You’re an EU citizen looking at UK universities, you’ve probably already hit the first problem. The fees you see quoted often aren’t what a UK student pays.
Brexit moved most EU students onto international fee rates instead of home rates, and that single change made scholarships far more important than they used to be.
This guide walks through what changed, where real funding still exists, and how to apply for it. It skips the scholarships you won’t actually qualify for.
Why this got complicated in the first place
Before August 2021, EU, EEA and Swiss students paid the same tuition fees as UK students.
They could also access UK student loans. That changed when the UK left the EU. Since then, universities have classified most new EU students as international students.
That usually means fees several times higher than home rates, and no access to UK government loans. The effect has been significant.
EU enrolment in the UK fell by more than half between 2020/21 and 2023/24, and researchers point to cost as the main driver of that drop.
There’s one important exception worth checking before anything else. If you have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or you’re an Irish citizen, you may still qualify for home fee status and the loans that come with it.
The same applies to a smaller group of UK nationals and their family members living in the EEA or Switzerland who meet specific residency conditions.
If you think you fall into one of these categories, check the detailed eligibility criteria through UKCISA before assuming you’ll pay the international rate.
Getting this wrong costs you either way. Applying for funding you don’t qualify for wastes effort, and missing funding you do qualify for wastes money.
What fee status actually means for your options
| Your situation | Typical fee status | What funding is realistic |
|---|---|---|
| Settled or pre-settled status, or Irish citizen | Home fee status | UK student loans, home-fee scholarships |
| New EU student, no settled status, no protected category | International/overseas fee status | University EU or international scholarships, external grants, GREAT Scholarships |
| Scottish undergraduate study, EU national | International fee status | Same as above (Scotland ended free tuition for EU students in 2021) |
Once you know which row applies to you, stop wasting time on scholarships aimed at a different category. Home-fee bursaries almost always exclude EU applicants on international fee status, no matter how strong the application is.
Where scholarship funding for EU students actually exists
This is the part most guides gloss over. Scholarships exist isn’t useful information. Knowing which categories are worth your time is. Here’s what’s genuinely available right now.
University-specific EU scholarships
A growing number of universities run scholarships that specifically target EU students on international fee status. Most work as a tuition fee discount rather than a cash payment.
Terms vary a lot by institution and change from year to year, so always check the current academic year’s terms rather than last year’s figures.
A few real examples of the kind of award to look for:
- Fixed tuition fee discounts for EU undergraduates, sometimes worth several thousand pounds per year of study
- EU-specific postgraduate scholarships that bring international fees closer to home-fee levels
- Bridging awards that close the gap between home and international fees for students entering on an EU qualification
These awards share a few traits. Universities name them, tie them to a specific academic year, and usually require you to already hold or have applied for a place on the course.
Check your target university’s own funding pages directly rather than relying on a scholarship listing site. Universities update, extend, or discontinue these awards often enough that third-party lists fall out of date quickly.
Universities that regularly offer EU scholarships
A handful of universities have offered EU scholarships regularly enough in recent years to be worth checking first. Terms and amounts still change year to year, so confirm the current figure before assuming last year’s headline still applies:
| University | What they’ve offered recently for EU students |
|---|---|
| University of Essex | A named Undergraduate EU Scholarship: a fixed tuition fee discount per year for eligible EU undergraduates on international fee status |
| University of Stirling | Separate, named EU Undergraduate and EU Postgraduate Scholarships: an automatic tuition fee discount for EU nationals on international fee status |
| University of Kent | General international scholarships (undergraduate and taught postgraduate) open to any overseas fee payer, EU nationals included, plus participation in GREAT Scholarships |
| University of Reading | International scholarships that in some years have included a dedicated award bracket for UK/EU applicants alongside the wider international one |
| University of Sussex | General international scholarships open to overseas fee payers, EU nationals included, alongside subject-specific awards |
| University of East Anglia (UEA) | General international merit scholarships open to overseas fee payers, EU nationals included, plus subject-specific funding in some schools |
Essex and Stirling stand out. Both name their EU scholarships explicitly and structure them for EU applicants rather than folding them into a general international pool.
Kent, Reading, Sussex and UEA are still worth checking, since EU students on international fee status can apply for their general international awards.
You’ll just be competing in a wider pool rather than an EU-specific one. Treat this table as a starting point for research, not a guarantee.
Visit the university’s own scholarships page for the year you’re applying to and confirm the amount, eligibility and deadline yourself.
GREAT Scholarships
The GREAT Scholarships scheme runs as a partnership between the UK government and individual universities. It covers students from a specific list of eligible countries, including several EU nations such as France, Greece, Italy and Spain, alongside a number of non-EU countries.
