Scholarships, bursaries and discounts for international students

Find details of the scholarships, bursaries and discounts available to international students which can be used together to reduce your tuition fees. 

Scholarships and discounts

We have a range of scholarships, bursaries and discounts available to international students. You can apply for scholarships once you have received an offer from us.

You must be applying for a full-time degree. Applications for postgraduate research, online studies, foundation and pre-sessional language programmes are not eligible for a discount or scholarship.

Read our full terms and conditions

Our scholarships

View our available scholarships for the September 2025 intake. Successful scholarship applicants will be contacted via email to confirm their award.

As part of our commitment to our international student family, we are delighted to offer a range of prestigious tuition scholarships on courses starting in September 2025.

The University of Derby is a TEF Gold institution, and it is important to us that we attract the brightest, most ambitious, and capable students. We want scholars who enhance our community of excellence and who will build their future here in the UK or will be a proud alumni representative of the University around the world.

Subject to conditions outlined below, we can confirm that students will be eligible for the award of a Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship of £2,000, which will be deducted from their first-year tuition fee. This £2,000 scholarship is in addition to our existing Full Payment Discount whereby students who pay their annual tuition fee in full ahead of enrolment benefit from a £1,000 discount.*

Who can apply?

To be eligible students must be:

  • An overseas fee payer
  • Self-financing their tuition fees
  • Entering a UK campus-based full-time taught postgraduate course or a full-time taught undergraduate course
  • Starting in September 2025
  • Studying at the University of Derby for the first time

Students who qualify for the Vice-Chancellor’s scholarship will not be eligible for the International Alumni Discount or any other University financial awards (apart from the Full Payment Discount).

How students will receive their scholarship 

The Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship award will be automatically applied. It will be deducted from the fee amount outstanding, which should be paid in line with university guidance.  

Students who receive an award will still need to:

  • Meet any academic conditions in their offer
  • Have paid their deposit of £8,000
  • Have successfully completed their pre-CAS interview (if appropriate)
  • Have been issued a CAS (if appropriate)
  • Have completed enrolment

Students who pay the full international fee upfront, prior to enrolling, will receive an additional £1,000 fee discount. 

For students wanting to confirm their place and ensure they can satisfy immigration requirements (including their pre-CAS interview) in time to arrive in the country by the start of the course, we strongly recommend that the above steps are completed ASAP.

Need help?

For questions about Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship, please contact our Admissions office on askadmissions@derby.ac.uk.

*For further details on the £2,000 Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship and £1,000 Full Payment Discount visit our Scholarships, Bursaries and Discounts webpage and note that Terms and Conditions apply

In partnership with the British Council and the GREAT British Campaign, this scholarship programme offers financial support of £10,000 to eligible students from India pursuing one year of postgraduate study at the University of Derby, as part of our September 2025 intake.

A separate application is required through an online form once you have received your offer. Applicants must be on one of the following courses:

GREAT Scholarships full details

Full tuition fee and stipend for talented and motivated postgraduate students to studyMSc Intelligence, Security, and Disaster Management from September 2025. Applications open to students from the following Commonwealth countries:

  • Bangladesh

  • Belize

  • Botswana

  • Cameroon

  • Dominica

  • Eswatini

  • Fiji

  • Gabon

  • Ghana

  • Grenada

  • Guyana

  • India

  • Jamaica

  • Kenya

  • Kiribati

  • Lesotho

  • Malawi

  • Malaysia

  • Maldives

  • Mauritius

  • Montserrat

  • Mozambique

  • Namibia

  • Nauru

  • Nigeria

  • Pakistan

  • Papua New Guinea

  • Rwanda

  • Saint Helena

  • Saint Lucia

  • Saint Vincent and The Grenadines

  • Samoa

  • Sierra Leone

  • Solomon Islands

  • South Africa

  • Sri Lanka

  • Tanzania

  • The Gambia

  • Togo

  • Tonga

  • Tuvalu

  • Uganda

  • Vanuatu

  • Zambia


Application deadline is Thursday 12th December at 16:00 GMT.

More information can be found on the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship website.

The Chevening scholarship is a fully-funded scholarship for postgraduate students. This includes tuition fees, accommodation and flights. 

