UCL Scholarships for International Students 2026: Undergraduate, Master’s & PhD Funding

University College London (UCL) takes a different approach to international student funding from most elite UK universities, and understanding that approach is the key to funding a UCL degree. Where many institutions concentrate their money on merit prizes, UCL’s two flagship international scholarships — the Global Undergraduate Scholarship and the Global Master’s Scholarship — are awarded primarily on financial need. That single fact changes everything about how you should prepare: the strongest application is not necessarily the one with the highest marks, but the one with clear, well-evidenced financial need from a lower-income background, submitted complete and on time. At PhD level the logic flips back to merit, with the UCL Research Excellence Scholarship offering full fees and a stipend to exceptional doctoral researchers from any country.

This guide covers UCL scholarships for international students in 2026 in full: the undergraduate awards (which include genuinely full-funding packages — full tuition plus maintenance for the top tier), the master’s awards (up to 85 scholarships of £15,000 for 2026/27), doctoral funding through the Research Excellence Scholarship and faculty studentships, and the IOE and departmental awards that sit underneath the central schemes. Every value and deadline below is taken from UCL’s official scholarship pages for the 2026/27 cycle, and where a figure is due to change or be confirmed, this article says so plainly rather than guessing.

For the wider picture — rankings, courses, entry requirements and fees — read our UCL university profile. To place UCL’s need-based model in context, compare it with the broader landscape in our guide to scholarships in the UK and browse the full StudyGraduate scholarships directory. If you are also considering Imperial, our companion guide to Imperial College London funding is linked in the sources discussion below — the two London giants fund international students in almost opposite ways, and applying to both intelligently means writing two very different funding applications.

UCL Scholarships at a Glance

One clarification before the detail, because it corrects a figure that circulates widely: the UCL Global Master’s Scholarship is sometimes quoted online at £10,000. That is out of date for recent cycles. UCL’s official page for 2026/27 states the value clearly as £15,000, and that is the figure used throughout this article. If a website tells you £10,000, it is working from an old cycle — a useful reminder to verify every scholarship figure against the university’s own page in the cycle you are actually applying for.

UCL Global Undergraduate Scholarship

The Global Undergraduate Scholarship exists to enable international students from low-income backgrounds to pursue full-time undergraduate study at UCL. It is, by UK standards, an unusually generous undergraduate scheme: at its top tier it is a genuine full-funding package, and even its standard tier covers the single largest cost of a UCL degree in full.

Value and structure for 2026/27

UCL published up to 33 scholarships for 2026/27, in three tiers:

• 10 awards covering full tuition fees and a maintenance allowance, plus a fixed allowance for additional costs such as the Immigration Health Surcharge and visa fees. UCL stated that the exact amounts of the maintenance and fixed allowances would be confirmed at a later date — so if you are shortlisted, the precise cash value comes from UCL, not from any website, including this one.
• 20 awards covering full tuition fees only.
• 3 awards covering full tuition fees, reserved specifically for students from India.

The scholarship is tenable for the normal duration of your undergraduate programme, which makes the tuition-only tiers extremely valuable over a three- or four-year degree: at typical UCL overseas undergraduate fees, full tuition coverage is worth tens of thousands of pounds per year. Recipients must tell the Student Funding Office before changing programme, and must promptly declare any other funding they receive, so UCL can keep the package coherent.

Eligibility

Candidates can be from any country outside the UK, but must meet all of the following:

• Be eligible to pay the Overseas fee rate;
• Come from a low-income background. UCL generally treats a household income of £42,875 or less as its low-income guide — but it is a guide, not a hard cut-off, and UCL states that applications are still considered if household income exceeds it;
• Have submitted an admission application for a full-time undergraduate degree at UCL for 2026/27.

Note the practical subtlety: you do not need to hold an offer before applying for the scholarship, but your fee status must have been confirmed by UCL Admissions before you can access the scholarship application form through UCL’s applicant system. Fee-status confirmation can happen shortly after you apply or closer to an offer decision. If you reach two weeks before the scholarship deadline and still cannot access the form, UCL’s own guidance is to contact the Student Funding Office immediately — do not simply wait and miss the deadline.

Deadline and results (2026/27 cycle)

The published deadline was 5pm BST on Monday 27 April 2026. Successful candidates were to be notified by 3 June 2026 — deliberately timed to land before the UCAS offer-reply deadline, so scholars know their funding position before they must firm their choice. Shortlisted candidates are contacted in May to provide evidence of financial need. If you are planning for the following cycle, expect the same architecture — a late-April deadline, evidence checks in May, decisions by early June — and confirm the exact dates on UCL’s official page when the new cycle opens.

