Study Abroad Funding

Tuition Fee Loan

For the most up-to-date information about your tuition fees relating to study abroad, please visit the University's Student Finance Undergraduate Intercalated Year or Study Abroad Link opens in a new windowpage. You may be required to pay some additional costs to your host University as outlined in the Study Abroad Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Link opens in a new window

Eligible students will still be able to apply and access a tuition fee loan from Student Finance England to cover their tuition fees.

If you have any queries about study abroad tuition fees, please see the University's Student Finance FAQsLink opens in a new window. If your queries are not answered by the FAQs, you can contact the University's Student Finance team directly instead (University of Warwick Student Finance Team - Contact DetailsLink opens in a new window).

If you are only studying abroad for a semester, you should contact the University's Student Finance TeamLink opens in a new window and Student Finance EnglandLink opens in a new window directly to check how much your tuition fees will be and how much tuition fee loan you can take.

Maintenance Loan

If you are studying abroad for at least the majority of a term, you may qualify for the year abroad rate of maintenance loan. This might be slightly higher than the level of maintenance loan you get when studying at Warwick. Your loan entitlement will still depend on your household income with the maximum available being £11,427 (for 2023-24). You will be required to submit relevant documentation to Student Finance England to prove your placement is unpaid.

Contact Student Finance EnglandLink opens in a new window directly to find out how much maintenance loan you could be eligible for.

Additional Study Abroad Funding Opportunities

Turing Scheme and Warwick Mobility Bursary

All students who take a year or semester abroad during the 2023-24 academic year will be eligible for funding from either the Turing Scheme or the Warwick Mobility Bursary. You will need to meet certain criteria to apply for the Turing Scheme:

Warwick Bursary recipients
Member of the Warwick Scholars programme
Students who receive Universal Credit or income-related benefits
Care Leavers or students who are care-experienced
Students with caring responsibilities
Estranged students
Students who are refugees or asylum-seekers

You can find more information and a flowchart to work out which scheme is applicable to you on the Student Mobility websiteLink opens in a new window.

Travel Grant

You may be eligible for a means-tested Travel Grant from Student Finance England to contribute towards some of the travel costs associated with your study abroad. You will need to meet certain eligibility criteria (e.g., studying abroad for 50% or more of a term). The amount of grant you could be eligible for will depend on your household income and you will be expected to pay a certain amount/proportion of your costs yourself. For more information about eligibility and how to apply, see Student Finance England's webpage Studying Abroad: Travel Grants for Students (England).Link opens in a new window

The Warwick Bursary

If you meet all of the eligibility criteria for a Warwick Bursary will still be eligible to receive this whilst on their study abroad. You do not need to apply for the Warwick Bursary (unless you attended an independent school for their sixth form education) as Student Funding Support are automatically notified by Student Finance England of students who may be eligible. Once you have been identified by Student Finance England, we will check your eligibility and approve you if you meet the criteria. For further information regarding the eligibility criteria and payments, see our Warwick Bursary Link opens in a new windowwebpage.

Study Abroad Tuition Fee Waiver

If you started at Warwick in the academic year 2016-17 or later and receive Turing funding while studying abroad you may be eligible for a Tuition Fee Waiver. You need to meet certain eligibility criteria to receive this (e.g., undertaking a full study year abroad, be a Warwick Bursary holder etc). You do not need to apply for this fee waiver and eligible students will be notified directly. The amount of waiver that you are eligible for, depends on you household income as assessed by Student Finance England:

Household Income (As assessed by Student Finance England)	Study Abroad Fee Waiver Amount
Less than or equal to £25,000	Full amount of fees charged for the Turing year
Greater than £25,000 and less than or equal to £35,000	£650 Contribution

Please note, even if you think that you may be eligible for a Study Abroad Tuition Fee Waiver, you should still apply and take out your full tuition fee loan entitlement as Study Abroad Tuition Fee Waivers are processed in mid-term 1. If you are eligible for a Study Abroad Tuition Fee Waiver then the University will contact Student Finance England directly to correct the amount of tuition fee loan you require for that year.

