UK scholarships: Deciding to study in the UK is an investment in your future. A prestigious degree from the UK is a valuable and transformative experience and will take your education – and your employability – to the next level.
There are many funding options available for international students who want to study in the UK. They range from part-funding, for example paying part of your fees, to full-funding which covers programme fees, living expenses, and return flights to the UK.
TODAY LETS EXPLORE “GREAT Scholarships”
GREAT Scholarships offer students from 15 countries the opportunity to have £10,000 towards their tuition fees for a wide range of one-year taught postgraduate courses.
In the 2024-25 academic year, 210 scholarships are offered by 71 universities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
They are available to students from the following countries:
- Bangladesh
- China
- Egypt
- Ghana
- Greece
- Kenya
- India
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Vietnam
On each country’s dedicated page, you’ll find a comprehensive list of universities that provide scholarships to students from that specific nation, details of which courses are covered by these scholarships and how to apply.
Each scholarship is jointly funded by the UK government’s GREAT Britain Campaign and the British Council with participating UK higher education institutions.
As part of the programme, all GREAT scholars will be invited to a welcome event in the first semester and a networking event in the second semester.
GREAT Scholarships for justice and law
GREAT Scholarships for justice and law are for students who want to study law at a UK university for a one-year postgraduate course. Students can apply for courses in a range of justice and law-related subjects, including human rights, criminal justice and commercial law, at one of the 20 participating higher education institutions.
Each scholarship offers a minimum of £10,000 towards tuition fees. The justice and law scholarships are in partnership with the Ministry for Justice. They are jointly funded by the British Council, the GREAT Britain Campaign, and participating UK higher education institutions.
For the 2024-25 academic year, justice and law postgraduate scholarships are available for students from the following countries (two scholarships for each country).
Please visit your country page below to see the universities taking part and to get more information:
GREAT Scholarships for science and technology
GREAT Scholarships for science and technology are for students who want to study related subjects at a UK university for a one-year postgraduate course.
Students can apply for courses in a range of science and technology-related subjects, including artificial intelligence, sustainable engineering and psychology, for example, at one of the participating higher education institutions.
Each scholarship offers a minimum of £10,000 towards tuition fees. The science and technology scholarships are in partnership with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology. They are jointly funded by the British Council, the GREAT Britain Campaign, and participating UK higher education institutions.
For the 2024-25 academic year, science and technology postgraduate scholarships are available for students from the following countries:
Please visit your country page below to see the universities taking part and to get more information:
6 top tips for applying for the GREAT Scholarship
Are you considering applying for the GREAT Scholarship? 2021-22 GREAT scholar Diona from India shares her top tips with you, based on her experience of the application process, to help increase your chances of success.
1. Make sure you’re eligible and stick to the word limit
To get through the first round of applications, you must fulfil two simple requirements. If you meet the scholarship’s eligibility criteria and you stick strictly to the word limit, you will automatically proceed to the next stage, where real people read your application.
2. Share your achievements to prove your worth
If you don’t share your achievements with the people reading your application, they won’t know your worth. Don’t worry about ‘talking about yourself too much’ or ‘boasting’. To decide whether to grant you the scholarship, they want and need to know your achievements.
Diona, who recently completed her master’s in Education, Inclusion and Special Needs at the University of Hull, says: ‘Don’t be ashamed to talk about all of your achievements and the extra activities you have engaged in over the last few years. I wrote a lot about different activities that I’d done in school. I was wondering if I should, but then I decided there’s no harm in sharing what you’ve done. I put it out there. It could be something as simple as being part of the school dramatics association. Just make sure you show how this has been beneficial, and how being involved has given you different skills and how you want to embrace them.’
3. There are no right or wrong answers
There are no right or wrong answers if you talk candidly about your experiences. Share your story, your capabilities and your ambitions in the best way that you can, and try to structure your answers in a way that makes the most of the limited space you have.
To learn from the process, Diona asked the assessors – after being offered the scholarship – why they had chosen her. She says, ‘They said that one of the best things about my application was that I was totally honest about who I am. They liked my flow of writing. Remember to make your writing like a story that reflects all of the positive ways you’ve been involved in different activities’.
4. Talk about how the scholarship will impact your life
People reading your application will want to know what you hope to gain from receiving the scholarship, personally and professionally. Your answers are the chance for you to show them how receiving the scholarship would impact your life.
In Diona’s application, she wrote about how getting her master’s in the UK would be the first stop on her journey to achieving her career goals. The course she applied for at the University of Hull focused on job building, leadership and management. After graduating, she wanted to stay in the UK to grow her experience within the field of education before returning to India to found and run a special education institution.
‘I’m hoping to start my own school one day where there is inclusive education and a proper platform for special needs. Just teaching in schools is not going to prepare me. I also need to understand the management, the admin and the marketing side. There is so much that goes into it’, she says.
ALSO READ: Sad As Woman Throws Newborn Into A Dip Tank After Giving Birth Secretly
5. Show how getting the scholarship will benefit people in your home country
In your application, you should try to highlight how the knowledge, skills and experiences you will gain through your education won’t just help your own personal and professional growth but also the growth of your nation. You will be assessed on your ambitions, including in the longer term, and in relation to the value you receiving a GREAT Scholarship will add to your home community.
In her application, Diona emphasised that beyond her career ambitions, she hopes the school she wants to set up will ‘make education in India more accessible and inclusive for differently able students, and not just those who can afford it’. She also emphasised that she wanted to ‘create opportunities for women, and other disadvantaged groups, to find stable and meaningful employment and ensure they are given equal opportunities’.
6. Go for it, and if it doesn’t work out the first time, keep trying
Time and time again, students talk about the ‘why not?’ factor when applying for scholarships. It’s normal to get intimidated when thinking about how many people can be applying from all over the world who you might feel are more deserving of certain opportunities than you. They are probably thinking the same thing. And if you don’t try, you will never know. So it’s worth taking your chances. And if, at first, you don’t succeed, or you don’t get exactly what you’re looking for, there are always other options that will help you to achieve your goals.
Diona suggests, ‘If you don’t get accepted for the scholarship, don’t be upset about it. Instead, see it as a learning experience. ask for feedback from the panel who received your application and implement what they’ve told you in future scholarship applications.’
For comments, Feedback and Opinions do get in touch with our editor on WhatsApp: +27 82 836 5828