UCL Global Master’s Scholarship

The UCL Global Master’s Scholarship is the postgraduate counterpart: it enables international students from lower-income backgrounds to pursue full-time master’s study at UCL, and it is one of the largest need-based master’s schemes at any UK university by number of awards.

Value and structure for 2026/27

• Up to 85 scholarships available in 2026/27;
• Five ring-fenced for students from India, and one for a student from Japan (the Japan award forms part of the Musubi Global Master’s Scholarship);
• The value of each bursary is £15,000;
• The scholarship is tenable for one year only, unless your full-time programme lasts two years — in which case it is paid as 50% in each year;
• The award is applied first to your tuition fees; any remainder is paid to you in three equal instalments across the academic year towards maintenance;
• It may be held alongside other scholarships and bursaries, depending on the total value of other funds you receive — and you must inform the Student Funding Office immediately of any other funding you are awarded, before or after the UCL award.

Eligibility

• From any country outside the UK;
• Eligible to pay the Overseas fee rate;
• From a lower-income background (assessed under UCL’s household-income guidance);
• Have submitted a complete admission application — including references — for a full-time master’s degree at UCL in 2026/27;
• Distance-learning programmes are not eligible. You must be coming to the UK to study in person.

The word “complete” does real work in that list. A submitted application with a missing reference is not a complete application, and it will not put you in the scholarship pool. If your referee is slow, that is a scholarship problem, not just an admissions problem — chase references with the scholarship deadline in mind.

Deadline, shortlisting and results (2026/27 cycle)

The published deadline was 5pm BST on Thursday 7 May 2026. Shortlisted candidates were contacted in mid-May to provide evidence of financial need, and successful candidates were typically informed by late June. Selection is on the basis of financial need, on the recommendation of the Student Funding Office. UCL’s graduate funding pages indicate the following cycle’s deadline is expected in early May — plan for that window and confirm the exact date officially.

What £15,000 means against a UCL master’s budget

UCL overseas master’s fees vary widely by programme, and London living costs are the highest in the UK. A £15,000 award will cover a large share of fees on lower-fee programmes and a meaningful minority on high-fee ones; any balance after fees reaches you as maintenance instalments. It is substantial, competitive, partial funding — design your budget around the remainder from the start, and read UCL’s own funding your master’s guidance for the full menu of loans, awards and faculty schemes that can sit alongside it.

PhD Funding: UCL Research Excellence Scholarship and Faculty Studentships

Doctoral funding at UCL is merit-based and highly competitive, and its centrepiece is the UCL Research Excellence Scholarship (UCL-RES). UCL’s faculty pages describe 40 studentships made available across UCL for 2026/27, open to exceptional students from any country.

What UCL-RES covers

• Full tuition fees, at either the Home or Overseas rate;
• A maintenance stipend for the research portion of the programme, which increases each year with inflation. The published rate for 2025/26 was £22,780 for full-time study (pro-rated part-time); the 2026/27 rate was listed as to be confirmed — check the UCL-RES page for the current figure rather than relying on any secondary source;
• Research costs of up to £1,200 per year;
• Duration: the standard length of the research portion — normally 3 years full-time for an MPhil/PhD or EngD (5 years part-time), or up to 4 years on integrated doctoral programmes. Funding does not cover the writing-up (CRS) period.

Eligibility

• Prospective students beginning an eligible full-time or part-time MPhil/PhD or EngD on or after 1 October 2026 for the 2026/27 cycle — students who started earlier are not eligible;
• Hold, or expect to achieve, at least an upper second-class (2:1) UK bachelor’s degree or equivalent;
• Any nationality; both Home and Overseas fee status qualify;
• Distance learning, non-resident PhDs and professional doctorates (such as DClinPsy, DDent, DEdPsy, DOrth and DPsychotherapy) are not eligible;
• Financial need is not considered — selection is on academic merit, research potential and fit with available supervision.

UCL’s faculty funding pages note that applications for 2026 entry typically ran from November to January and were closed for 2026 by the time later applicants looked — the standing lesson for doctoral applicants is that UCL research funding is a winter competition, not a spring one. Alongside UCL-RES, faculties list their own studentships — for example, UCL’s Engineering pages describe the UCL EPSRC Landscape Award studentships (50 made available for 2026/27 across relevant disciplines, covering fees, stipend and a research training support grant) — all catalogued on UCL’s postgraduate research scholarships pages and in the Scholarships Finder.

IOE and Departmental Awards

Underneath the central schemes sits a long tail of faculty, departmental and institute awards. The IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, is a good example: as one of the world’s leading education faculties it attracts dedicated scholarships and bursaries for education master’s and doctoral students, alongside UCL’s central schemes — but the specific awards, values and deadlines are set per cycle and are administered through UCL’s funding pages rather than as permanent named fixtures. The same is true across UCL’s faculties: laws, engineering, population health, social and historical sciences and others all run awards whose availability changes yearly.

