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International scholarships

The loans and scholarships you may be eligible for will differ depending on the level you're planning to study:

We also offer a number of scholarships specifically for international students. Some are offered directly by Birkbeck, others are offered in partnership with other organisations.

Apply now for postgraduate courses starting in January 2024. Visit our webpage to find what you're looking for.

Birkbeck global future scholarships 

  • Scholarship amount: The scholarship will be applied as a discount to the tuition fee for your first year of study, to bring it in line with the Home tuition fee amount for the course.
  • As part of our commitment to enhancing the global reach of Birkbeck, we are announcing our Global Future Scholarship to support access to postgraduate master's study from all EU member countries, and Brazil and Réunion.
  • We recognise the importance and value in having a diverse student population from across the world and we’re pleased to present this additional option of financial support.
  • Please note: The reduction on course fees that Birkbeck offers through the Global Future Scholarship cannot be combined with any other scholarships available. 

2023-24 eligibility criteria and how to apply

  • To be eligible, you need to meet all of the following conditions.
    • You are ordinarily resident in one of the following countries:
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Bulgaria
      • Croatia
      • Cyprus (EU)
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • Estonia
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Latvia
      • Lithuania
      • Luxembourg
      • Malta
      • Netherlands
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Réunion
      • Romania
      • Slovakia
      • Slovenia
      • Spain
      • Sweden
    • you are self-funded and are holding a full-time master's offer of study from us for October 2023 entry and/or January 2024
    • you are classified as an ‘International’ tuition fee payer.
  • Only one scholarship award can be made per student and the scholarship cannot normally be held in conjunction with any other scholarship. 
  • How to apply
    • Applicants ordinarily resident in one of the named countries are eligible and do not need to apply for the scholarship; it will be automatically applied by our admissions teams during your application journey. If we require any further information from you, we will contact you directly. 
    • If at any point during your application journey, or during the course of your studies at Birkbeck, you gain settled or pre-settled status, you will no longer be eligible for a scholarship. 
    • Find out more about postgraduate study at Birkbeck.
  • Please note: The discounts on course fees that Birkbeck offers are mutually exclusive - if you are eligible for more than one discount, you may only claim one.

Additional Scholarships available

International Early Enrolment Tuition Fee Reduction – India and Nigeria

  • A tuition fee reduction of 10% is available to international students living in India or Nigeria starting a full-time postgraduate course in autumn 2023 or January 2024.
  • Value: 10% reduction in postgraduate taught course fees.
  • Duration: The 10% reduction is for the first year of your course (if your course is longer than one year).  
  • Eligibility: To be eligible for our International Early Enrolment Tuition Fee reduction you must be: 
    • an international student (you are classified as an 'international' tuition fee payer)  
    • studying full time
    • starting a postgraduate taught course in autumn 2023 or January 2024 (this scholarship is not applicable to continuing students) 
    • complete enrolment by 31 August 2023 for the autumn 2023 intake and by 16 December 2023 for the January intake 
    • domiciled in India or Nigeria. 
  • Please note: this cannot be combined with our Lifelong Learning Guarantee discount. If you are in receipt of sponsorship by a third party you won’t be eligible. This cannot be combined with a Birkbeck school, faculty or department award/scholarship. This may only be combined with the Nigeria Creative Industries scholarship and Birkbeck Business School Master's Scholarship (formerly the Department of Management Master's Scholarship) 2023. 
  • How to apply: There is no need to apply - if you meet the eligibility criteria, the 10% will be applied automatically. 

Birkbeck Business School master's scholarships 2023

  • A £1,000 scholarship is available to international students domiciled in India or Nigeria, starting on one of the master's courses offered by the Birkbeck Business School (this includes master’s in the subject areas: Management, Economics and Organizational Psychology) in October 2023 or January 2024 and studying full time.
  • Value: £1,000 tuition fee reduction.
  • Eligibility: To be eligible for the scholarship, you must:
    • be an international student 
    • be studying full time
    • have received an offer in line with our entry criteria and a place to study on one of our Management, Economics and Organizational Psychology master's courses in October 2023 or January 2024.
    • be domiciled in India or Nigeria.
  • Please note: The only other financial discount or scholarship that this can be combined with is the 10% early enrolment tuition fee reduction.
  • How to apply: There is no need to apply. If you meet the eligibility criteria, the scholarship will be applied automatically
  • Please note, until April 2023 this Scholarship was entitled the 'Department of Management Scholarship'. From May 2023 these scholarships now include master’s in Economics and Organizational Psychology.

Nigeria Creative Industries master's scholarships

  • A £1,000 scholarship is available to international students living in Nigeria starting on a School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication master’s course (including History of Art master's courses) in October 2023 or January 2024 and studying full time.  
  • Value: £1,000 tuition fee reduction
  • Eligibility: To be eligible for the scholarship, you must:
    • be an international student
    • be studying full time
    • have received an offer in line with our entry criteria and a place to study on a Creative Arts, Culture and Communication master’s course (including History of Art master's courses) in October 2023 or January 2024 
    • be domiciled in Nigeria.
  • Please note: The only other financial discount or scholarship that this can be combined with is the 10% early enrolment tuition fee reduction.
  • How to apply: There is no need to apply. If you meet the eligibility criteria the scholarship will be applied automatically.

