UK Scholarships for Indian Students

There are numerous UK scholarships for Indian students who dream of pursuing their higher education in the United Kingdom. Universities in the UK have excellent scholarship systems to help out international students. The scholarships cover popular undergraduate, postgraduate (Masters, MBA), and doctoral or Ph.D. programs. 

In the UK, scholarships are open to meritorious international students and can be partially or fully paid as per the respective criteria. Some of the scholarships are funded by the government while some are offered by private as well as public institutions. The applicants should make sure to check the criteria and the application closing dates before applying for any of the scholarships.

Table of Contents

• List of UK Scholarships for Indian Students
• University Specific Scholarships for Indian Students in the UK
• Intakes for UK Scholarships
• Eligibility Criteria for Applying to UK Scholarships
• Expenses Covered under Scholarships for Studying in the UK
• How to Increase the Chances of Getting a UK Scholarship?

List of UK Scholarships for Indian Students

The UK offers a number of scholarships to its Indian students to help them fund their study abroad plans by choosing to study in the UK. Some of the most popular international scholarships that the Indian students can opt for are listed below:

• Commonwealth Masters Scholarships
• Chevening Scholarships
• Dr. Manmohan Singh Scholarships
• Goa Education Trust Scholarships
• Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarships
• British Council Great Scholarships for Indian Students
• Rhodes Scholarships
• Erasmus Mundus
• Felix Scholarship
• Sir Ratan Tata Scholarships
• Hornby Scholarships

Commonwealth Masters Scholarships

These scholarships are awarded by the Department for International Development (DFID) to the international students from developing Commonwealth countries who wish to pursue Masters and Ph.D. in the UK. The Commonwealth scholarship provides the following benefits:

• The cost of airfare from the home country to the UK destination institution and back (at the completion of the course)
• Tuition Fee
• A monthly stipend of £1,110 or $1,362 for living expenses
• Costs associated with thesis or dissertation preparation (if required)
• Travel expenses related to studies or projects within or outside the UK

Chevening Scholarships

These scholarships are provided by the UK government under the UK government’s Global Scholarships Program. They are usually granted for a 1 year Master’s program in the UK. Benefits offered by Chevening scholarships are listed below:

• Entire tuition fees
• Economy class airfare
• A monthly iving allowance
• Additional grants and allowances

Dr. Manmohan Singh Scholarships

This scholarship was launched by St. John’s College in honor of Dr. Manmohan Singh. It is awarded to the academically outstanding Indian students who want to pursue doctoral studies in St. John’s College and the University of Cambridge in subject areas like science & technology, economics, and social sciences. Benefits covered under this scholarship are:

• Academic fees
• Living expenses
• International Airfare
• Monthly stipend
• UK visa cost

Goa Education Trust Scholarships

The GET aims to support Goan students in availing opportunities in education and their areas of interest at UK institutions. The students eligible under this program get scholarships and research fellowships by the universities. Students from India who have completed their graduation may apply for this scholarship.

Students residing in Goa are given preference for the Goa Education scholarship. Under this scholarship,tuition fees can be fully or partially waived, depending on the recipient's qualifications and academic excellence.

Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarships

This trust awards 10 long-term awards to international students every year. These include the expenses for accommodation and living expenses in Britain, fees, and a contribution to international fares. This scholarship does not include two-year programs. To be eligible for this scholarship, an applicant must be an Indian citizen. Further, his/her age must be between 26-28 years.

British Council Great Scholarships for Indian Students

British Council Great Scholarships offer around 198 scholarships with a total budget of £2.6 million every academic year. This is done in partnership with 40 UK universities. 

In the current academic year, there are 20 postgraduate scholarships available from universities in the UK, across a range of subjects for Indian students. The scholarships cover tuition fees for PG courses (first year of study). The amount of each scholarship is worth £10,000.

Rhodes Scholarships

Every academic year, 5 scholarships are offered to Indian students that are chosen based on their exceptional intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service, to study at the University of Oxford. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious scholarships started in 1902. Here are the benefits of Rhodes Scholarships:

• University Fees
• An annual stipend of GBP 15,141
• 2 economy class air tickets
• International health surcharge
• Students may also get covered for the application fees, once they are selected 

Erasmus Mundus

It is one of the most popular scholarships in the UK for Indian students. The motive of this scholarship was to improve the quality of higher education through cooperation between Europe and the rest of the world. Their scholarship amount differs according to the level of studies or research, its duration, and the nationality of a student.  Erasmus Mundus provides the following benefits:

• Tuition fees
• Health insurance
• Monthly living allowance of 1,000 EUR for 24 months
• A variety of language programs and events
• Prior to starting the studies, there will be an initial payment of 2,000 EUR for visas and travel expenses

Felix Scholarship

This scholarship was started in order to allow talented underprivileged students from India and other developing countries, an opportunity for postgraduate education in a UK university.

