Scholarships to study in UK
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Indian students have three government-backed UK scholarships and hundreds of university awards. Chevening is fully funded and closes on 6 October 2026 for 2027-28 study; Commonwealth Master's Scholarships pay full tuition, airfare and a £1,712-a-month stipend (£2,000 in London) and close on 20 October; GREAT Scholarships give £10,000 (about ₹12.7 lakh) towards a one-year master's at the 13 institutions Study UK lists for India in 2026-27. University awards for Indian applicants are partial fee discounts of up to £12,500 at Glasgow; some are automatic at offer stage, others are capped and competitive.
How do UK scholarships for Indian students actually work?
UK funding splits into two kinds that behave very differently. Government scholarships (Chevening, Commonwealth, GREAT) are competitive, application-based, have fixed annual deadlines and, in the case of Chevening and Commonwealth, cover everything: tuition, a monthly stipend, flights. They are aimed at people who will return to India and lead in their field, so they weigh work experience and a development case, not just marks.
University scholarships are the money most Indian students actually receive. They are partial fee discounts, worth up to £12,500 at Glasgow, applied to the tuition on your CAS. Some are automatic: Glasgow's £5,000 World Changers Glasgow Scholarship, for example, is awarded to all eligible applicants without a separate form. Others, such as Glasgow's £12,500 India Excellence Award, are capped at a fixed number of awards, so you apply and check the deadline on the university's scholarship page. Because they reduce the fee on the CAS, they also reduce the funds you must show for the visa.
What does not exist: a general UK government "study abroad" grant for Indian students, or scholarships that cover living costs at ordinary universities without a competitive process. Any agent promising a full scholarship for a fee is selling something the official pages do not offer.
UK scholarships for Indian students 2026-27: value, deadline and eligibility
Figures and dates read from the official scholarship pages on 26 September 2026. Chevening and Commonwealth deadlines shown are for study beginning in September or October 2027; GREAT awards listed are for the 2026-27 cycle and reopen for 2027-28, and university award windows are set by each university.
| Scholarship | What it pays | Approx. INR value | Deadline | Key eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevening Scholarship | Fully funded one-year master's: tuition, living, travel | Typically ₹40–60 lakh depending on course and city | Applications opened 4 Aug 2026, close 6 Oct 2026 (11:00 UTC); offer deadline 8 Jul 2027 | Indian citizen; undergraduate degree finished 2+ years before the deadline; 2,800 hours (about 2 years) of work experience; apply to 3 UK courses; return to India for 2 years |
| Commonwealth Master's Scholarship | Full tuition, return airfare, £1,712 a month stipend (£2,000 in London), study travel grant | ≈ ₹2.17 lakh a month stipend; ₹40–55 lakh in total | Closes 16:00 BST, Tuesday 20 October (2026) for 2027-28; outcome by July 2027 | Commonwealth citizen; first degree at 2:1 or above; unable to afford UK study otherwise; course under one of six development themes |
| GREAT Scholarships | £10,000 towards tuition for a one-year taught master's | ≈ ₹12.7 lakh | Set by each university; check the university's GREAT page for the 2027-28 window | Indian passport; offer for an eligible course at one of the 13 institutions Study UK lists for India in 2026-27 (the 60+ universities and 140+ awards are programme-wide across 18 countries) |
| University of Glasgow — World Changers India Excellence Award | £12,500 tuition fee waiver, one year only | ≈ ₹15.9 lakh | Capped (up to 12 awards) for the 2027/28 session; see the Glasgow scholarship page for the window | Indian applicants to a one-year taught master's; not applied automatically |
| University of Glasgow — World Changers Glasgow Scholarship | £5,000 tuition fee discount | ≈ ₹6.35 lakh | Automatic for eligible applicants | Applicants from eligible countries including India; see the Glasgow scholarship page for conditions |
| University of Glasgow — Adam Smith Business School India award | £12,500 tuition fee discount (a separate £25,000 award also listed) | ≈ ₹15.9 lakh / ₹31.8 lakh | See course page for the 2027-28 window | Indian applicants to eligible business school master's |
| University of Glasgow — World Changers Global Excellence (undergraduate) | £10,000 per year (science, engineering, life sciences) or £7,000 per year (arts, social sciences) | ≈ ₹12.7 lakh / ₹8.9 lakh a year | Automatic at offer | International undergraduate applicants; renewable with satisfactory progress |
| Cambridge Judge MBA — University alumni discount | £10,000 off tuition | ≈ ₹12.7 lakh | Automatic | Previous Cambridge degree holders |
Sources: Chevening, Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, Study UK GREAT Scholarships, University of Glasgow and Cambridge Judge pages, read 26 Sep 2026. £1 = ₹127. Chevening publishes what the award includes on its guidance pages; the INR range here is an estimate of tuition plus living costs, not an official figure.
