Scholarships at University of Sheffield

We are delighted to offer 3 Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust masters scholarships for eligible overseas fee-paying students starting their studies in September 2026.

The University of Sheffield has a strong commitment to international development. One of the themes of our strategy is ‘celebrating, promoting and increasing the volume of the work that we do to improve the lives of others through our international relationships, locally and abroad’.

Building on this commitment, the University, in collaboration with the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust and the Sheffield Institute for International Development, is able to offer scholarships for international students from developing countries for a number of courses that are affiliated with the Sheffield Institute for International Development.

There are three scholarships available in 2026 to academically strong individuals from developing countries. Each scholarship offers the following:

• A full tuition fee waiver

• A £12,500 maintenance stipend 

Eligibility criteria for 2026

• To be eligible to apply, you must hold an offer for one of the following courses to study at the University of Sheffield in the 2026-27 academic year by Friday 8th May 2026:

  • International Development MSc

  • International Law and Global Justice LLM (a selected pathway of the Sheffield LLM course)

  • International Political Economy MA

  • Global Journalism MA

  • International Public and Political Communication MA

• You must be classified as overseas for tuition fee purposes.

• You must not already hold a qualification that is of an equivalent or higher level to the course you are applying for.

• You must not have previously studied outside of your country of residence.

• You must be self-funded to receive this award, ie not funded by a research council, government, private enterprise, charity or any similar organisation.

• This scholarship cannot be awarded in conjunction with any other funding awards, either from the University of Sheffield or external sources.

• Your mode of attendance must be full-time.

• You must begin your studies at the University of Sheffield in 2026. This scholarship cannot be deferred.

• Receipt of the scholarship is subject to successfully meeting any condition(s) attached to your offer before the deadline provided by the Admissions Service.

• Receipt of the scholarship is subject to successfully receiving a visa to study at the University in September 2026.

• You must be permanently domiciled in one of the countries or territories listed below. These are countries that are classified as low or lower middle income countries by the World Bank in 2025.

• Successful applicants will be asked to accept their course offer and evidence their visa application by set dates. These dates will be confirmed as part of the award notification. 

We're offering scholarships worth £3,000 to overseas fee-paying students starting their studies in September 2026. The scholarship will be awarded automatically as a tuition fee discount to eligible students with no additional application required.

Eligibility

• You must commence your studies of a postgraduate taught degree at the University of Sheffield in September 2026.

• All courses are eligible, with the exception of those listed below.

• You must accept your offer from the University of Sheffield before 4.00pm (UK time) on Tuesday 7 July 2026.

We are offering scholarships of £2,500 for each year (subject to a 60% average) of your undergraduate degree. The maximum value is £10,000 for four year programmes.

Eligibility

• You must commence your studies of an undergraduate degree at the University of Sheffield in September 2026. All undergraduate degree courses are included except for Medicine (A100/A101) and Dentistry (A200).

• You must choose the University of Sheffield as your firm or insurance choice before 4pm (UK time) on 3 June 2026.

Further information 

• The scholarship is applicable to each subsequent academic year of study, subject to achieving 60% (wmg) or above and achieving a minimum of 120 credits in the previous academic year. The scholarship is not applicable to any compulsory or optional years in industry, work placements or year abroad.

• You must enter a degree programme at the University of Sheffield in year 1. If you are entering in year 2 or year 3, you would be eligible for this scholarship, providing you are not receiving a scholarship/award as part of a collaborative programme with your home institution.

• The scholarship will be awarded automatically if you choose the University of Sheffield as your firm or insurance choice before 4.00pm (UK time) on 3 June 2026 - no additional scholarship application is required in the first or any subsequent years.

• The scholarship cannot be awarded in conjunction with any other scholarship or discount offered by the University unless explicitly stated.

• The scholarship cannot be awarded in conjunction with any funding (full or partial) from an external sponsor**, excluding a loan, which has to be paid back in full. If you are receiving a loan (which has to be paid back in full) from an organisation to which we offer a discount, you are not able to combine this scholarship with the discount - the most valuable award will take precedence.

• Students who are studying at the University on a non-USIC Foundation year are not eligible for this scholarship.

• The scholarship will take the form of a tuition fee reduction only.

• You must be self-funded and classified as overseas for tuition fee purposes.

• You must not be a sponsored student*.

• The scholarships are for full-time students only. Students studying online or via distance learning are not eligible for a scholarship.

• For scholarship purposes all MArch programmes are considered as postgraduate taught programmes and are not eligible for this or any undergraduate scholarships.

• This scholarship cannot be deferred to a future year of entry. If you decide to defer entry to another year you forfeit this award.

• It is your responsibility to ensure you receive any funding you are eligible for. Funding cannot be backdated to previous years regardless of eligibility.

* A sponsored student is defined as being an individual in receipt of a total sum of funds from either the University or an external organisation** that matches or exceeds the original tuition fee required by the University.

** Government or governmental organisation – international, national or regional; research council; charity; private enterprise; or any similar organisation.

We're offering a scholarship worth up to £17,500 for the duration of your course to overseas fee-paying students joining the University from the NCUK Sino-British College in September 2026.

