International Finance

Whilst undergraduate tuition fees are capped at £9,250 for UK students, there is no cap on the tuition fees that can be charged to an international student, and most will be unable to access any financial support from the UK Government for their studies. This means that international student tuition fees are usually much higher than home fees, and students must ensure they are able to fully fund their studies and living costs, before they enter the UK. The University will expect you to show that you have the funds available to pay your tuition fees, plus at least £9,135 per academic year for your living costs (in 2020/21).

The University’s information on international student fees is available here. It also provides some information on international student funding, which includes the University’s funding database search and details of its Global Excellence Scholarship. There are also pages with wider information for any new international students joining the University.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs provides some advice and information on funding your studies here.

You might find some of the other information on our advice pages is useful in thinking about your student finance – for example, information on budgeting, making your money go further and the Success for All Fund which aims to provide support to students facing financial hardship.

Finance advice for international students

Our advice team provides advice to all University of Exeter students studying at the Exeter campuses. If you have read these pages and you would still benefit from some advice, please email advice@exeterguild.com or book a drop-in appointment with an adviser. Please note that while our advisers can support students with a range of financial advice, we are not qualified to provide any visa advice and if you require support relating to your visa, you should contact the University’s visa advice team.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs provide some fees and money advice on their website, and also operate an advice line.

Opening a UK bank account

The University has a short advice page on opening a bank account in the UK. This includes a link to the information on how you can download a letter to confirm your student status.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs provides further advice on this topic here.

Finally, Save the Student provides some advice on bank accounts for international students, including some recommended accounts. While we generally find Save the Student to be an excellent resource, we must caution that we don’t know whether they are funded by any commission from the accounts they have recommended.

Paying your tuition fees

When it comes to paying your tuition fees, you can do this via this University webpage. You can find information on payment dates here, and you can access your personal statement from the University here.

The regulations which set out the University’s approach to student finances can be found here.

Working in the UK

Many international students choose to work while they are studying in the UK, both to bolster their financial position and to gain experience. The University provides information on this here, the UK Council for International Student Affairs also provides advice on this page. Finally, if you need to clarify anything about your eligibility to work in the UK, we would encourage you to contact the University’s relevant team – see here.

The University Career Zone can help if you are looking for work in the UK – take a look at their casual jobs pages here.

Facing financial hardship

Like other students, international students are able to apply to the University’s Success for All fund if they are facing financial difficulties. Click here to see our information on this hardship funding.

It is important for us to say that international students can face barriers in accessing some hardship funding, as prior to enrolment they are required to prove they have funds to cover their tuition fees and living costs while studying in the UK.

This means that if you are an international student facing financial hardship, the University may be able to help you only in exceptional circumstances. We would encourage you to contact us for advice if you are an international student needing support with financial hardship – either by emailing advice@exeterguild.com or submit an enquiry.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs also provides some information here for international students facing unexpected financial hardship.

Student Life Knowledgebase