Birkbeck international excellence scholarships

  • Birkbeck is offering a limited number of scholarships to international students enrolling in the Autumn 2023 intake on a full-time undergraduate or postgraduate taught programme. 
  • Scholarship amount: £1,000 to £3,000
  • The scholarship will be applied as a discount to the tuition fee for your first year of study only.  
  • Eligibility: To be eligible you need to meet all of the following conditions: 
    • you are an international overseas tuition fee-paying student holding an unconditional offer on a full-time undergraduate or postgraduate taught programme offered by Birkbeck, starting in Autumn 2023. You must have been assessed as an international fee-payer to qualify. 
    • you are ordinarily a resident of a country in the relevant region  
    • you are self-funded 
    • you are classified as an 'international' tuition fee payer. 
  • Only one scholarship award can be offered per student and the scholarship cannot normally be held in conjunction with any other scholarship.  This scholarship cannot be combined with the Birkbeck Business School Master's Scholarship (formerly the Department of Management Master's Scholarship), the Nigeria Creative Industries Master’s Scholarships or the Global Future Scholarship. You may apply for multiple scholarships; if you are successful in being awarded multiple scholarships, the highest value scholarship will be awarded to you. 
  • How to apply: Once you have received an unconditional offer from Birkbeck, you can apply using the online application form for the region where you ordinarily reside. 
    • Application form for those ordinarily residing in South Asia/Central Asia.
    • You must be a national of, and living in, one of the following territories: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan. 
    • Application form for those ordinarily residing in East Asia/South East Asia.
    • You must be a national of, and living in, one of the following territories: Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand or Vietnam. 
    • Application form for those ordinarily residing in the Middle East/North Africa.
    • You must be a national of, and living in, one of the following territories: Tunisia. Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey or United Arab Emirates. 
    • Application form for those ordinarily residing in The Americas.
    • You must be a national of, and living in the Americas, with the exception of Brazil. If you are a Brazilian national and you hold an offer to study a master's programme at Birkbeck, you might be eligible for the Birkbeck Global Future Scholarship (see above). If you have an unconditional offer to study an undergraduate programme at Birkbeck and you are a Brazilian national or an international student living in Brazil, you can apply for this scholarship, which is applicable to the first year of your undergraduate studies only.  
    • Application form for those ordinarily residing in Sub Saharan Africa.
    • You must be a national of, and living in, one of the following territories: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia or Zimbabwe. 
    • Application form for international students based in the UK.
    • You must be an international student, of any nationality, living in the UK, and you must have been assessed as an international fee payer. You must hold an unconditional offer to study a full-time undergraduate or a full-time master's programme.  
  • Successful scholars will be selected based on a statement of no more than 4,000 characters in support of the application. The statement should detail why they are the ideal candidate for the scholarship. Applicants will be required to have made provisions to fund the remainder of their studies.  
  • If you are successfully awarded this scholarship, you will be notified by e-mail. You must complete a payment of a £2,000 non-refundable deposit within the time limit stated on your award letter (typically five to seven working days). 
  • You must successfully enrol for the Autumn 2023 intake to receive the award, and no later than 19 September 2023. 
  • Application deadlines: For courses starting in the Autumn 2023, the deadline to apply for this scholarship is: 
    • Round 1: 11:59 pm (BST - UK time) on Sunday 21 May 2023 
    • Round 2: 11:59 pm (BST - UK time) on Sunday 25 June 2023 
    • Please note: Students who have applied by the first deadline do not need to submit a new application to be considered for the second round.
  • General terms and conditions:
    • Birkbeck has sole discretion to assign, vary or withdraw this award.
    • This award is only available to students enrolling to Birkbeck for the first time.
    • This award excludes sponsorship students, current students and those returning on the second or third year of the same course. 
    • This award excludes short courses and part-time courses. 
    • As a Birkbeck scholar you will be required to participate in current and future promotional activities to represent the student body at Birkbeck; including, but not limited to, being interviewed and photographed by our External Relations and Marketing department, providing short progress reports on your studies.  
    • If the student fails to enrol by 19 September 2023 the scholarship fund will be cancelled in full. 

Commonwealth Scholarships

  • Commonwealth citizens can apply for a number of different funds under the Commonwealth Scholarship.
  • Birkbeck currently takes part in the following schemes:
    • Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (for least developed and fragile country candidates) 
    • Commonwealth Split-site (PhD) Scholarships (for low- and middle-income country candidates)
    • Commonwealth Master's Scholarships (for candidates nominated by CSC nominating agencies)

Chevening Scholarships 

    Further information

    Visit our international finance page to find out about fees and payment plans, loans and bank accounts for international students studying in the UK.

    If you would like further information, please at Birkbeck.