your results.
2. When you have a few courses in your shortlist, check the profiles of your selected universities to find out more details.
3. Search the scholarships database to see if your preferred universities offer scholarships for international students.

You can contact your preferred universities if you have questions about a particular course or scholarship.

Types of Scholarships

There are a number of different types of scholarships available.

Full scholarships: These are the most popular scholarships for international students as they cover your tuition fees and living costs. Full scholarships are very competitive and usually go to high achieving students.

Part scholarships: These can range from small, one-off payments to covering your whole tuition fees. They do not usually include any support for your living costs.

Country-specific scholarships: Check the eligibility details carefully for each scholarship as some are for students from specific countries only.

Course-specific scholarships: These are for students who intend to study on a particular course.

External scholarships: In addition to university scholarships, there are also external scholarship options which you can consider. Some governments and local organisations sponsor students from their countries or provide student loan options to study overseas.

Home/EU scholarships: You may find that some scholarships for UK students or EU students only which means you may not be able to apply. This is often the case when the funding comes from UK or European bodies.

Here are some things to consider when you begin your search:

• Not all UK scholarships are awarded based on financial need – most will evaluate your academic abilities.
• You can only apply for scholarships either when you are applying for the course or after you have applied.
• Many universities set the deadline for scholarship applications early in the year so start your research early.