Vice Chancellor’s Future Leaders Award
This prestigious award recognises academic excellence and is awarded to selected students starting a degree at the University of Surrey, who understand social responsibility and demonstrate the potential to be future leaders.
About
This scholarship is awarded as a £7,500 fee waiver. It is open to self-funded international fee-paying students domiciled in specific countries.
The scheme is application based and awards are decided by a scholarship awards panel. The panel will assess previous academic performance, predicted grades (if applicable) and the personal statement to make their decision.
These awards must be allocated before a CAS is issued. We are not able to consider applications if your CAS has already been issued. Please apply early.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible applicants must:
- Hold an offer to study a full-time degree programme* at Surrey. This should be either a Bachelor degree at FHEQ Level 4 (first-year entry) or a full-time masters degree
- Be self-funded (you must be paying for your studies independently rather than being sponsored or in receipt of another scholarship)
- If you are an undergraduate applicant, Surrey must be your firm choice on your UCAS application to be considered for the award
- 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)
- Apply for a scholarship before a Confirmation of Acceptance Studies (CAS) is issued. The award cannot be applied post CAS.
- Be an overseas fee-paying student domiciled in one of the following countries:
- Algeria
- Brazil
- Botswana
- Bulgaria
- Colombia
- Chile
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Indonesia
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Oman
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Vietnam
- Zimbabwe.
Don't see your country or region on the list? Our £5,000 International Excellence Award is open to self-funded international fee-paying students, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
*This scholarship is not open to students from Surrey International Study Centre (SISC) or applicants wishing to study MSc Pharmaceutical Science. The grades eligibility for applicants joining Surrey via Clearing is ABB (or equivalent).
For two-year postgraduate courses, the scholarship award is valid for the first year only.
For undergraduate courses, the scholarship award is valid for the first year only.
Applicants in receipt of the Future Leaders scholarship will not be eligible for any other Surrey scholarship.
This scholarship cannot be combined with the alumni 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.
- Apply for a scholarship before a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) is issued. The award cannot be applied post CAS.
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 (Postgraduate entry only).
- September 2026 applications will close on 31 July 2026.
Contact details
For all enquiries regarding this scholarship, please contact international@surrey.ac.uk.
Scholarships and bursaries
There is a range of support available to help finance your studies.