Studying in the United Kingdom can be expensive, especially for international students from Nigeria where the exchange rate is high. Also, the application fees charged by most of these foreign universities can be unwelcoming. For example, as seen on most universities’ websites, it costs around £70 to apply to UK universities while those in EU countries charge around €60. The high application fees make it expensive to apply to different universities at once.
And to make matters worse, these application fees are non-refundable. Luckily, some institutions waive their application fees, especially for postgraduate studies, thus giving special consideration to those from developing countries.
Below are some of the UK universities that have application fee waivers. This list was compiled using information obtained from the universities’ websites.
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge, which is the fourth oldest university in the United Kingdom, is one of the top universities in the world. Some of the brightest minds in the world have attended this school. And it is not surprising that the acceptance rate is usually around 21%, making it quite difficult to get into.
Therefore, an application fee waiver is a welcome development, as it helps applicants to avoid paying non-refundable application fees.
The university has made efforts to widen access for postgraduate students both across the region and internationally. However, the school’s application fee waivers are only given to students who meet specific requirements such as:
- UK applicants from low-income households
- Applicants with asylum seeker or refugee or humanitarian protection status
- Overseas applicants from any of the following countries, of which Nigeria is not among unfortunately
- An applicant from any country applying to the Postgraduate School of Life Sciences- MPhil in Biological Sciences or Genetics by theses, MPhil in Basic and Translational Neuroscience
Find details here.
University of Oxford
Similar to the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford is a very prestigious UK university. It was ranked number 1 in the Times Higher Education World University rankings in 2022. The rate of acceptance is 17% and application fee waivers of £75 are available for postgraduate applicants from:
- Low-income countries
- Refugees and displaced persons
- UK applicants from low-income backgrounds
- Graduate Access Programme applicants
- Those applying for readmission (for current Oxford postgraduate students)
- Those applying to related research courses
Check here for details on application fee waivers.
University of Glasgow, UK
The University of Glasgow, founded in 1451, is the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world. The University of Glasgow, located in Scotland’s largest city, is one of the world’s top 100 universities, with 26,000 students from over 120 different countries enrolled.
At the University of Glasgow, some postgraduate programs require an application fee while others do not. The courses that require application fees are listed here.
An application fee may be waived for sponsored applicants when submitting an online application. However, if the student is self-funded and the sponsorship status changes before the student register with the university, the university will send the student an invoice for the initial application price.
Find details here
Lancaster university
Lancaster university ranks 1st in Northern England, 8th in England and 11th in the UK compared to other universities.
There is no application fee for postgraduate research applications, although you will need to pay a deposit for some courses to accept your offer and secure admission.
More details here
