International Excellence Award (postgraduate)
This prestigious £5,000 award recognises academic excellence and is awarded to selected students starting a masters degree at Surrey.
About
This scholarship is awarded as a £5,000 fee waiver. It is open to self-funded international fee-paying students regardless of nationality or domicile, who are starting their studies with us in February 2026 and September 2026.
The scheme is application based and awards are decided by a scholarship awards panel.
All scholarships must be allocated before a CAS is issued. Please apply early. We are not able to consider applications if your CAS has already been allocated.
Eligibility criteria
In order to be eligible, applicants must:
- Be an overseas fee-paying student
- Hold an offer to study a full-time masters programme*
- Be self-funded (you must be paying for your studies independently rather than being sponsored or in receipt of another scholarship)
- For two-year postgraduate courses, the scholarship award is valid for the first year only
- Not be from the Surrey International Study Centre (SISC)
- Apply for a scholarship before a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) is issued. The award cannot be applied post CAS.
*Excludes part-time, distance-learning courses, MSc Pharmaceutical Sciences and the MBA course.
The award is not deferrable (if applicants are deferring, they will need to reapply for the award. This will also be subject to the award availability).
This scholarship cannot be combined with the alumni or early bird discount.
How to apply
Applications will be reviewed monthly.
You must have an offer from the University to complete the scholarship application form. Applications without a valid student ID and offer will not be assessed.
A scholarship application must be finalised before a CAS is issued. We are not able to allocate awards if your CAS has already been allocated.
Our scholarship awards are allocated on a first come, first served basis. Please apply early.
Deadline
- February 2026 applications will close on 9 January 2026.
- September 2026 applications will close on 31 July 2026.
Contact details
For any queries please contact the International Recruitment team at international@surrey.ac.uk.
Scholarships and bursaries
There is a range of support available to help finance your studies.