125th Anniversary Scholarships for International Students

To be eligible for this scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• You must apply for and receive an offer to study a taught Masters degree at the University of Birmingham (UK campus) for the 2025/26 academic year.
• You must be domiciled in one of the selected countries listed below.
• You must be classified as an overseas fee payer for tuition purposes by the University.
• You must start your studies in September or October 2025 on a full-time programme delivered at the University’s UK campus.
• The 125th Anniversary Scholarship is available for eligible MSc programmes at Birmingham Business School, following the same criteria and countries as the main scholarship. Once an offer is accepted and the admission deposit is paid, the scholarship is secured, with confirmation sent separately later via email. Offer holders will receive £5,000, an increase from the standard £4,000 scholarship. Excluded programmes include the MBA, MSc Management, MSc Marketing, and MSc International Business. The University reserves the right to withdraw the scholarship offer to new applicants and offer holders at any time, so early application is advised. Please check the website regularly for updates.
• To be considered for our  125th Anniversary Scholarship worth up to £5,000, which is exclusively for students domiciled in India, eligible students must submit a separate application for the India Chancellor’s Scholarship. This will open soon, so please check our website regularly for updates. Winners will be selected based on academic merit from the shortlist generated through the India Chancellor’s Scholarship applications.
• Students in receipt of a full tuition fee scholarship from an external organisation are not eligible. If the University becomes aware that a student is fully sponsored by a third-party organisation (i.e., an organisation is providing a scholarship covering 100% of tuition fees), the student will be disqualified from receiving the 125th Anniversary Scholarship. If the scholarship has already been awarded, it will be withdrawn. Please ensure you accurately declare your funding source during enrolment.

• If you defer your start date to September 2026, you will no longer be eligible, as the scholarship is only available for September 2025 entry.
• Programmes delivered exclusively through distance learning are not eligible.
• MBA programmes are not eligible.
• Other postgraduate programmes such as PhD, MPhil, MRes, MMus, and MLit, as well as PGDip and PGCert programmes, are not eligible.
• Undergraduate programmes, including MBChB, MEng, MSci, and MPharm, are not eligible.
• Students studying at the University of Birmingham Dubai campus are not eligible.

• Chile
• Colombia
• Egypt
• Ghana
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• South Africa
• Sri Lanka
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Uganda
• United Arab Emirates
• Vietnam
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

For the £4,000 125th Anniversary Scholarship, no separate scholarship application is required. If you meet the eligibility criteria, the scholarship will automatically be deducted from your tuition fees. Simply pay your admission deposit by the deadline stated in your offer letter and accept your offer to study with us.

To be considered for our 125th Anniversary Scholarship worth up to £5,000, which is exclusively for students domiciled in India, eligible students must submit a separate application for the India Chancellor’s Scholarship. This will open soon, so please check our website regularly for updates. Winners will be selected based on academic merit from the shortlist generated through the India Chancellor’s Scholarship applications.

Frequently asked questions are located further down the page under the mailing list form. These contain further details relating to the terms and conditions and eligibility of this scholarship, please ensure you read through these 

We recommend applying for your chosen programme as early as possible to ensure eligibility for this scholarship. For details on how to apply, please visit our postgraduate guidance pages.

Once you receive an offer, you must meet the deadlines outlined by the Admissions Office (as stated in your offer letter) to accept the offer and pay the required deposit. This will secure both your place in the Masters programme and the scholarship.

The University reserves the right to withdraw the scholarship offer to new applicants at any time.

Scholarships will be awarded based on the eligibility criteria and the application and admissions process outlined above. The University will begin issuing scholarship letters to successful students once their admission records progress to the unconditional offer stage. The majority of scholarship letters will be sent via email between March and August 2025. 

The University will make every effort to include the scholarship details on each student’s CAS record for visa application purposes (this information will be visible to UKVI but not to the student). The scholarship, applied as a tuition fee discount, will be awarded upon successful enrolment in September 2025. 

Please note that students who secure this scholarship must have sufficient funds to cover the full cost of living at the University of Birmingham, along with any visa and travel expenses, and be able to pay the remaining tuition fees not covered by the scholarship.

To maintain the scholarship, candidates must complete online registration and be ‘Normally Registered’ by 3 October 2025 (23:59 UK time/GMT+1). Failure to do so will result in the scholarship being withdrawn. Additionally, candidates must either pay their remaining tuition fees for the first year by 1 November 2025 or have set up a payment plan and made the first instalment.