The only reliable method is UCL’s Scholarships Finder: filter by your level, fee status, country and department, and work through every award it returns. Applicants routinely miss departmental money because they stop at the two famous central schemes. If your department has a postgraduate funding page, read it as carefully as the central one — and if you are a prospective PhD student, ask your potential supervisor directly what funding routes their department is running this cycle, because supervisors usually know about studentships before they are widely advertised.

External Funding Tenable at UCL

UCL students also hold the major national and international awards. Chevening Scholars study one-year master’s degrees at UCL every year; Commonwealth Scholarships support master’s and PhD students from eligible Commonwealth countries; and UCL participates in country partnership schemes and loan-scholarship arrangements for specific nationalities, which surface through the Scholarships Finder and UCL’s country pages. These schemes have their own calendars — generally earlier than UCL’s — and their own definitions of merit and need. Treat them as parallel applications, and remember UCL’s disclosure rule: if you win external funding and a UCL award, you must inform the Student Funding Office, and your UCL award may be adjusted depending on the total package.

Benefits Summary: Comparing the Main UCL Awards

How to Apply for UCL Scholarships: Step by Step

1. Apply for admission first — and completely. Undergraduate applications go through UCAS; master’s and PhD applications through UCL’s applicant portal. For the Global Master’s Scholarship your application must be complete, including references, by the scholarship deadline.
2. Get your fee status confirmed. For the undergraduate scheme, the scholarship form unlocks once UCL Admissions has confirmed your Overseas fee status. If it has not happened within a reasonable time, contact UCL — do not wait passively.
3. Access the funding section of your applicant account. UCL’s undergraduate instructions route you through your application record to the funding pages, where eligible funds appear under “Funds Available” — select the scholarship and apply.
4. Complete the needs assessment honestly and precisely. For the Global schemes, the substance of your application is your household financial position. Follow UCL’s household-income guidance exactly, and be ready to evidence every figure.
5. Respond fast if shortlisted. Shortlisted Global Master’s candidates are contacted in mid-May and undergraduate shortlists in May to provide financial evidence. Slow or incomplete evidence loses awards that strong applications won.
6. For PhD funding, apply in the winter window. Submit your research application and the relevant scholarship paperwork in the November–January period, with a supervisor already engaged.
7. Declare other funding. If you hold or later win other awards, inform the Student Funding Office as UCL’s rules require.
8. Watch your email and applicant portal through June. Undergraduate results were published by 3 June 2026 and master’s results typically by late June in the 2026/27 cycle.

Required Documents

• Your complete UCL admission application, including references (the admission file is the foundation of every scholarship application);
• Academic transcripts and certificates, with translations where required;
• Evidence of household income and financial circumstances for the Global schemes — requested in detail from shortlisted candidates, and likely to include income documents for the household as defined in UCL’s guidance;
• For UCL-RES: the research scholarships paperwork your faculty specifies, your CV, a concise research proposal and transcripts;
• Passport and fee-status documentation as requested;
• English language evidence meeting your programme’s requirement, where applicable.

Prepare the financial evidence before you are shortlisted. The gap between shortlist notification and the evidence deadline is short, and families often need time to gather income records, employer letters or tax documents — especially where income is earned across more than one country or currency.

Deadlines and Timeline (2026/27 Cycle)

Selection Tips: How to Improve Your Chances

For the Global schemes, evidence is the application. Panels are comparing demonstrated need, not essays about ambition. Make your household’s financial position legible: complete documents, consistent figures, and explanations for anything unusual (a parent’s irregular income, a sibling’s fees, a currency movement). Inconsistencies between your admission file, your scholarship form and your evidence are the fastest route to rejection.

Do not self-exclude on the income guide. UCL explicitly says the £42,875 household-income figure for the undergraduate scheme is a guide and that applications above it are still considered. If your need is genuine and your circumstances are more complex than a single salary figure, apply and explain.

Completeness beats lateness everywhere. A complete master’s application — references included — submitted weeks before 7 May is in the pool; a brilliant one completed on 8 May is not. Diarise the scholarship deadline, then work backwards to a personal deadline for your references that is at least a fortnight earlier.

For UCL-RES, think like a panel. Forty awards across the whole of UCL means your application competes against every discipline. Panels reward a sharply defined project, clear feasibility, an excellent methods fit with the supervisor and department, and references that evidence research potential rather than coursework competence alone.

