Birmingham Masters Scholarship

Yes, students must submit an application to study one of the eligible courses before applying to the scholarship. If you only apply to the scholarship and don't submit a course application, the University will not be able to award you the scholarship; scholarship offers are entirely contingent upon you having an offer to study on one of the above eligible courses.

The Birmingham Masters Scholarships will be available to students who are:

• Not an alum of the University of Birmingham;
• Domiciled in the UK or Ireland: students recorded as Home for fee status purposes are eligible provided that they meet the other eligibility criteria;
• Self-funded: you must be self-funding or applying for a postgraduate government loan to pay your fees and living expenses;
• Not already registered on a postgraduate programme — applicants must not currently be enrolled on a postgraduate degree course;
• Commencing an 180-credits Masters course in an eligible subject in 2026.

Eligible courses include the following, delivered at our Edgbaston Campus, Stratford-upon-Avon, partnered institutions or by distance learning:

• LLM
• MA (Taught)
• MSc (Pre-reg)
• MSc (Taught)
• MPH
• MEd
• MBA
• MPA

As the scholarship is only applicable to full postgraduate taught 180-credit Masters degrees, ineligible courses include:

• MA/MSc by Research
• MRes (combined taught and research)
• Integrated Masters degrees (such as MSci, MEng and MBChB etc.)
• Intercalated Masters degrees
• Postgraduate Diplomas (PGDip)
• Postgraduate Certificates (PGCert)
• Postgraduate Research programmes (such as PhDs, PhDs with integrated study, EngD)
• Postgraduate taught degrees that receive governmental funding (such as a NHS bursary or undergraduate tuition fee loans)
• Schools Direct programmes
• Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses
• LLB for Graduates
• Programmes delivered at our Dubai Campus
• All top-up programmes

Eligibility to receive the scholarship will be determined by a University selection panel based on the following criteria:

• Academic excellence and previous study - Birmingham Masters Scholarships are primarily awarded on the basis of academic performance in the applicants’ previous studies
• Professional qualifications and achievements - Qualifications and other notable achievements from relevant professional roles will be taken into account
• Priority will be given to applications from students who have graduated from one of the Midlands-based universities.
• Other University or College subject priorities

Priority consideration for the Birmingham Masters Scholarships will be allocated to students who have completed a degree at a university based in the Midlands. Please see the terms and conditions for the list of Midlands-based universities who will be considered as a priority.

Please visit our website for full terms and conditions of the scholarship.

No. Our Birmingham Masters Scholarship is only available to students who have not previously studied at the University of Birmingham.

If you have studied at the University of Birmingham (UK or Dubai campus) for your undergraduate degree, you should apply for our Alumni Scholarship. Offering a £4,000 tuition fee discount, this scholarship is a token of our appreciation for your continued studies with us.

No. Funding for this scholarship aims to support Home fee-paying students progress onto taught Masters study. Therefore, to be eligible for this scholarship's funding students must meet the nationality or residency status criteria to qualify for the UK government's postgraduate masters’ loan.

However, we have a range of scholarships specifically for international students which you can explore on our dedicated webpage for international scholarships.

You should familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions of the Birmingham Masters Scholarship before applying and, if your application is successful, before accepting the scholarship. All Birmingham Masters Scholarship offers are bound to these terms and conditions, and any scholarship offers may be revoked if any terms and conditions are not met.

Applications will be reviewed and marked after their respective deadlines. Successful applicants will be contacted typically within 3-4 weeks after the respective scholarship application deadline has passed. A scholarship offer email will be sent to awardees to accept or decline the scholarship offer; a deadline to respond will be included in this email. Students who are made a reserve will be contacted in due course as soon as any reallocated scholarships become available.

Due to the volume of applications for the scholarship, we are unable to offer individual responses to each application. Although we endeavour to keep you informed of scholarship updates, if you have not been contacted by the timeframes outlined in the above paragraph or by your course's start date, it may be the unfortunate case that your application has unsuccessful.

If you have been successfully offered the scholarship, you will need to complete the acceptance form in your awarding email. Only once you have responded and accepted the scholarship will you receive the award; if you decline or do not respond by the deadline specified in your offer email, your scholarship will be reallocated.

After accepting the scholarship, you will need to accept your study offer and complete online registration to receive the £3,000 tuition fee waiver; delays in completing online registration will result in the delaying of the scholarship payment.

By accepting the scholarship you accept the terms and conditions of the Birmingham Masters Scholarship.

The Birmingham Masters Scholarship is a £3,000 fee waiver and will be applied directly to your tuition fees; the waiver cannot be exchanged for any monetary value nor can it be paid directly to you. When paying the remainder of your tuition fees, whether by direct debit (monthly or termly) or a single payment, you will only need to pay the remaining value of your tuition fees minus the £3,000 waiver. Tuition fee payments will only be applicable once a student has completed online registration and enrolment.

Detailed information and guidance on how to pay your tuition fees can be found on our Funding pages.

If you are successfully awarded the Birmingham Masters Scholarship, your £3,000 tuition fee waiver will be applied directly to your tuition fee account. However, you will not receive an updated invoice reflecting the discounted value. You will need to manually deduct the £3,000 discount from your full tuition fees to calculate your outstanding fees that you are liable for.

No. As per the terms and conditions, the scholarship cannot be deferred and it is only tenable for one year. If you choose to defer your studies, you will need to re-apply for the scholarship in the next cycle if available.

Generally, you will be able to hold other scholarships in conjunction with the Birmingham Masters Scholarship. However, you cannot hold the Birmingham Masters Scholarship in conjunction with any scholarship that covers the full tuition fee, whether awarded by the University or an external organisation or sponsor.

It should be noted that if you are successful in your application to the Birmingham Masters Scholarship and the Postgraduate Access Scholarship, your Postgraduate Access Scholarship tuition fee waiver will be awarded at a 50% rate to ensure as many under-represented students as possible can receive the scholarship and support.

You should always read each scholarships' specific terms and conditions to ensure that the other scholarship can be held in conjunction with the Birmingham Masters Scholarship.

Students can apply for and receive a UK governmental loan as well as the Birmingham Masters Scholarship.

You are encouraged to familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions of the Birmingham Masters Scholarship when applying for and accepting the award.

Students intending to join an online Masters degree in September 2026 are eligible to apply provided they meet the eligibility criteria. If your online Masters does not begin in September 2026, you may be able to apply to our distance learning scholarship.

For students commencing their Masters studies in September 2025, you should have applied before the below deadlines:

• The deadline for round one closed at 23:59 (UK time) on 30 April 2025.
• The deadline for round two closed at 23:59 (UK time) on 31 July 2025.

If you applied in round one, your application would have been automatically carried over into round two. If you were successful, you should have been offered the Birmingham Masters Scholarship via email in August or September 2025.