Birmingham Masters Scholarship

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

• Domiciled in the UK — 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 and not in receipt of the AI and Data Science Scholarship;
• Not already registered on a postgraduate programme — applicants must not currently be enrolled on a postgraduate degree course;
• Undertaking a Masters course in an eligible subject

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 Masters degrees, ineligible courses include:

• MA/MSc by Research
• MRes (combined taught and research)
• Integrated Masters degrees (such as MSci/MEng)
• Postgraduate Diplomas (PGDip)
• Postgraduate Certificates (PGCert)
• Postgraduate Research programmes (such as PhDs)
• All top-up programmes (eg, MSc Physician Associate Studies)

To be considered for an award, applicants must, by the deadline, have done both of the following:

• Made an application to their intended Masters programme. Please apply through the relevant programme page on the Course finder section of the University of Birmingham website. This must include all of the relevant supporting documentation: references, transcripts if available, and English language certification if applicable.
• Completed the Birmingham Masters Scholarships application form.

You should enter the application ID number that you were given during the application to your Masters programme.

• The deadline for round one closed 23:59 (UK time) on 30 April 2024.
• The deadline for round two is 23:59 (UK time) on 31 July 2024.

If you are made a reserve within round one, your application will automatically be carried over into round two. You do not need to re-apply.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 £2,000 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 £2,000 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 £2,000 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.

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.

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, such as the Postgraduate Access Scholarship and the Postgraduate Progression Award. However, 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. For example, the AI and Data Science Scholarship cannot be held in conjunction with any other scholarship, such as 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.