As part of the University's commitment to widening access at postgraduate level, some applicants may be exempt from paying the application fee, under one of the schemes below.
Fee waiver deadlines
If you intend to apply for funding, you must apply for your application fee waiver by one of the following deadlines:
- 25 November 2022 for the 1 December 2022 funding application deadline.
- 21 December 2022 for the 5 January 2023 funding application deadline.
Please ensure that you allow at least 10 working days for the assessment of your application fee waiver request. If you do not allow sufficient time, we cannot guarantee to process your request in time for you to meet your course/funding application deadline.
1. UK applicants from low income households
Prospective students from the UK are eligible for an application fee waiver in either of the following circumstances:
- they can evidence that they were in receipt of full state support for maintenance as an undergraduate in their final year at a UK university within the last 4 years (i.e. during or after the 2019/20 academic year).
- they were not a student in the 2021/22 academic year and are in receipt (when making the request) of either: Income support, Income-based jobseekers allowance, Income-based employment support allowance, Pension credit guarantee credit or Universal credit (UC) are eligible for an application fee waiver.
To qualify, applicants should start an application to study and submit the application fee waiver request form and required supporting documentation before submitting an application.
2. Applicants with asylum seeker or refugee or humanitarian protection status
Applicants who are able to evidence they have a valid Asylum Registration Card or Biometric Residence Permit are eligible for an application fee waiver.
To qualify, applicants should start an application to study and submit the application fee waiver request form and required supporting documentation before submitting an application.
For more information on University support for refugees, please visit our Refugee Hub.
3. International applicants from one of the countries listed*
International applicants from a country on one of the following lists are automatically eligible for an application fee waiver:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list of Overseas Development Aid (ODA) recipients (least developed countries and other low-income countries only).
- The World Bank list of low-income countries.
- The United Nation’s list of least developed countries (LDCs).
- Iran (due to sanctions on international bank transfers)
- Ukraine
*This applies to applicants from: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Djibouti, East Timor (Timor-Leste), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iran, Kiribati, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Lao PDR, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic (Syria), Tanzania (United Republic of), Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Yemen, Zambia.
To qualify, applicants should be a national of the country and have lived there since birth. The application fee will be waived automatically on submission of their application and no further action is required.
4. Applications to the Postgraduate School of Life Sciences
The Postgraduate School of Life Sciences has a scheme that enables three applications to be made with payment of a single application fee. A list of eligible courses and further information can be found on the Fee for Life Science courses page.
5. Mastercard Foundation African Scholars Program
Applicants who wish to apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program can be considered for a manual application fee waiver. Please visit the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program for more information and instructions on how to apply.