Scholarships to study in the UK as an international student: what’s realistic

Here's the honest picture first: most international students in the UK pay their own fees. Full scholarships do exist, and some are very generous, but they're competitive, they close early, and many come with conditions you need to know before you start. This guide maps the four kinds of UK funding, the costs that sit outside almost every scholarship, and a realistic timeline.

The four kinds of UK funding

1. UK government scholarships

• Chevening pays for a one-year master's at a UK university and describes itself as fully funded. You need at least two years' work experience after your first degree (2,800 hours). You apply to three different UK courses and must hold an unconditional offer from one of them by Chevening's offer deadline. You also commit to returning to your home country for at least two years after the scholarship. The 2027/28 round closed at noon UK time on 6 October 2026.
• Commonwealth Master's and Commonwealth PhD scholarships are for citizens of eligible Commonwealth countries. They pay an approved airfare, full tuition fees (agreed between the Commission and the university) and a living stipend. You apply through a national nominating agency, which can close weeks before the Commission's own deadline (20 October 2026 for 2027/28). The PhD scholarships are for the Commonwealth's least developed countries and vulnerable states.

2. University scholarships

Every UK university has its own funding, from a few thousand pounds off your fees to the full cost of the degree. A few of the biggest:

• Clarendon at Oxford: over 200 new fully funded scholarships each year for master's and doctoral students of any nationality. There's no separate form: you're considered automatically if you apply for your course by its December or January deadline.
• Gates Cambridge: covers international fees, maintenance, and visa and health surcharge costs for postgraduates from outside the UK. You select Gates in your course application and add a personal statement and a personal reference.
• Reach Oxford: one of the few full awards for undergraduates, for students from lower-income countries. Around two or three are awarded each year.
• Imperial President's PhD Scholarships: full fees for 3.5 years and a stipend of £27,036 a year (2027–28 rate). You need a supervisor who has agreed to take you on before you apply.
• UCL Global Master's Scholarship: £15,000 for students from lower-income backgrounds. It goes to your tuition first, and anything left over is paid towards living costs.

That last one is the more typical shape of a UK university award: a fixed sum that helps, not a free degree. Our list of scholarships in the United Kingdom shows what each award pays, and the fully funded UK list shows only those that cover tuition and living costs.

3. PhD studentships

Most UK PhDs are funded through studentships, not standalone scholarships. Many are paid for by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the government's research funder, through universities and doctoral training programmes.

• The minimum UKRI stipend is £21,805 a year from 1 October 2026, or £23,805 with London weighting.
• UKRI pays tuition only up to the home (UK) fee level, and says international students may have to contribute to their fees. Some universities cover the difference; others don't. Ask before you accept a place.
• You can't apply to UKRI. You apply to the university or institute advertising the studentship.
• UKRI's guidance caps international students at 30% of the people it funds in each cohort of a training programme, so those places are fought over.

See our PhD scholarships in the United Kingdom for the awards we track.

4. Money from home

Your own government, employer or a foundation at home may fund study abroad, often with far fewer applicants than the famous awards. Check what's available before you rule it out.

The costs no scholarship page mentions

Some nationalities (Australia, Canada and Japan among them) don't have to show the money up front, though they can still be asked for it. If a scholarship or sponsor pays part of your costs, you provide evidence from them; the gov.uk page on money explains what's needed.

Partners and children: only students on a PhD or other research degree, or government-sponsored students on courses longer than six months, can bring dependants. Each one needs £845 a month in London or £680 elsewhere, for up to nine months, on top of your own money.

Working while you study, and staying after

• On a full-time course at degree level or above, you can usually work up to 20 hours a week in term time and full time in the holidays.
• The Graduate visa lets you stay and work after your degree: 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, and 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027. PhD graduates get 3 years. It costs £937, plus the health surcharge at £1,035 a year.
• Read your scholarship terms before you plan to stay. Chevening, for example, expects you to go home for at least two years after your award.

A realistic timeline for a September start

1. About 15 months before: shortlist courses and awards. Check the hard eligibility rules first, such as Chevening's work experience or Commonwealth citizenship.
2. August to October the year before: government awards close (Chevening, Commonwealth), and Gates Cambridge for US citizens.
3. December and January: Oxford and Cambridge course deadlines, which decide Clarendon and most Gates Cambridge applications.
4. Spring: offers and results. Chevening needs your unconditional offer by its own date.
5. Up to 6 months before the course: apply for your visa, with the money already in your account for 28 days.

Every date is in our scholarship deadline calendar.

Common mistakes

• Missing the course deadline for an automatic award. No Oxford course application by the December or January deadline means no Clarendon, however strong you are.
• Using the Commission's date for a Commonwealth award. Your nominating agency's date comes first and is often earlier.
• Reading "£15,000 scholarship" as "free". Add up the fees, the surcharge, the visa and a year of rent before you decide.
• Forgetting the 28-day rule. The money has to sit in your account for 28 consecutive days before you apply, so move it early.

How we write guides: we read scholars' and applicants' own accounts, the programmes' official rules and the award records in our catalogue, which we check against each official page (how we verify). Rules and amounts change every year, so confirm the details on the provider's website before you apply.