Vice-Chancellor's International Scholarship Terms and Conditions for September 2026 Entry

Eligibility Criteria

Postgraduate Taught

Conditional Offer Holders

• You must submit your application to the University by 31 July 2026.
• Applicants who receive their academic offer by 1 July 2026 must accept their offer and pay any deposit by 31 July 2026. Applicants who receive their academic offer after this date must pay their deposit by their initial deposit deadline and accept their offer within 14 days of it being made. Deposit deadline extensions past 31 July 2026 will not be accepted for scholarship purposes.
• You must meet all the offer conditions, including any English Language conditions as stated in your offer, by 20 August 2026.
• Applicants who do not meet the conditions of their offer will not be eligible for the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship, even if they are accepted into the University.
• You must meet the original, published admissions criteria for your programme. Applicants who do not meet the original, published admissions criteria will not be eligible for the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship, even if they are accepted into the University.

Unconditional Offer Holders

• You must submit your application to the University by 31 July 2026.
• Applicants who receive their academic offer by 1 July 2026 must accept their offer and pay any deposit by 31 July 2026. Applicants who receive their academic offer after this date must pay their deposit by their initial deposit deadline and accept their offer within 14 days of it being made. Deposit deadline extensions past 31 July 2026 will not be accepted for scholarship purposes.
• You must meet the original, published admissions criteria for your programme. Applicants who do not meet the original, published admissions criteria will not be eligible for the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship, even if they are accepted into the University.

All students

• The Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship is available to eligible students studying on selected Postgraduate Taught degree programmes.
• A full list of eligible postgraduate programmes is available online. Programmes not shown in this list are not included in the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship scheme.
• Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma awards are not included in the scheme.
• No separate application for the scholarship is required. If you are holding an offer for an eligible programme and meet the criteria as set out in these terms and conditions, you will automatically be awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship upon enrolment.

Scholarship eligibility is separate from admission eligibility. To qualify for the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship, you must achieve the published minimum academic entry requirements for your chosen programme exactly as stated on the course pages of our website, at the time of your application.

If you are offered a place at Cardiff University with lower grades or alternative qualifications than those published (for example, if the published minimum requirement is a CGPA of 60% but you are accepted with a CGPA of 58%), you will hold an offer to study, but you will not be eligible for the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship.

Cardiff University reserves the right to determine whether the entry conditions of your offer meet the published minimum entry requirements for scholarship purposes.

Any queries regarding scholarship eligibility need to be raised before 30 November 2026 by emailing InternationalScholarships@cardiff.ac.uk. Requests after this date will not be considered.

Terms and Conditions

1. The Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship is a £4,000 award (award may be £6,000 or £10,000 based on domicile – see 1.2 and 1.3) applied to students entering into year 1 of a programme. It is applied to your first year of study only (with the exception of the MSc Social Work where it will be awarded across both years of study).

1.1 This will be awarded in the form of a tuition fee discount only and cannot be used in place of any required deposit. No cash alternative is available.

1.2 Scholarships of £6,000 will be awarded to students from Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, USA and Vietnam when defined as being domiciled in one of the above in your course application.

1.3 Scholarships of £10,000 will be awarded to students from Bangladesh or Nigeria when defined as being domiciled in one of the above in your course application.

1.4 Students domiciled in Mainland China or Türkiye are not eligible for the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship. Applicants domiciled in Mainland China or Türkiye may be eligible to apply for alternative Cardiff University scholarship schemes. Please click this link for more information.

1.5 Domicile is defined as where you have been ordinarily resident for a three-year period or longer before the start of the course. This does not include where you are living for study purposes, should you be studying outside of the place where you are otherwise ordinarily resident. See UKCISA for more information.

2. The Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship is for entry into Cardiff University in the autumn semester of academic year 2026/27 only and cannot be used any other year of entry.

2.1 If you are awarded a scholarship and wish to defer your entry to the University, your scholarship will not be transferred. However, you will be eligible to apply for scholarships applicable for 2027/28 entry.

2.2 If you are a deferred offer holder, you must have met the standard entry criteria for your programme for 2026/27 entry to be considered for the scholarship.

3. If you are a student studying a Pre-Sessional English Programme at Cardiff University, your Pre-Sessional English results will not be released until after the 20 August 2026 deadline and, therefore, you will not be eligible for an award.

4. Future requests for further funding will not be considered under this scheme.

5. Applicants who are in receipt of any other scholarship, bursary, funding or discount will not be eligible for this Scholarship.

6. The Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship is available for full-time and Cardiff campus-based taught programmes only.

7. You must be confirmed as an Overseas Student for fee-paying purposes (this information is contained in your offer letter*).

8. The Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship is only available to self-funded students.

8.1 If you are in receipt of funding (consisting of either tuition fees or tuition fees and living costs) from an external body which will be invoiced by the University for fees (such as Government, charity or a private organisation) you are not eligible for the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship. Students in receipt of educational loans are eligible for the award.

9. The Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship is not available for students who are coming to study at Cardiff University for a semester or a full year as part of a degree at another institution.

10. The Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship is not available to students who are initially awarded the scholarship but, following enrolment at the University, subsequently transfer to an academic programme which is not eligible for the award of the scholarship.

11. You must be able to satisfy all financial requirements as part of your visa application for study in the UK. You should not be solely relying on receiving the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship to meet the UKVI financial requirements. Further information on UKVI financial requirements for visa applications can be found online.

12. Please ensure that you leave sufficient time for your application and supporting documents to be reviewed and processed before the deadlines noted above. This can take up to 10 working days. Please contact the Admissions Office should you have any problems submitting your application or documents. Tel: +44 (0) 2920 879999 – office hours are 09.00 – 17.00 GMT, Monday – Friday.

If you are not sure about your eligibility for these scholarships or have any queries, please contact the International Office for advice at InternationalScholarships@cardiff.ac.uk