These typically offer a meaningful contribution, often around £10,000, toward a one-year postgraduate course. Eligibility, deadlines and participating universities vary by country. If your country appears on the list, check it first.
Chevening
Chevening is a fully funded scholarship for one-year master’s study in the UK, funded by the UK government. It isn’t EU-specific, but citizens of a range of European countries qualify if their country appears on Chevening’s list.
Because it covers costs in full rather than offering a partial discount, it’s worth the extra effort a competitive application demands.
Faculty and subject-specific funding
Individual departments, especially in research-heavy subjects, sometimes hold their own funding that doesn’t appear alongside the university’s general international scholarships.
If you’ve identified a specific course or supervisor, email the department directly and ask what funding exists for EU applicants. This is often the funding least likely to turn up in a general search.
A realistic step-by-step approach
- Confirm your fee status first. Contact the university’s admissions team directly and ask explicitly whether you’ll be assessed as home or international fee status for the year you’re applying. Don’t assume based on a friend’s experience or an old webpage; rules and individual circumstances both matter here.
- Check GREAT Scholarships for your country. If your country is on the eligible list, this is usually the most straightforward route to real money.
- Check Chevening if you’re going for a master’s. It’s competitive, but it’s fully funded and worth the application time if you meet the criteria.
- Go directly to your target universities’ EU or international scholarship pages. Don’t rely solely on aggregator sites; university funding changes yearly and aggregators often lag behind.
- Email the department for subject-specific funding, particularly for postgraduate research where funding is often attached to a specific project or supervisor rather than advertised generally.
- Apply early. Universities often allocate EU scholarships on a first-come basis within the intake, so a strong application submitted late can still lose out to a weaker one submitted early.
Common mistakes that cost EU applicants real money
- Assuming home fee status without checking. Some students discover late in the process that they don’t qualify for the fees they budgeted around, which is a difficult position to be in after accepting an offer.
- Applying to generic international scholarships that exclude your country. Some schemes list specific eligible countries; always check the list rather than assuming “international” means “everyone.”
- Missing the connection between course application and scholarship application. Many university EU scholarships require you to already hold or have applied for a place on the course. Leaving the scholarship application until after enrolment can mean missing the window entirely.
- Relying on outdated scholarship listings. University-specific awards for EU students are relatively new since Brexit and change frequently. A listing from two years ago may no longer reflect current terms, amounts or eligibility.
- Not asking the department directly. Subject-specific funding is often the least advertised, and the easiest to miss if you only check the general international scholarships page.
Frequently asked questions
Can EU students still get Student Finance?
Only if you qualify for home fee status. That generally means holding settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, being an Irish citizen, or falling into one of a small number of protected categories tied to residency before the end of 2020.
Most new EU students without one of these statuses can’t access UK government loans and need to fund their studies through scholarships, savings, or their own government’s support schemes.
Do EU students pay international fees?
Most do, since Brexit ended the automatic home fee status EU nationals used to receive.
If you don’t qualify for home fee status through settled status, pre-settled status, or Irish citizenship, universities will typically charge you the same rate as any other international student. That’s usually several times higher than the home fee.
Can EU students get fully funded scholarships?
Yes, but they’re competitive and rarely EU-specific. Chevening is the clearest example of a fully funded route open to eligible European nationals.
University-specific EU scholarships are more common, but most work as a partial fee discount rather than full coverage.
Which UK universities offer scholarships for EU students?
It varies by year, so always check current terms directly with the university. The University of Essex and the University of Stirling have both run named, EU-specific scholarships in recent years.
Other universities, including Kent, Reading, Sussex and UEA, run general international scholarships that EU students on international fee status can apply for.
Can I combine multiple scholarships?
Usually not. Most university scholarships explicitly rule out combining awards from the same institution, and if you qualify for more than one, the university will typically apply whichever is worth more rather than stacking them.
Check the specific terms and conditions of each award rather than assuming they’ll add up.
Can I work while studying in the UK?
Generally yes, subject to the conditions of your student visa. Most visas cap part-time work at a set number of hours per week during term time, with no cap during official holidays.
Check the exact conditions on your own visa, since they can vary. Don’t count on work income to replace a scholarship or loan; treat it as a supplement to your budget, not a way to fund your course fees.
Summary
Scholarships for EU students in the UK are real and worth pursuing, but the landscape has changed enough since Brexit that precision beats hope.
Start by confirming your actual fee status, since that single fact determines which categories of funding are realistic for you. From there, four places hold genuine money:
GREAT Scholarships, Chevening, university-specific EU awards, and department-level funding. Apply early, and check current terms directly with the university rather than trusting a general listing.
Treat the scholarship application with the same seriousness as the course application itself. For many EU students now, it’s the difference between studying in the UK and not being able to afford it at all.