International students

Students have two main costs to meet when at university: Tuition Fees and living expenses. Tuition Fees and the range of student fees and financial support available differs considerably depending whether you are defined as a Home (usually resident in the UK), European Union (EU) or overseas (International) student. International students are expected to have sufficient funds to maintain themselves and pay their Tuition Fees in line with the UKBA Tier 4 policy.

International student status

International student fees and financial support differs considerably from that for students defined as Home or EU. It is important for you to know your correct classification, so to determine your likely status read guidance provided by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA). A final decision regarding your status will be made by the University when you enrol and present your immigration paperwork, passport and identification documents.

Additional information and advice about fees and funding for refugees and asylum seekers who are academics is provided by CARA, the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics.

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Tuition Fees

Full-time fees for the academic year 2012-2013 for International students
Programme of study Fees
Undergraduate From £10,000
Sandwich Year From £680
MSc, MA, PgDip From £5,400 (including dissertation)
MBA From £11,250 (including dissertation and residential)
MPhil, PhD £9,980

Students paying their Tuition Fees outright and International students paying their deposits pay the University directly. Find out how to pay.

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Additional fees

Some undergraduate course modules include field trips that you will be asked to pay for separately. Some postgraduate courses include compulsory residentials, the cost of which is added to your total tuition fee.

Your course may require you to attend other teaching sessions outside the University for which you may be required to pay an additional fee. Some courses require registration with an external body for which a fee is also payable.

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Living costs

As a guideline, it is estimated that a single student living in London will need around £9,000 per year to meet basic living expenses such as accommodation, heating, food, local travel, books, equipment, clothes and other necessities. This does not include Tuition Fees. The University's student portal MyLSBU collates useful information about general living costs, health costs and Council Tax on its financial help page.

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Sources of funding

British Council Scholarships

The British Council offers a number of awards for international students studying in the UK. For further information read about their scholarships for international students.

One of them is the British Chevening Scholarship, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DfID), which enables international students to study in the UK.

Offered in more than 150 countries for study in any subject field, the scholarships are for those pursuing a full-time postgraduate, or second degree course, or full-time research at a UK Higher Education Institution. The scholarships cover all or part of the cost of the period of study. For further information, visit www.chevening.com.

Charitable Fund

International Students can apply to LSBU’s Charitable Fund.

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International scholarships and financial help

We offer our International students considerable financial help through scholarships and charitable funds. Some International students may be eligible for multiple discounts. To be relevant, benefits are applied in the following order:

  1. Nationality Scholarship
  2. 10% Alumni Discounts for postgraduate study
  3. Early payment discount

The 25% Alumni Discount cannot be combined with the Nationality Scholarship.

How it works

Below is an example to demonstrate how payments would be calculated. It assumes a self-financing International student from China has applied for a masters programme at LSBU where fees are £10,000. They paid early or by the enrolment session they've been invited to attend.

How discount would be calculated
Standard fee £10,000
Less Nationality Scholarship of £1,000 £9,000
Less Alumni 10% discount for postgraduate study, £900 £8,100
Less early payment discount at 5%, £405 Total reduced payment £7,695

Please note: this course cost is for illustrative purposes only.