Last Updated: January 25, 2021
Scholarships that are beneficial and easy to attain
Studying in the UK has immense value for international students - UK qualifications are internationally recognized, and the quality of teaching is high. graduateshotline.com helps in finding funding for your chosen course through links to scholarships and approved websites. A lot of scholarships only cover postgraduate degrees, but resourceful students can find funding for specific courses.
Studying in the UK offers real value, and it might cost less than you think.
What kind of scholarships does the UK offer?
Scholarships offered by UK can be divided into two parts as such:
- Non-Governmental Scholarship
- Gates Cambridge Scholarships
- Rhodes House Scholarship
- Cardiff University Scholarships
- MBA Scholarship
- Edinburgh Global Research Scholarships
- UK Scholarships from British Council
- Denys Holland Scholarship
- Bristol University Scholarships
- International Undergraduate Engineering Scholarship
- International Scholarships at University of Westminster
- University of Sussex International Scholarships.
- Governmental Scholarship
- Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan
- Chevening Scholarships
The cost of UK higher education courses can be brought down with the several good scholarships and financial support schemes available. It is true that there is a lot of demand for this funding, but it is well worth taking a look at what is available.
Students on degree courses at the University of Cambridge should consider the Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust. The Trust provides funding to students of exceptional academic merit through a range of scholarship schemes by working with partners from all over the world.
Details about the non-governmental scholarships:
- Gates Cambridge Scholarships
These are full-cost awards that cover graduate study and research in any course at the University of Cambridge. All international students from across the globe are encouraged to apply. Around 100 new Gates Scholars are awarded every year, and they are financially supported by their tuition and fees, airfare, maintenance allowances, and even a dependent's allowance. This scholarship is only available for postgraduate students.
- Rhodes House Scholarship
The Rhodes House Scholarship is gifted by Oxford University and is one of the most prestigious scholarship to exist till date. This scholarship covers your whole tuition fee, provides residency and pays for two economic seats - one for going to the university and the other for traveling back to your home country once the scholarship ends. Since the scholarship eases all the financial burden, it is of no surprise that the eligibility criteria is particularly difficult.
The requirements that students need to fulfill are to do with their residency, age and education. The students needs to have an outstanding academic background to begin with. As for the residency, students from the countries mentioned below will gain residency if they are selected:
China, Germany, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Israel, United States, Lebanon and Palestine, Malaysia, New Zealand, West Africa, Southern Africa (which includes South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland), Syria, Jordan, Jamaica & the Commonwealth Caribbean, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Kenya.
Lastly, there is a strict age requirement for the scholarship to be applicable. The scholarship is only available for students between the age of 18-28.
- Cardiff University Scholarships
Cardiff University provides a very prestigious International Scholarship Fund in recognition of the exceptional talent of a lot of international students that want to study in the U.K. There are three undergraduate scholarships, six master's scholarships, and some postgraduate research scholarships. The scholarships cover the full cost of tuition over the duration of your studies.
- MBA Scholarship
Brunel University in London has scholarships as partial grant that go up to £7000 for students who would pursue an MBA degree in Business Administration at their university.
- Edinburgh Global Research Scholarships
This scholarship is particularly for students wanting to pursue a PhD (in any field) at the University of Edinburgh. There are over 30 scholarships under this program and to be eligible you have to apply for a PhD degree.
- UK Scholarships from British Council
The scholarship by the British Council comes in the form of partial awards as a part of the IELTS. The scholarship is ranged anywhere between £3000 to £10,000. Anyone who is eligible for an IELTS exam can acquire this scholarship. It is available for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
- Denys Holland Scholarship
The Denys Holland Scholarship provides up to £9000 but the amount isn't fixed for academics. In fact, the students who win the scholarship can choose how to spend the award money - either on accommodation or academics. The amount is awarded per academic year by the University College of London for undergraduate students. It is preferable to be below or of the age 25 to be eligible for the scholarship.
- Bristol University Scholarships
Bristol University provides scholarship up to £9,000 which may go beyond the tuition fees. This scholarship is reserved for international undergraduate students and the number is limited to 5 scholarships.
- International Undergraduate Engineering Scholarship
A partial grant of £5,000 per year is awarded to students who would want to pursue a Bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering, sports engineering and electronic engineering. The scholarship is provided by The Nottingham Trent University.
- International Scholarships at the University of Westminster
The scholarship provided by the University of Westminster is only available for international students who are planning to pursue a postgraduate degree and covers their tuition fees, living expenses and travelling costs.
- University of Sussex International Scholarships
The University of Sussex provides scholarships for students wanting to pursue a full-time, postgraduate taught degree in any course. The scholarship is available for a year and writes off half the university tuition fees.
Details about the governmental scholarships:
Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan
The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship is available for countries involved in the commonwealth. This scholarship is available for international students wanting to pursue a postgraduate degree or a doctorate degree which will be active for 3-4 years. The commonwealth scholarship pays for your tuition fees, living expenses, airplane costs as well as other expenditures.
Chevening Scholarship
The Chevening Scholarship has been active since 1983 as a way to aid for the financial needs of students who are budding scholars. The scholarship is provided to students who are going to pursue a one-year postgraduate degree in any course. This scholarship is divided into two parts:
I am confident in my finances, do I still need a scholarship?
It is highly preferable to apply for not just one, but multiple scholarships; as long as you meet the criteria, you would be able to bag at least one of them. Being financial stable is always great, at the same time if you can save up on some cash by winning a scholarship, you would be able to use those funds somewhere else or just save it for the future.
The competition for popular scholarships is tough, hence, there are other less popular scholarships (mostly provided by universities) that would ease the financial stress by a margin.
As it currently stands, different university's have different requirements to be eligible for their scholarships; but on the other hand you have the more accessible and universal government scholarships that require almost the same documentation procedure.
While going abroad, costs just keep adding up. Other than the tuition fees and living expenses, you would have to look into your personal need expenses as well as emergency money. It is always advisable for students to pursue a scholarship at the end of the day.