Always confirm details with your university's money advice team.
International student funding guidance
UKCISA
Independent guidance on scholarships, student finance and other ways to fund UK study.
Who might qualify
A guidance service, not a fund. Eligibility for each route depends on its nationality, residence, immigration-status and course rules.
What to do next
Read the funding guide, then check the relevant provider’s criteria. For unexpected hardship, contact your university’s international student adviser and money advice team.
Do I repay it?
No award is made by this guide. Check whether any funding it signposts is a grant, scholarship or repayable loan.
Tuition-fee support for selected one-year taught postgraduate courses at participating UK universities.
Who might qualify
Only specified countries, universities and courses qualify. Requirements and selection are country- and university-specific; this is not general living-cost help.
What to do next
Choose your country on the official directory, check participating universities and follow the university’s application instructions and current deadlines.
Do I repay it?
Scholarship support, not a standard loan. Read the award conditions and which tuition costs are covered.
The directory describes 2026–27 awards; check the relevant university for the next available round.
Competitive scholarships for eligible applicants planning a one-year UK master’s degree.
Who might qualify
Country or territory, academic, work-experience and return-home conditions apply. Check the full criteria; this is not an emergency fund for an existing course.
What to do next
Find your country or territory’s award page and check eligibility and the application timeline before planning an application.
Do I repay it?
Scholarship funding rather than a standard loan. Award obligations apply; read the terms, including return-home requirements.
2027–28 applications closed when checked; check the official timeline for future rounds.
Support for eligible disability-related study costs, including relevant long-term health conditions, mental-health conditions and specific learning difficulties.
Who might qualify
Not general living-cost funding. Course and residency rules apply; support depends on assessed study needs.
What to do next
Check the DSA application route and speak to your university’s disability team. Other UK nations have their own arrangements.
Do I repay it?
DSA does not need to be repaid. Funding paid in error may be recovered.
Support for eligible pre-registration nursing, midwifery and allied health students studying at a university in England.
Who might qualify
Eligible course, residency and student-finance requirements apply. Not all healthcare courses qualify; some other NHS funding or employer support excludes you.
What to do next
Check the current eligible course list and application rules with NHSBSA before applying.
Do I repay it?
Eligible funding is normally non-repayable on completion. Interrupting study or receiving funding without entitlement may require repayment.
An external bursary for eligible undergraduates with a qualifying family or employment connection to specified trades.
Who might qualify
UK residence, financial need and full-time undergraduate study apply. You, a parent or spouse must meet the trust’s grocery, pharmacy or commercial-traveller employment criteria, including the stated five-year requirement.
What to do next
Check the detailed eligibility and next application round with the trust. Do not assume applications are currently open.
Do I repay it?
A bursary, not a standard student loan. Read the award conditions; funding is limited and not guaranteed.
Help with essential disability-related study costs that are not covered by other support.
Who might qualify
UK home-fee status and the trust’s qualifying diagnosis criteria apply. A fund of last resort: explore statutory funding and university adjustments first. Mental-health conditions alone do not meet its stated criteria.
What to do next
Read the trust’s full eligibility rules and check the next application round.
Do I repay it?
Grant support rather than a loan. Check the award conditions and eligible costs with the trust.
The published route is for UK undergraduate and postgraduate students. International students have separate support routes. Funds may close early when the budget is exhausted.
Application steps
Read the fund criteria and evidence requirements on the official page.
Sign in to InfoHub and follow the online application form.
Complete the financial-learning module specified on UWE’s official page and provide the supporting evidence requested. Follow the university’s current instructions.
Grant or loan?
Student Support Fund awards are distinct from UWE’s separate short-term loan scheme. Confirm the terms of your award; do not confuse a hardship payment with a repayable loan.
The official emergency route has registration and available-money conditions and excludes some student categories. Check the full criteria before applying.
Application steps
Check the Financial Assistance Fund eligibility and supporting-document list.
Follow the application route linked on the university’s fund page.
If the form or required evidence is unclear, contact the university’s money advice team. A complete portal sequence is not publicly verified here.
Grant or loan?
The university describes this emergency support as non-repayable, with food vouchers and/or a cash award.
Priority UK-domiciled groups are listed on the public page. International students, postgraduate researchers and students outside those groups may be considered only in exceptional or emergency circumstances.
Application steps
Read the public financial-difficulties guidance.
Sign in to iCity for the Financial Assistance Fund form, full criteria and terms.
