Organising your money

Studying at Westminster is a long-term investment in your future, but you still need to manage your money while you are here. It’s vital that you organise your finances in advance, and that your budget includes enough money to cover your tuition fees as well as your living costs. It’s also important that all your funding is in place before you arrive in the UK, as once you have left your home country it is very difficult to arrange financial support, and you cannot expect to organise additional funding from the UK. The UK immigration authorities will not normally give you permission to enter the country, or extend your existing visa, unless you can show that you can cover your study costs.

Student loans/grants

Most international students pay their fees themselves, or with help from friends and family or through a bank loan. International students are not normally eligible for UK-based student loans or grants. For more advice on eligibility for UK/EU-based funding, please visit ukcisa.org.uk

You can approach both private and government-backed organisations in your home country for funding or loan schemes. Information about these can sometimes be found on government education sites, or at your nearest British Council office (please visit www.britishcouncil.org/new/about-us/who-we-are/our-locations-around-the-world)

US Federal Loans

US students interested in applying for Federal Student Aid should visit www.wmin.ac.uk/page-13995

The School Code for the University of Westminster is 021951/00.

Externally funded scholarships

There are a number of scholarship opportunities for international students. Most of these are for studying at postgraduate level and are highly competitive. The application deadlines are usually a long time before the start of the academic year, so you need to find out about scholarships as early as possible.

For more information about scholarships and other sources of funding for your studies we recommend the following websites:

www.britishcouncil.org/learning-funding-your-studies.htm
– for information on the main UK Government scholarship schemes

educationuk.org/scholarships – the search facility for scholarships and awards

prospects.ac.uk – details of postgraduate opportunities, including funding.

University of Westminster Scholarships

The University of Westminster has the most generous scholarship scheme for international students of any British university. These scholarships are normally awarded on the basis of three criteria: academic excellence, development potential, and financial need. For more information visit westminster.ac.uk/scholarships

You must have an offer of a place at the University before you can apply. The application deadlines are:

• for October start courses – 31 May
• for January start courses – 1 November

You will find out if your application is successful about one month after the deadline. These are highly competitive scholarships and we receive many more applications than we can fund, so you should also prepare other ways to fund your studies.

Cost of living

The cost of living will vary according to your lifestyle, but it’s important that you consider the overall cost of studying in the UK, not only tuition fees. We recommend that your budget for accommodation, bills, books, entertainment, food and travel should be approximately £850-£900 per month.

Tuition fees

Foundation year*: £9,830

Undergraduate fees*: £10,125 per year

Postgraduate fees*: £10,400, £12,375 and £14,300, £17,420 for MBA

Research fees*: £10,100 per year.

* Fees indicated are for each taught year of your course and will change yearly.

Payment methods

You will need to pay your tuition fees on enrolment or before the start of the academic year. You can pay by a range of methods including cheque, credit/debit card (Visa/MasterCard/Access/Switch/Delta), postal order, bankers draft, or bank transfer directly from an overseas bank account (usually at a charge of £10-£15). In some cases you may also be able to pay in cash on enrolment day, but please ensure you get a receipt for all cash payments.

Discounts and instalment plans

A five per cent discount is offered if your fees for the academic year are paid in full by mid-October 2010 for October starters, or by 31 January 2011 for January starters. This discount applies to all students whose total fees are over £5,000; it does not, however, apply to cheque payments.

Instalment arrangements are available to international students taking full degrees.

October starters – at enrolment you will need to pay 50 per cent of the fee (minus any deposit already paid), a further 25 per cent by 1 December and the balance by 31 January.

January starters – at enrolment you will need to pay 50 per cent of the fee (minus any deposit paid), a further 25 per cent by 31 March and the balance by 30 April.

Deposits

If you receive an unconditional offer for a full-time postgraduate course and you are liable for the overseas fees rate, you will need to pay a deposit of £2,500 to the University of Westminster. Once we have received and processed the deposit, you will receive the letter supporting your visa application. If your visa application is rejected, the deposit is refundable where supported by original documentary evidence.

Full details about the deposit, how you can pay it and our refunds policy are included (where relevant) with the initial offer letter from the University. While undergraduate students do not need to make a deposit payment, they are encouraged to make a voluntary fees payment in advance by UK Visa Offices.

Visas

If you are coming on a course of six months or longer, it is compulsory to obtain a Tier 4 General Student Visa from your home country before travelling to the UK to study. Please check the requirements for a student visa and information on how to apply by visiting out immigration and visas page.

If you are coming on a course of less than six months, you may be able to apply for a Student Visitor visa. This visa is much more restrictive than a Tier 4 visa.

Visa rules change frequently and often with very little notice. Please check the UK Visas website ukvisas.gov.uk/en for full information.

Working in the UK during your course

Working part-time during your studies can provide much-needed extra income, as well as valuable work experience and skills development. But when you plan your finances you should not include any earnings from part-time work, as they will not be enough to cover your costs, and they will not be taken into account in the visa application.

The regulations regarding work permission are complex and the information given here is for general guidance only. If you are in the UK on a student visa you will normally have the right to work 20 hours per week during the semester and full-time during the holidays. However, all full-time students should be aware that working more than 15 hours per week could jeopardise your ability to complete your course. For more information visit ukcisa.org.uk

Working in the UK after your course

When you have successfully completed your course you may be able to apply for a Post-Study Work visa which will allow you to work in the UK for two years. Again, for more information visit ukcisa.org.uk