Eligible students will have passion, ideas, and influence to provide the solutions and leadership needed to create a better future. 

Please see the full list of eligible countries on the Chevening website.

A separate application is required through the Chevening website. Please refer to the Chevening website for the application timeline.

Apply on the Chevening website

A student in a lecture theatre

Getting the Vice-Chancellor scholarship has helped me believe in myself and my achievements. I have become more confident and it is a big motivation to work even harder. I am very grateful and really blessed that I got this opportunity.

Mohika Shankar
Dance and Movement Studies and Psychology

Further discounts

We also offer the following discounts to international students in addition to any scholarships received. You do not need to apply separately for these discounts.

If you pay your annual tuition fee in full ahead of enrolment, you will benefit from a £1,000 discount. If full payment is received prior to issuing your CAS, we will adjust the remaining fees that you need to show your financial requirements accordingly. Terms and Conditions apply.

25% alumni discount

The 25% alumni discount is available if you graduated in the academic years 2023/24 or 2024/25 and are fully enrolled on a postgraduate programme by July 2026. 

This offer applies to full-time and part-time campus-based masters programmes and is applicable for students who have graduated from a full-time or part-time undergraduate degree course at the University of Derby. This offer also applies to any graduate wishing to progress onto an online postgraduate programme.*

*Exclusions apply:

  • Postgraduate research courses
  • PGCE courses
  • Corporate learning programmes
  • LBR programmes (learning beyond registration)
  • CPD courses
  • Integrated masters
  • MSc Pre-registration courses
    • MSc Nursing (Adult) Pre-registration
    • MSc Nursing (Mental Health) Pre-registration
    • MSc Diagnostic Radiography Pre-registration
    • MSc Occupational Therapy Pre-registration

10% alumni discount

All other alumni will receive a 10% discount. This is applicable if you graduated before 2023/24 and is not in addition to the 25% discount. 

This offer applies to full-time and part-time campus-based masters programmes and is applicable for students who have graduated from a full-time or part-time undergraduate degree course at the University of Derby.* This offer also applies to any graduate wishing to progress onto an online postgraduate taught programme. 

If you enrol on a PhD or DProf, you will also be eligible for a 10% discount. The discount is fixed, regardless of when you graduated. You can find further information on our postgraduate research fees and funding page.

*Exclusions apply:

  • PGCE courses
  • Corporate learning programmes
  • LBR programmes (learning beyond registration)
  • CPD courses
  • Integrated masters
  • MSc Pre-registration courses
    • MSc Nursing (Adult) Pre-registration
    • MSc Nursing (Mental Health) Pre-registration
    • MSc Diagnostic Radiography Pre-registration
    • MSc Occupational Therapy Pre-registration

How it works

Discounts must be requested at the time of enrolment and will not be automatically applied. You will need to provide your degree certificate when enrolling as evidence that you have studied with us before.

To check whether the discount applies to the course you intend to study, call the Student Records and Awards team on +44 (0)1332 593110 or email studentrecordsandawards@derby.ac.uk.

Sports Scholarships

We also have a number of Sports Scholarships available for which international students can apply.

Find out more about our Sports Scholarships

Mohika's scholarship story

Mohika wanted to lift some of the financial burden of studying abroad, and so applied and was successful in achieving a scholarship at Derby. Here she talks about how grateful she was to receive it.

Mohika Shankar from Delhi

View Mohika's scholarship story video transcript

Mohika Shankar

From Delhi to Derby: Mohika's story

Scholarship recipient Mohika Shankar discusses settling in as an international student and the impact of being awarded the Vice-Chancellor scholarship on her motivation to study.

Read more about Mohika's storyRead more about Mohika's story

Sam's scholarship story

Sam's first-year fees were covered by the Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship, one of a range of scholarships, bursaries and discounts we offer to international students. Here, he shares his experience of receiving the award and what it meant to him.

Sam Chikowore from Zimbabwe with University of Derby Vice-Chancellor Dr Kathryn Mitchell

View Sam's scholarship story video transcript

Smiling student with arms crossed

Being an international student

Moving to the UK was a life-changing experience for Sam Chikowore, who was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s scholarship. Hear about his time as an international student in Derby.

Read Sam's blog about starting university and feeling welcomeRead Sam's blog about starting university and feeling welcome