Complete the income-and-expenditure information and evidence requested there. For urgent help, arrange a private meeting with the Money and Childcare Advice Team.
Grant or loan?
Read the fund’s terms in iCity and confirm whether your particular support needs repayment. The separate emergency fund has a different access process.
The public page signposts support through the Student Funding Office and Students’ Union. Full fund eligibility and online application steps must be confirmed with them.
Application steps
Open Coventry’s official financial-support page.
Follow its Students’ Union signpost for the University Support Fund or contact the Student Funding Office.
Ask for the current application route, eligibility and evidence checklist. This link is an advice page, not a direct application form.
Grant or loan?
Coventry also offers separate small emergency loans to UK students. Confirm whether the support offered is a grant or a repayable loan.
The published criteria exclude specified student types, including apprenticeships, distance learning and some partner courses. Check your course and fee-status eligibility with the fund team.
Application steps
Check the fund criteria and its evidence-required page.
Apply through e:Vision and complete the Financial Wellbeing Review.
Gather and upload the requested evidence through the Student Hub application route, then submit. Follow the evidence page if returning to a saved application.
Grant or loan?
Hardship support and emergency loans are separate. Check the award terms and ask if any support offered is repayable.
Fully enrolled students: Aston Support Fund is for Home students; Susan Cadbury Fund is the published EU/international route. Check the current individual criteria.
Application steps
Check which fund applies to your fee status.
Consider the adviser appointment recommended by the university before applying.
Use the application form linked from the current official page. Confirm the evidence list and any sign-in requirements with the adviser; do not rely on older policy documents.
Grant or loan?
The university describes these as non-repayable hardship grants.
Check the standard eligibility route on the fund page. Students outside that route can still contact the Financial Support team about their circumstances.
Application steps
Read the official Financial Assistance Fund guidance.
Call the Financial Support team or complete the short support form linked on the page.
Discuss your circumstances with the team and follow their assessment and evidence instructions. Ask about separate emergency support if the need is urgent.
Grant or loan?
Financial Assistance Fund awards are non-repayable. Separate emergency bridging loans must be repaid.
Eligible UK-home undergraduates must meet enrolment, attendance and student-finance conditions, including the maximum-maintenance-loan rule with stated exceptions. Other student groups have separate routes.
Application steps
Read the undergraduate fund eligibility on NTU’s official page.
Follow the linked undergraduate hardship application and residence screening.
Complete the online form and supply the evidence requested. Postgraduate and international students should check their separate support route rather than use this undergraduate form.
Grant or loan?
The undergraduate support fund is a grant, not a loan.
Published 2026–27 terms include home-fee eligibility, a UK bank account and sharing financial information through Open Banking. Overseas-fee students are directed to the International Emergency Fund. No automatic entitlement.
Application steps
Read the current Hallam Hardship Fund page and 2026–27 terms.
Check the Open Banking requirement and use the application route provided by Hallam.
Follow the form’s evidence and assessment instructions. The complete sign-in/submission sequence is not publicly verified here; ask the university if you need help.
Grant or loan?
Check the current fund terms for award conditions and recovery of payments; confirm that any separate emergency support is not a loan.
The page checked showed 2025–26 dates, not a verified 2026–27 opening window. Do not assume the fund is currently open. Confirm this year’s eligibility and rules with Money Advice.
Application steps
Contact Money Advice to confirm the current academic year’s application window.
Ask for the current fund criteria, application form and evidence checklist; the checked page links a form but carries older dates.
Apply through the route confirmed by the university. Check its application-frequency rule and whether other funding should be sought first.
Grant or loan?
The published fund is a non-repayable contribution towards essential costs. Confirm the current award terms.
Funding usually based on financial need or personal circumstances. It normally does not need repayment, but conditions and overpayment rules apply.
Grant
Funding for a particular need or purpose. It is usually non-repayable if you meet the terms. The provider decides eligibility and permitted costs.
Scholarship
Funding linked to criteria such as achievement, subject or background. Check the award conditions and whether you need to apply.
Hardship fund
Institutional help when you cannot meet essential costs. It may be a grant or a loan; it is assessed under your university’s rules.
Hardship loan
Money you must repay under the lender’s terms. Ask about interest, charges and repayment dates before accepting.
Home-fee status
Your university’s fee classification. It is not the same as nationality and does not automatically establish eligibility for student finance or a grant.