This is a competitive award applied as a tuition fee discount of £10,000 in the first year of study and £2,500 in each subsequent year subject to meeting progression criteria. 

Eligibility

• You must commence your studies of an undergraduate degree at the University of Sheffield in September 2026 from NCUK International Foundation Year or International Year One at Sino-British College  You must choose the University of Sheffield as your firm or insurance choice before 1pm (UK time) on Thursday 30 April 2026.
• You must be currently studying at the NCUK Sino-British College at the point of application.

The deadline to apply is 1pm (UK time) Thursday 30 April 2026. 

The University of Sheffield offers Sanctuary Scholarships for those who have sought asylum in the UK, for example students who have been displaced or affected by a conflict in their home country, or have another reason for their forced migration to the UK.

Award

The five fully-funded Sanctuary Scholarships for 2026 entry cover the cost of tuition and provide a £10,300 award to support living costs for each year of study.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the scholarship, you are required to meet the criteria below:

• You have been granted humanitarian protection or limited leave to remain in the UK; or be a dependant or partner of someone with humanitarian protection or limited leave to remain; or you or your parent/guardian or partner are an asylum seeker and have submitted a claim within the UK for refugee status and have not yet received a decision from the Home Office on that application.

• You have applied for asylum on arrival in the UK, and before you have applied for a place at university.

• You currently attend a school, college or community/voluntary group that will provide a reference in support of your application.

• You hold an offer from the University of Sheffield to study an undergraduate or postgraduate taught course starting in September 2026. 

• You do not hold a qualification equal to or higher than the one you are applying.

• You are ineligible for other University scholarships, for example, Access to Sheffield Scholarships or a University bursary for undergraduate studies.

• You are not eligible to receive support from a UK funding agency, for example, Student Finance England.

We're offering a scholarship worth up to £17,500 for the duration of your course to overseas fee-paying students joining the University from the English Schools Foundation organisation in September 2026.

This is a competitive award applied as a tuition fee discount of £10,000 in the first year of study and £2,500 in each subsequent year subject to meeting progression criteria. 

Eligibility

• You must commence your studies of an undergraduate degree at the University of Sheffield in September 2026. All undergraduate degree courses are included except for Medicine (A100/A101) and Dentistry (A200).

• You must choose the University of Sheffield as your firm or insurance choice before 4.00pm (UK time) on Wednesday 3 June 2026.

• You must be currently studying an English Schools Foundation programme at the point of application.

The deadline to apply is 1pm (UK time) on Friday 24 April 2026. 

We're offering a scholarship worth up to £17,500 for the duration of your course to overseas fee-paying students joining the University from an NCUK International Foundation Year in September 2026.

This is a competitive award applied as a tuition fee discount of £10,000 in the first year of study and £2,500 in each subsequent year subject to meeting progression criteria. 

Eligibility

• You must commence your studies of an undergraduate degree at the University of Sheffield in September 2026. All undergraduate degree courses are included except for Medicine (A100/A101) and Dentistry (A200).
• You must choose the University of Sheffield as your firm or insurance choice before 4.00pm (UK time) on Friday 24 April 2026.
• You must be currently studying an NCUK International Foundation Year at the point of application.

The deadline to apply is 1pm (UK time) on Friday 24 April 2026. 

We're offering a scholarship worth up to £17,500 for the duration of your course to overseas fee-paying students joining the University from an Oxbridge Tutorial College in September 2026.

This is a competitive award applied as a tuition fee discount of £10,000 in the first year of study and £2,500 in each subsequent year subject to meeting progression criteria. 

Eligibility

• You must commence your studies of an undergraduate degree at the University of Sheffield in September 2026. All undergraduate degree courses are included except for Medicine (A100/A101) and Dentistry (A200).

• You must choose the University of Sheffield as your firm or insurance choice before 4.00pm (UK time) on Wednesday 3 June 2026.

• You must be currently studying at an Oxbridge Tutorial College at the point of application.

The deadline to apply is 30 April 2026.

We are looking for talented and ambitious professionals who will contribute to the continuous success of our Sheffield MBA.

We are offering a number of scholarships worth 50% of the tuition fees on a competitive basis for students starting their MBA in September 2026.

How scholarships are awarded

Scholarships will be awarded to candidates who can demonstrate outstanding academic achievement, career progression, and potential to contribute to the MBA programme.

You do not need to complete a separate application for the scholarship.  All candidates who are offered a place on the full-time MBA will automatically be considered for our MBA scholarship.

Eligibility criteria

As part of the application process, the admissions team will assess the application, including the supporting statement. Candidates will be also assessed by their performance at their interview with the MBA admissions team.

• Applicants to the scholarship are required to hold any offer to study the Sheffield MBA, conditional or unconditional.

• Applicants who have been offered a place through the exceptions process cannot be considered for a scholarship.

Key information

We will award scholarships throughout the year. You will receive an offer to study the Sheffield MBA before you are made a scholarship offer.

Candidates are expected to accept their scholarship and pay the deposit soon after receiving their offer.