If you withdraw from your programme, the scholarship will be fully withdrawn, and you will be required to pay the appropriate tuition fees. The amount owed will be determined by your withdrawal date (as reported to Taught Student Administration) and the programme type.

In the event of a leave of absence after the scholarship has been applied, the scholarship will be adjusted to reflect the applicable tuition fees for that period. Upon your return, the scholarship will be honoured for the remaining period of study, subject to availability and at the University's discretion. The University reserves the right to withdraw the scholarship if funding is no longer available.

By accepting this scholarship, awardees are expected to reasonably support the University by providing profiles, testimonials, and participating in ambassadorial activities if requested.

The 125th Anniversary Scholarship offers a tuition fee discount of £4,000 for eligible international students starting their Master’s degree in September 2025. For students domiciled in India, there are awards of up to £5,000 available through the India Chancellor’s Scholarship. 

To be eligible for this scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• You must apply for and receive an offer to study a taught Master’s degree at the University of Birmingham (UK campus) for the 2025/26 academic year.
• You must be domiciled in one of the selected countries listed below.
• You must be classified as an overseas fee payer for tuition purposes by the University.
• You must start your studies in September or October 2025 on a full-time programme delivered at the University’s UK campus.
• MSc programmes at Birmingham Business School are eligible for the 125th Anniversary Scholarships. However, additional details, including specific requirements and criteria for scholarships related to Business School programmes, will be announced shortly. We encourage applicants to stay updated on our website for the latest information.
• To be considered for our £5,000 125th Anniversary Scholarship, which is exclusively for students domiciled in India, eligible students must submit a separate application for the India Chancellor’s Scholarship. This will open soon, so please check our website regularly for updates. Winners will be selected based on academic merit from the shortlist generated through the India Chancellor’s Scholarship applications.
• Students in receipt of a full tuition fee scholarship from an external organisation are not eligible. If the University becomes aware that a student is fully sponsored by a third-party organisation (i.e., an organisation is providing a scholarship covering 100% of tuition fees), the student will be disqualified from receiving the 125th Anniversary Scholarship. If the scholarship has already been awarded, it will be withdrawn. Please ensure you accurately declare your funding source during enrolment.

Domicile means the country where you are habitually resident. It is not the same as nationality or citizenship.

In this context, being classed as ‘domiciled’ in one of the selected countries means you must be a habitual resident in one of those countries.

• Programmes that are not eligible for the 125th Anniversary Scholarship include those where students defer their start date to September 2026. The scholarship is only available for students starting their studies in September 2025, and deferrals beyond this date will result in ineligibility.
• Programmes delivered exclusively through distance learning are not eligible for this scholarship. It is intended for students attending on-campus programmes in the UK.
• MBA programmes, as well as other postgraduate programmes such as MPhil, MRes, MMus, and MLit, are not eligible for the scholarship. Additionally, PGDip and PGCert programmes do not qualify.
• Undergraduate programmes, including MBChB, MEng, MSci, and MPharm, are also not eligible for this scholarship.
• Students studying at the University of Birmingham's Dubai campus are not eligible for the 125th Anniversary Scholarship. It is only available for students studying at the UK campus.

For the £4,000 125th Anniversary Scholarship, there’s no need to submit a separate application. If you meet the eligibility criteria and have received an offer to study a taught Master’s programme at the University of Birmingham’s UK campus in September 2025, the scholarship will be automatically deducted from your tuition fees. Simply accept your offer and pay the deposit by the deadline in your offer letter to secure your scholarship.

For students domiciled in India who wish to be considered for the 125th Anniversary Scholarship worth up to £5,000, a separate application for the India Chancellor’s Scholarship is required. The application process will open soon—please check the University’s website regularly for updates. Winners of the India Chancellor’s Scholarship will be selected based on academic merit.

Once your deposit is paid and your offer accepted, you will be notified that the scholarship has been applied during the admissions process. The award will also be reflected in your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), which is used for visa application purposes. 

Once you have met all the conditions of your offer, accepted it, and paid your deposit, the Admissions Office will issue your ‘Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies’ (CAS), which you will use to apply for a student visa. You will also receive a scholarship confirmation letter, embedded in an email, that can be printed and submitted as part of your visa application if needed. However, rest assured that as part of the CAS process, the University will make its best efforts to communicate details of your tuition fees and scholarship directly to the UK Visas and Immigration Agency (UKVI). If you’ve already received your CAS, there’s no need for a new one—you can proceed with your visa application as usual.

