Funding for international students in the UK: loans, funds, grants, and more

Want to study in the UK as an international student? One of the first things you’ll need to look into is funding, as tuition fees for international students can be expensive - and then there are accommodation and living costs to think about too.

The good news though is that there are funding options available, including scholarships, grants and bursaries. You may even qualify for a student loan.

In this guide, we’ll run through all of the best funding options for international students in the UK available right now. In some cases this means specific scholarship schemes, but we’ll also give you some pointers on other sources of funding to look into.

And if you need a way to manage your money while studying in the UK, make sure to check out the Wise account from the money services provider Wise. It’s not a bank account but offers some similar features, and your money is safeguarded.

With a Wise account, you can hold, convert, send and spend 40+ currencies all in one place - making it easy to cover costs and receive money in more than one country.

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How much does it cost to study in the UK as an international student?

UK tuition fees can be much higher for international students compared to those for UK students.

Where UK students may currently pay up to £9,535 per year for an undergraduate degree course,¹ international students could pay anywhere between £11,400 and £38,000. Postgraduate fees range between £9,000 and £30,000 for international students.²

Fees vary depending on your study level, course and which university you’re studying at. It tends to be the case (but not always) that clinical and laboratory degree programmes are the most expensive, while humanities and social sciences degrees are the cheapest.

Funding options for international students in the UK

There are several funding routes available for international students looking to study in the UK. These include:

• Student finance/loans
• Scholarships
• Grants, awards and bursaries.

We’ll look at each option in more detail below, including some tips on where to start looking for schemes and grants you may be eligible for.

Student loans

For students living in the UK, there are generally two types of student finance available. These are Tuition Fee Loans (for course fees) and Maintenance Loans (for cost of living expenses such as rent and food).

But you may also be able to get student finance as an international student, even if you don’t normally live in the UK.³

Eligibility for international student loans in the UK may depend on factors such as:

• Your nationality and/or residency status
• Your course
• Your age
• The university or college you’re applying to study at
• Whether or not you’ve studied a higher education course
• Whether or not you’ve had a UK student loan before.

The easiest way to find out if you’re eligible is to use the UK Government's undergraduate student finance checker tool. Answer a few simple questions about your nationality and residency status, and it’ll tell you if you may be able to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, Maintenance Loan or both.

Scholarships

One of the best ways to fund your studies in the UK as a foreign national is through a scholarship. There are quite a few of them about, but competition can be fierce so you’ll need to apply early and put together a strong application.

The easiest way to find a scholarship is to use the search function on the Study UK (British Council) website. You can search available scholarships based on subject, level of study and your nationality.

Here are a few of the best-known national scholarship schemes currently available in the UK for international applicants:

• GREAT Scholarships - offering grants of £10,000 towards tuition fees to students from 18 countries, for a wide range of one-year postgraduate courses. There are 200+ GREAT scholarships available at 70 UK universities in 2025/26.⁴
• Chevening Scholarships - a prestigious, highly competitive scholarship scheme offering fully-funded master’s degrees to international students, with 1,000+ scholarships available each year.⁵
• Commonwealth Scholarships - offering 700+ scholarships a year to students from Commonwealth countries, with fully funded scholarships available for post-graduate study across multiple categories.⁶
• Marshall Scholarship - offering up to 50 scholarships a year to young US applicants looking to study at graduate level in the UK in any field of study.⁶

University scholarships

You should also look into whether the university you’re applying to has its own scholarship schemes aimed at overseas students, as most UK universities do.

For example, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has multiple scholarships including:⁸

• The Beacon Scholarship at LSE
• Bluemoon Foundation Scholarship Fund
• Goldman Sachs – Kyri Loupis Scholarship
• Kadas Scholarship
• LSE Mauritius Scholarship
• Pass the Torch Scholarship
• Pestalozzi International Scholarship
• Rajeeb Mukherjee Memorial Scholarship
• Singapore LSE Trust Undergraduate Scholarship
• Stonex Undergraduate Scholarship for EU Students.

Grants, awards and bursaries

Another potential funding option for overseas students are grants, awards and bursaries, many of which are very similar to scholarships.

Some are offered by individual universities, while others are available from educational organisations or private companies.

University grants

Individual universities tend to offer their own awards to international students. Here are some examples of active awards schemes available at UK universities and colleges:

• The Vice Chancellors Award at Sheffield Hallam University - offering up to £3,000 for first year tuition fees to applicants from South Asia, Nigeria, South East Asia and Ghana⁹
• Global Futures Scholarships at the University of Manchester - offering awards to undergraduate and master's students from qualifying countries.
• Sports bursaries at University of East London - offering non-repayable grants of up to £6,000 a year for elite athletes looking to balance academic studies with sporting ambitions.¹⁰
• Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarships at the University of Edinburgh - offering PhD scholarships for international students across a range of subjects including sciences, mathematics, business, economics and more.

Many universities also offer what are known as ‘loyalty’ bursaries. These are often categorised into family and alumni bursaries, where you can get discounted tuition fees if you have a connection to the institution. You may have previously studied there, or have a family member who is currently studying or previously completed a course there.

For example, Kingston University in London offers a family bursary available for applications in September 2025.¹¹

You can get 10% off your tuition fees if you’re an international student with a direct family connection (for example, a sibling, parent, child or spouse) to a current or previous student enrolled there. If both family members are studying at the same time, you’re both entitled to receive the bursary.¹¹

Research Council PhD grants

If you’re looking to come to the UK to complete a PhD, it could be worth looking into whether you could be eligible for Research Council funding.

There are seven Research Councils in the UK, each providing funding for different subjects of academic research - including arts and humanities, biological sciences, engineering, economic, medical, natural environment, and science and technology.

You’ll need to apply directly to the university, and if successful you could earn UKRI grants covering tuition fees and/or living costs.

Find out more at the UK Research and Innovation website.

Private grants and loans

Another option to consider is a private grant or loan, provided to international students from private companies and other non-governmental organisations. These may be available in particular sectors (for example, finance) or by specific companies.

Some are in the form of non-repayable grants, while others may be loans. If you’re interested in pursuing this form of funding, it’s important that you understand the terms and conditions carefully. This includes any repayment terms, as well as other conditions such as being contracted to work for a particular company once you finish your degree course.

After reading this, you should have a better idea of what funding options are available in the UK for overseas students. We’ve covered all of the main routes you can explore, including student loans, scholarships, grants, awards and bursaries.

Hopefully, there’s an option that works for you - so you can get the financial support needed to come and study in the UK.

Also, don’t forget to sort out managing your money while studying in the UK, travelling around, or sending and receiving money back home.

If you want a truly international account that works around the world, check out the Wise account. It's not a bank account but offers some similar features and your money is always safeguarded.

You can open a Wise account online and start managing your money in 40+ currencies. When sending money internationally or converting currency, you’ll only pay a low, transparent fee* while also getting the mid-market exchange rate every time.

You can also get the Wise card to spend like a local from the moment you arrive. It works in 150+ countries and automatically converts your pounds to the local currency whenever you spend, only adding a tiny, upfront currency conversion fee* – or it’s free if you already have the currency in your Wise account.

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Sources used:

Sources last checked on date: 20-Aug-2025