Chevening Scholarships for Indian students: who qualifies and how the timeline runs
Chevening is the UK government's flagship award, run by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office through the British High Commission in India. The official eligibility page is precise, and every criterion is checked.
- Citizenship and return: be an Indian citizen and commit to returning to India for at least two years after the scholarship ends.
- Degree: hold an undergraduate degree that qualifies you for a UK master's, completed at least two years before the application deadline.
- Work experience: at least 2,800 hours acquired after your undergraduate degree, roughly two years of full-time work at 35 hours a week. Part-time work, voluntary work and paid or unpaid internships count; up to fifteen employment periods can be entered and the form multiplies weeks by hours.
- Courses: apply to three different eligible UK master's courses and hold an unconditional offer from at least one by 8 July 2027.
- Exclusions: British citizens (with limited exceptions), anyone who has previously studied in the UK on a UK government-funded scholarship, current UK residents, and employees or close relatives of the UK government, the British Council or partner universities.
- Timeline for 2027-28: applications opened 4 August 2026 and close 6 October 2026 at 11:00 UTC; interviews at the British High Commission run March to April 2027; results are announced from mid-June 2027; scholars start in September or October 2027.
- Selection weighs leadership, networking, the fit between your course and your career plan, and your case for impact in India. Marks matter less than a coherent story backed by experience.
How to apply for UK scholarships from India: a 12-month plan for September 2027
August–October 2026: government scholarships first
Chevening closes 6 October 2026 and Commonwealth Master's on 20 October 2026. Both require essays on leadership and development impact and, for Commonwealth, a course under one of its six themes. Draft early; references take time.
October–December 2026: apply to universities
Chevening needs three course applications and an unconditional offer by 8 July 2027, so apply to universities now. Check each university's India scholarship page and note whether awards are automatic or need a form.
January–March 2027: check university and GREAT deadlines
University international awards and GREAT Scholarships have deadlines set by each university, so confirm the date on each course or scholarship page. GREAT applications go through the participating university, not the British Council.
March–April 2027: Chevening interviews
Interviews are held at British embassies and high commissions. Bring evidence of every work period you declared; the 2,800-hour requirement is verified.
April–June 2027: accept and stack
Confirm which awards can be combined (Glasgow states some discounts cannot be combined with other university scholarships). Accept the offer that leaves the lowest net fee, not the highest headline award.
June–July 2027: CAS and visa funds
Your CAS shows the fee net of scholarship. A scholarship or sponsorship letter counts as evidence of funds, and fully funded scholars need written consent from the sponsor to apply. Hold any remaining funds for 28 days.
Outcomes: Commonwealth by July 2027, Chevening results from mid-June 2027
Neither scheme refunds deposits you paid to universities in the meantime, so budget the deposit as a cost you may recover only if the scholarship pays fees directly.
What a scholarship does to your total cost: four worked examples
Using Glasgow's 2027-28 fee, Teesside's 2026-27 fee and Study UK living costs, here is the net cost after each kind of award for a one-year master's outside London. The GREAT row is an illustration with an assumed £20,000 fee.
| Scenario | Fee | Award | Net fee | Living (12 months) | Net total GBP | Net total INR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSc Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Glasgow, India Excellence Award | £34,815 | £12,500 | £22,315 | £13,200 | £35,515 | ≈ ₹45.1 lakh |
| Illustrative: one-year master's at a GREAT partner university (assumed fee £20,000) | £20,000 | £10,000 | £10,000 | £13,200 | £23,200 | ≈ ₹29.5 lakh |
| Commonwealth Master's Scholar, any eligible course | Paid in full | Tuition + £1,712 a month + airfare | £0 | Covered by stipend | ≈ £0 plus visa fee | Visa fee £558 ≈ ₹71,000 |
| No scholarship, MSc Computer Science, Teesside | £17,000 | £0 | £17,000 | £13,200 | £30,200 | ≈ ₹38.4 lakh |
Fees from University of Glasgow (2027-28) and Teesside University (2026-27) course pages; living costs at £1,100 a month (Study UK midpoint outside London); GREAT value from Study UK; Commonwealth stipend from the CSC page, all read 26 Sep 2026. £1 = ₹127. Visa fee and IHS are additional in every case.
Finding university scholarships for Indian students: where the money is
Every UK university lists its international awards on the course page under "Fees and funding" or "Scholarships", and the pattern is consistent: a country-specific award (India Excellence, South Asia scholarship), a general international excellence discount, subject-specific awards, and alumni or progression discounts for students continuing from a bachelor's. Glasgow's course pages, for example, list a World Changers India Excellence Award of £12,500 (limited awards), a £5,000 World Changers Glasgow Scholarship applied automatically to eligible applicants, and undergraduate World Changers awards of £10,000 or £7,000 a year.
Award sizes vary widely between universities, and a bigger headline discount does not always mean a lower price. The right comparison is the net fee after the award, which is why a £34,815 course with a £12,500 award (net £22,315) still costs more in tuition than a £17,000 course with no award at all.