Once you've completed the steps above, you will be invited to complete your online registration. During this process, you will receive an automatically-generated invoice for your tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year. This invoice will show the full tuition amount without the scholarship applied. As a 125th Anniversary Scholarship recipient, you should manually deduct the £4,000 (or up to £5,000 for those Indian students who have been awarded the higher value scholarship) from the total tuition fee and only pay the net amount.

Please note invoices issued at the outset of the academic year from the Finance Office will always display the full tuition fee amount before any scholarship deductions are applied. However, the Finance Office will ensure the scholarship is reflected in your financial record by October 2025.

If you have already paid your full tuition fee in advance, you can request a refund for the scholarship amount once you've enrolled. Details on the refund process can be found on the University Intranet.

If you wish to check your tuition fee balance, please contact the Finance Office through their online portal.

For any questions related to tuition fee payments, please contact the Finance Office Accounts Receivable Team at: accountsreceivable@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

We recommend applying for your chosen programme as early as possible to ensure eligibility for this scholarship. For details on how to apply, please visit our postgraduate guidance pages.

Once you receive an offer, you must meet the deadlines outlined by the Admissions Office (as stated in your offer letter) to accept the offer and pay the required deposit. This will secure both your place in the Masters programme and the scholarship.

The University reserves the right to withdraw the scholarship offer to new applicants at any time.

Yes, this scholarship can be combined with other University-funded scholarships or discounts unless specified otherwise. However, it cannot be held in conjunction with any scholarship that covers the full tuition fee, whether awarded by the University or an external organisation or sponsor. 

Yes, you are eligible for this scholarship if you receive funding from an external organisation that covers a portion (but not all) of your tuition fees. Additionally, if the external funding is in the form of a loan that you are expected to repay, you are still eligible to receive this scholarship.

However, this scholarship cannot be combined with any other scholarship that covers the full tuition fee, whether provided by the University or an external organisation or sponsor. It can, however, be combined with other University-funded partial scholarships or discounts unless otherwise stated.

No, the scheme is not available to students already enrolled on a Masters-level taught programme.  

No, this scholarship is only available to students studying at the University of Birmingham’s UK campus. Students enrolled at the Dubai campus or on any other Birmingham programmes delivered by partner institutions, and not directly by the University of Birmingham, are not eligible. 

This scholarship is specifically for students classified as overseas for tuition fee purposes and domiciled in one of the eligible countries listed on the main scholarships page, provided they meet the other eligibility criteria. If you are a UK student but are paying international fees and your official domicile is in an eligible country, then yes, you may qualify for the scholarship.

Note that this scholarship is not applicable to students domiciled in the UK. 

Only full-time taught Masters programmes qualify.

No. Courses advertised as solely being delivered as a ‘distance’ or ‘remote learning’ programme are not eligible for this scholarship.

The programme must be solely delivered on the main campus in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Yes, two-year Masters programmes are eligible for the scholarship, provided they meet the other eligibility criteria. The scholarship will be applied to your first year of study only. You will need to ensure that you meet all the conditions outlined for the scholarship when enrolling in the first year of the programme. 

Yes, if you have already applied for a taught Masters programme at the University of Birmingham’s UK campus for the 2025/26 academic year, you are still eligible for the 125th Anniversary Scholarship, provided you meet all the other eligibility criteria. If you are classified as an overseas fee payer and domiciled in one of the eligible countries listed, the scholarship will automatically be applied as a tuition fee discount once you accept your offer and pay your deposit by the deadline outlined in your offer letter. 

For the £4,000 125th Anniversary Scholarship, no separate scholarship application is required. If you meet the eligibility criteria, the scholarship will automatically be deducted from your tuition fees. Simply pay your admission deposit by the deadline stated in your offer letter and accept your offer to study with us.

To be considered for our 125th Anniversary Scholarship worth up to £5,000, which is exclusively for students domiciled in India, eligible students must submit a separate application for the India Chancellor’s Scholarship. This will open soon, so please check our website regularly for updates. Winners will be selected based on academic merit from the shortlist generated through the India Chancellor’s Scholarship applications.

To maintain the scholarship, candidates must complete online registration and be ‘Normally Registered’ by 3 October 2025 (23:59 UK time/GMT+1). Failure to do so will result in the scholarship being withdrawn. Additionally, candidates must either pay their remaining tuition fees for the first year by 1 November 2025 or have set up a payment plan and made the first instalment.

If you have any further questions you can contact our regional officers using the email addresses which can be found within the ‘Meet us’ tab on our country specific webpages.