Felix scholarships cover tuition costs and living expenses for international students enrolled in a PG course. To benefit from this scholarships, students must be enrolled in any one of these universities- University of Oxford, University of Reading, SOAS University of London.  

Sir Ratan Tata Scholarships

This scholarship consisted of partial international airfare from India to the university abroad. Sir Tata scholarships allow students who have applied for postgraduate and doctoral studies travel grants. 

Indian students who will be starting their full-time postgraduate course at the University of Liverpool are eligible for the Sir Ratan Tata Scholarship. Tuition and living expenses are covered by the scholarship.

Hornby Scholarships

This trust offers scholarships to English language teachers from developing countries like India. Their main focus is on supporting English language specialists, like senior teachers, teacher-trainers, inspectors and material writers by offering MA scholarships to enable them to study the English language and teaching for an academic year in the UK. Benefits under Hornby scholarships are listed below:

• Full tuition fee
• Monthly stipend
• Cost of visa
• Return airfare

University Specific Scholarships for Indian Students in the UK

There are a number of universities in the UK that offer scholarships to international students enrolled in various programs. Some of the university-specific UK scholarships for Indian students are shown in the table below:

Scholarship	University	Benefit/Amount
Gates Cambridge Scholarships	University of Cambridge	Awarded to 55 international students. Covers tuition fees, cost of visa, accommodation cost, single airfare, etc.
Coventry Academic Performance Scholarship	Coventry University	£1,500 (covers tuition fees)
Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarship	University of Edinburgh	Covers tuition fees and provides a stipend
University of West London International Ambassador Scholarships	University of West London	Up to 100 scholarships worth £5,000 are awarded
Clarendon Scholarships	University of Oxford	Full coverage of college fees and tuition and generous financial assistance for living expenses.
University of Sussex Chancellor’s International Scholarships	University of Sussex	£5,000 (covers half of the tuition fees for one year)
University of West England Chancellor’s Scholarships	University of West England	Full tuition fees coverage for one year
Sheffield Hallam University Transform Together Scholarships	Sheffield Hallam University	Waiver of half of the tuition fee for the first year of study
Warwick Chancellor’s International Scholarships	University of Warwick	Covers full tuition fees and provides a maintenance stipend
Bristol University Think Big Scholarships	University of Bristol	£5,000 to £20,000

Intakes for UK Scholarships

Students from overseas should stay informed about the deadlines and intakes of different scholarships in the UK. The UK Scholarship intakes are as follows:

• Main Intake: September
• Other Intakes: January, February, March, July, and November

Eligibility Criteria for Applying to UK Scholarships

The first and foremost criterion for applying to a UK scholarship will be a good academic score. It differs as per the chosen university, subject, or level of education. In some scholarships, factors like extracurricular activities also come into place. Every scholarship usually has its own eligibility criteria. Some of the general criteria are given below: 

• Written Assignments: In research-centric programs, the candidates might have to submit written assignments
• Citizenship:  The general criteria for Indian students are that they must have Indian citizenship. 
• Academic Background: must have completed higher education from an English medium institution, and must have a good academic background. 

Expenses Covered under Scholarships for Studying in the UK

There is more competition while applying for government scholarships than UK university scholarships. So, the candidates are advised to start the application process 8-12 months before the intake of their preferred program. An applicant's academic records and background are also taken into consideration while awarding scholarships in the UK. Following expenses are covered by most of the UK scholarships for Indian students: 

• Full tuition fee
• Living expenses
• Airfare
• Visa fee

How to Increase the Chances of Getting a UK Scholarship?

For applying to a scholarship into a premium college, the candidates have to keep certain factors in mind. Some of these are: 

• There are fewer seats and high competition for limited funding provided by these scholarships. 
• The first criterion would be academic. So the students should aim for at least 80% - 85% in their undergraduate degree. 
• They should also focus on scoring high in their GRE/ GMAT/ IELTS/ TOEFL. 
• The scholarship form should be filled carefully as the details are not allowed to be edited by many universities.