Two cautions. First, scholarships are usually one year only; a three-year bachelor's award that says "renewable subject to satisfactory progress" means you must hit the stated grade each year. Second, the award appears on your CAS only if it is confirmed before the CAS is issued, so chase the scholarship decision before you ask for the CAS, not after.
Scholarships and the visa: what changes and what does not
Frequently asked questions
Which scholarships can Indian students get to study in the UK?
Three government schemes: Chevening (fully funded, closes 6 October 2026 for 2027-28), Commonwealth Master's Scholarships (full tuition, airfare and £1,712 a month, closes 20 October) and GREAT Scholarships (£10,000 at the 13 institutions Study UK lists for India in 2026-27). Plus university awards for Indian applicants of up to £12,500, such as Glasgow's £12,500 India Excellence Award, which is limited to a fixed number of awards.
What is the Chevening Scholarship deadline for 2027?
Applications for 2027-28 opened on 4 August 2026 and close on 6 October 2026 at 11:00 UTC. Interviews take place from March to April 2027, and you must submit at least one unconditional UK university offer by 8 July 2027. Scholars begin their one-year master's in September or October 2027.
Who is eligible for a Chevening Scholarship from India?
Indian citizens with an undergraduate degree completed at least two years before the deadline, at least 2,800 hours (about two years) of post-degree work experience, applications to three eligible UK master's courses, and a commitment to return to India for two years afterwards. British citizens and past UK-government scholars are excluded.
How much does the Commonwealth Master's Scholarship pay?
Full tuition fees by agreement with the university, approved return airfare from India, a living allowance of £1,712 a month (about ₹2.17 lakh) or £2,000 a month in the London area, plus a study travel grant and child allowance where applicable. Applicants need a 2:1-standard first degree and must show they cannot otherwise afford UK study.
What is the GREAT Scholarship and can Indians apply?
GREAT Scholarships give £10,000 (about ₹12.7 lakh) towards tuition for a one-year taught master's, jointly funded by the UK government's GREAT campaign, the British Council and the university. India is one of 18 eligible countries. For 2026-27 Study UK lists 13 institutions offering GREAT Scholarships to Indian students, including Bristol, Dundee, Kent, Reading, Surrey and Queen's University Belfast; you apply through the university.
Do UK universities give automatic scholarships to Indian students?
Some do. Glasgow, for example, awards its £5,000 World Changers Glasgow Scholarship tuition discount automatically to all eligible applicants, while its £12,500 World Changers India Excellence Award is limited to a fixed number of awards and is not automatic. Check the "Fees and funding" section of each course page and the university's scholarship page for the rule and deadline.
Can I get a 100% scholarship to study in the UK?
Only through fully funded government schemes such as Chevening and Commonwealth, which are competitive and require work experience and a development case. University scholarships are partial, with Glasgow's largest India award at £12,500 off tuition, and never cover living costs at ordinary universities. Treat any paid offer of a full scholarship with suspicion.
Does a scholarship reduce the funds I must show for the UK student visa?
A fee waiver reduces the tuition balance on your CAS, and that lowers the total you must hold for 28 days. The living-cost requirement stays at £1,171 a month outside London or £1,529 in London for 9 months unless an official sponsor covers it, in which case the sponsorship letter is your evidence.
Official sources used on this page
- Chevening — Application timeline — UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · checked 26 September 2026
- Chevening — Eligibility criteria — UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · checked 26 September 2026
- Chevening — Work experience requirement — UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · checked 26 September 2026
- Chevening — Scholarships overview — UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · checked 26 September 2026
- Commonwealth Scholarship Commission — Commonwealth Master's Scholarships — Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK · checked 26 September 2026
- Study UK (British Council) — GREAT Scholarships — British Council · checked 26 September 2026
- University of Glasgow — Data Science & Artificial Intelligence MSc: fees and scholarships 2027-28 — University of Glasgow · checked 26 September 2026
- University of Glasgow — MSc International Business: Adam Smith Business School awards — University of Glasgow · checked 26 September 2026
- University of Glasgow — BSc Computing Science: undergraduate scholarships — University of Glasgow · checked 26 September 2026
- Teesside University — MSc Computer Science: fees 2026-27 — Teesside University · checked 26 September 2026
- Study UK (British Council) — Cost of studying and living in the UK — British Council · checked 26 September 2026
- Study UK (British Council) — GREAT Scholarships for Indian students — British Council · checked 26 September 2026
- Cambridge Judge Business School — MBA fees and funding — University of Cambridge · checked 26 September 2026
- GOV.UK — Student visa: money you need — UK Home Office · checked 26 September 2026
- Wise — GBP to INR mid-market rate — Wise · checked 26 September 2026
Official sources
Visa rules change. Always confirm the latest requirements for United Kingdom on the government portals below before you apply.
- GOV.UK — Student visa — official immigration authority for international students
Last reviewed: September 2026
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