Universities charge fees for all their postgraduate programmes to cover the cost of tuition and the use of the university’s study facilities, such as the library or the IT network. The fees are decided by each university, but most are close to the recommended figures that are published each year by the government.
The fees vary between programmes, so that, for example, science-based programmes that include a significant amount of laboratory work will be more expensive than classroom-based subjects. Typical fees for 2007/08 are shown below. Remember that you will have to pay these fees for each year of study – so for a typical Doctoral programme you will need to pay this amount three times.
Typical ‘Overseas’ postgraduate fees for 2007/08
• Postgraduate taught degree £7,500–13,100
• Postgraduate research degree £7,300–12,900
• Clinical £11,400–27,400
• MBA £8,500–20,400
(Source: Universities UK: International Student Fee Survey 2007)
Note that these rates may depend on other factors and should only be regarded as a broad guide. To find out the exact fees for a particular programme you will need to check in the university’s prospectus or on its website. When you look up this information be sure to find the fees for international students. The UK government contributes to the total fee costs of students from the UK and students from the European Union (EU) through direct funding by the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFC). As a result, the fees charged to UK students (or ‘home students’ as they are usually called) and students from the EU are less than for other students. An important issue for every international student, therefore, is to be clear about their own fee status. Most students from outside the EU will fall into the category of ‘overseas’ fees as they will not be eligible for the lower ‘home/EU’ fees status. To qualify to pay home fees as an international student you will need to fall into one of the following categories:
If you have been permanently resident in the UK for at least three years.
• If you have been granted refugee status by the UK government.
• If you have applied for asylum in the UK.
If you are not sure of your fee status then you will need to check this with each university you will be applying to, as the final decision rests with the university.
The fees that are charged will cover the cost of tuition and supervision. However, in some subject disciplines, particularly in science, engineering, medicine or the creative arts, you may be charged an additional fee known as a bench fee, to cover the cost of materials you may use in your work. You should check whether your university will charge a bench fee for your subject, and if so how much. If they do charge, it is likely to be between £200 and £1,000, so you will need to budget for this.
There are many different ways of paying your fees, and you will need to check the system used by the universities you are thinking of applying to. The list below is of some of the most common ways of paying – but these are not all available at each university, so do check!
• Payment of a deposit. Some universities may ask you to pay a small proportion of the total fees when you accept their offer of a place on the programme. This is usually between £100 and £500, and may not be refundable if you do not finally register for the programme.
• A single payment. This means that you pay the whole of your annual fees in a single payment, usually close to the start of the academic year in October or November.
• Two or three payments. Some universities ask you to pay your fees in two or three instalments, usually either at the start of each term (October, January, April) or at the start of each semester (October, February).
• Monthly payments. An increasing number of universities will allow you to pay your fees monthly, usually through eight to ten monthly payments each year.
With multiple payments, most universities will ask you to complete a bank instruction to make the payments (by Standing Order or Direct Debit) at the right times. Some universities will allow you to pay using a credit card, but in this case may charge you a small fee for this. Equally, some may give you a small discount (typically 1–2%) if you pay your fees in a single payment at the start of the year.
To avoid bringing large sums of money to the UK to pay your fees you might prefer to arrange to pay your fees in advance by direct bank transfer from your own bank in your own country. The university will be able to provide details of how to do this. Alternatively, you could arrange to bring a cheque or banker’s draft with you, payable to your university.