Use the Finder, not fame. The two Global schemes and UCL-RES are the famous awards, but departmental and IOE awards have far smaller applicant pools. An hour in the Scholarships Finder is the highest-value hour in a UCL funding plan.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Quoting or expecting the old £10,000 master’s figure. The Global Master’s Scholarship is £15,000 for 2026/27. Budget with the official current figure.
• Submitting an incomplete master’s application. Missing references mean you are not in the scholarship pool, however early you pressed submit on the main form.
• Applying for a distance-learning programme. The Global Master’s Scholarship excludes distance learning outright.
• Waiting for fee-status confirmation without chasing it. Undergraduate applicants who cannot access the form two weeks before the deadline are told by UCL to contact the Student Funding Office — follow that instruction.
• Missing the winter PhD window. UCL-RES and faculty studentships are typically decided from November–January applications. A March enquiry is a year early for the next cycle, not late for this one — plan accordingly.
• Hiding other funding. UCL requires disclosure and may adjust your award. Non-disclosure risks the award itself.
• Changing programme without telling the Student Funding Office. Undergraduate scholars must notify the SFO before any programme change to keep the award valid.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the UCL Global Master’s Scholarship worth?

£15,000 for one year, per UCL’s official 2026/27 page — not £10,000 as some older listings state. Up to 85 awards were available, with five ring-fenced for students from India and one for a student from Japan. The award is applied to tuition fees first, with any remainder paid in three instalments towards maintenance.

Are UCL’s Global scholarships based on grades or financial need?

Financial need. Both the Global Undergraduate and Global Master’s Scholarships are awarded on the basis of financial need, on the recommendation of the Student Funding Office. You still need to meet UCL’s admission requirements for your programme, but among admissible applicants, demonstrated lower-income background is the deciding factor.

Does the UCL Global Undergraduate Scholarship cover living costs?

Only the top tier does. Of the up to 33 awards for 2026/27, 10 covered full tuition fees plus a maintenance allowance and a fixed allowance for costs such as the Immigration Health Surcharge and visa fees. The other awards — 20 general and 3 reserved for students from India — cover full tuition fees only.

What household income counts as “low income” for UCL scholarships?

For the undergraduate scheme, UCL generally considers a household income of £42,875 or less as low income, but states this is a guide: applications from households above that figure are still considered. UCL publishes guidance on how it defines household income; follow that guidance when you apply and be ready to evidence your figures if shortlisted.

Can I apply for the Global Master’s Scholarship before receiving my UCL offer?

You need to have submitted a complete admission application — including references — for a full-time master’s at UCL for the relevant year. The scholarship process runs from that application; shortlisted candidates are contacted after the deadline to evidence financial need, and results typically follow by late June.

How competitive is the UCL Research Excellence Scholarship?

Extremely. There were 40 studentships across the whole of UCL for 2026/27, open to applicants of any nationality with at least a 2:1 or equivalent. It covers full fees, a stipend (£22,780 in 2025/26, with the 2026/27 rate to be confirmed on UCL’s page) and up to £1,200 per year in research costs, for the research portion of the degree — normally three years full-time.

Can I hold a UCL scholarship together with Chevening or another award?

UCL Global awards may be held alongside other scholarships depending on the total value of funds you receive, but you must inform the Student Funding Office immediately of any other funding, and UCL may adjust its award. Some external schemes have their own rules against double funding — check both sides before accepting.

Are there scholarships at UCL for education students?

Yes — the IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, sits within the same funding system: its students are eligible for the central Global schemes where the criteria fit, and education-specific bursaries and studentships are listed through UCL’s Scholarships Finder and faculty funding pages each cycle. Because these awards change yearly, check the Finder with an education filter rather than relying on named lists from previous years.

Sources & Verification

Verified against the following official sources at the time of writing (October 2026):

• UCL — UCL Global Master’s Scholarship: £15,000 value, up to 85 awards, eligibility, 7 May 2026 deadline, shortlisting and results process.
• UCL — Global Undergraduate Scholarship (official scholarship listing, as published for 2026/27): up to 33 awards in the 10/20/3 structure, low-income guide of £42,875, 27 April 2026 deadline, results by 3 June 2026.
• UCL — Funding your Master’s and faculty postgraduate research scholarships pages: 85 Global Master’s awards context, UCL-RES 40 studentships, fees/stipend/research-costs structure and the November–January application pattern; stipend £22,780 for 2025/26 with the 2026/27 rate to be confirmed, as reported from UCL’s published UCL-RES details.
• UCL — Scholarships Finder and Student Funding Office guidance on fee-status confirmation and evidence of financial need.

Disclaimer: Scholarship details, amounts and deadlines change every cycle. Always confirm the current figures, eligibility and deadlines on UCL’s official website before applying. StudyGraduate is an information portal, not an agency or a representative of UCL, and cannot guarantee admission, scholarship selection or visa approval.