Study Abroad Money Management

Managing Money on Your Year Abroad

Studying abroad can be a great experience but it’s important to consider your budget to make sure you can make the most of it. Developing a good budget before you go will help you feel more prepared and avoid money problems further down the line. We have broken down points for you to consider in the following 4 dropdown boxes:

Work out your income

The funding that you receive during your year abroad (e.g., maintenance loan) may be different to what you normally receive when studying at Warwick, so make sure you know what you're entitled to. If you are eligible for a student loan (i.e., maintenance loan and/or tuition fee loan), be careful to tick the right boxes about where you are living and studying in each term on your application, so you can be assessed for the right amount of money. Remember you must apply for your student loans for each upcoming year of study (including if your upcoming academic year is your study abroad year). Applications are usually made in the spring/summer time, so make sure you submit yours on time! More information can be found at the Student Finance England CampaignLink opens in a new window website.

If you are applying for any additional funding opportunities, make sure to check if they require an application form and whether they have a deadline to submit this.

For any and all funding you are due to receive, check when your payments are due to go into your bank account so you can work out if you'll have enough money available to meet payment dates you will have, such as accommodation. You should note, in certain instances, payments of any maintenance loan you are eligible for may differ from the termly payment schedule you are used to. Depending on the country you will be studying in, you may be required to demonstrate you have access to an appropriate level of funds for your VISA.

There are ways that you can top up your income, such as trying to save money before you leave and talking to your family to see if they can offer any help. Look into part-time work opportunities whilst you're away but remember this might depend on your availability and VISA restrictions.

Research your expenses

Take some time to think about the day-to-day expenses that you will have during your year abroad. Don't forget to include extra costs, such as travel and medical insurance. Doing your research into these costs early will really help you to get an idea of how far your money will go.

Remember that the cost of living in the country that you are studying might be quite different to what you are used to. There are some useful websites, such as Numbeo Link opens in a new windowthat give a comparison of day-to-day living costs between cities across the world. Make sure you find out what is included in your rent to make sure you aren't budgeting for and/or buying things unnecessarily.

Finally, don't only think about costs related to your study or day-to-day living, remember to include activities that you want to get involved in whilst you're away. For example, you might want to spend some time travelling in the region you are visiting, if so - make sure you budget for this.

Be smart with your money

Always look at ways you can make some savings on the expenses you have. You can use comparison websites to get cheaper deals on flights or insurance and better rates on exchanging your currency. Money Saving ExpertLink opens in a new window is a really good website to start with. Talk to other students who have lived and studied in the countries where you are going to get their tips and advice on making your money go further.

You should notify your bank that you will be studying abroad and check out any bank charges that might apply for withdrawing cash or using your debit card. If you don't already have internet banking, you could think about setting this up so you can keep better track of your money. Depending on which country you are going to and for how long, you may want to consider opening an account in the country you are studying in as you might find it easier and cheaper to make payments this way. You may be able to open an international account with your current UK bank, so make sure you chat with them about your options first.

If you currently have a mobile contract, talk to your provider to see what the charges will be for using it abroad. Look into mobile deals in the country you are going to as this might work out cheaper and avoid roaming charges. Think about other ways to keep in touch such as through wi-fi (e.g., Skype, Facetime, Whatsapp) but make sure to check your wi-fi coverage and allowance within your rent contract or individual wi-fi contract.

Finally, try to build in a contingency fund in case an emergency crops up, like an expense you hadn't planned for or a delay in receiving your funding.

Work out your budget

A good budget takes time to set up so the first thing to do is to set aside some time to work through your money, income, and expenses. Everyone budgets in a different way and there are lots of tools available. If you don't already budget regularly, have a go at finding a way that suits you. You might prefer to keep track of your money by completing a paper budget planner such as our Study Abroad Budgeting Planner.Link opens in a new window If you are more technically minded, you might like to try a budgeting app instead that can give you a real-time picture of your cash flow and help you to keep track of where your money is going. Certain banks now offer some budgeting insights to their customers within their mobile banking apps.

Once you have an idea about whether your income is going to cover your expenses, you can revisit your costs to see if you can go without them or get them cheaper to save some money.

Financial Difficulty

If you find yourself in financial difficulty whilst on your study abroad placement you can still access support from Student Funding Support and the wider university:

Further Information

For the most up-to-date information about studying abroad or further funding opportunities than those listed above, please see the following webpages:

If you have any Study Abroad related questions, you can Contact the Student Mobility Team.Link opens in a new window