UK Postgraduate Study Abroad Scholarships - Guide to GREAT Scholarships

Despite the strong academic reputation of UK universities, international students are often frustrated by the expensive tuition fees. Luckily, there are many study abroad scholarships available to alleviate their financial burden. In a previous blog, UAPP highlighted the Chevening Scholarships, one of the most prestigious study abroad scholarships funded by the British Government. In this blog, we will introduce you to the GREAT Scholarships for one-year master's courses across a range of subjects, helping you understand and take advantage of these opportunities.

GREAT Scholarships: Overview

As an integral part of the GREAT campaign, an initiative launched by the UK government in 2012, the GREAT Scholarships focus on attracting international students to study in the UK. As one of the UK’s most popular study abroad scholarships, the scholarships are co-funded by the campaign and the British Council in conjunction with 72 participating universities, offering prospective postgraduate students from eligible countries an amount of £10,000. Unlike the Chevening Scholarships, which cover the full range of costs of students’ overseas studies, the GREAT Scholarships provide partial funding that allows you to pay your tuition fees for one year of study. These scholarships are primarily awarded based on academic merit, with consideration given to students’ financial needs.

If you aspire to study law, or science and technology, the GREAT Scholarships also have two subject-specific study abroad scholarships for you. The GREAT Scholarships for justice and law and the GREAT Scholarships for science and technology are available to postgraduate students from a selection of countries studying a wide range of related fields. 

Who Can Apply?

Before applying, applicants simply need to fulfil two essential criteria to qualify for the GREAT Scholarships:

• Must be a citizen of an eligible country: The GREAT Scholarships are available to students from 15 countries. Different partner universities offer study abroad scholarships to students from designated countries. You can find out whether your country is eligible and which universities offer the scholarships from the British Council’s website, or the websites of your universities.
• Must be an offer holder of a full-time postgraduate course before the application deadline: The GREAT Scholarships are usually open to students of all taught postgraduate programmes, but the prerequisite is that you must obtain a conditional or unconditional offer from a UK university before the application closes.

Application and Selection

The GREAT Scholarships are highly competitive; each partner university has a limited number of scholarships, usually with one available for each eligible country. Therefore, it is crucial to craft a strong application to maximise your chances of winning the study abroad scholarships.

First and foremost, you need to complete and submit an application form to your university by the deadline. Bear in mind that application deadlines vary for different universities. Hence, it's important to stay updated with news and information about study abroad scholarships through your university's social media and newsletters. 

When filling out the application form, you will be asked questions about your achievements, study plans, and reasons for choosing your university. You need to be able to talk about your academic and extracurricular achievements candidly and honestly, and the impact the scholarship will have on you as well as your community. Your responses should aim to form a coherent story about who you are as an individual, which is fundamental for a successful application.

In addition, each question has a strict word limit, to which you must adhere. Only by doing this will your application be automatically forwarded to human reviewers.

Since these study abroad scholarships are merit-based, the selection of successful GREAT scholars is based on your application and academic performance in your bachelor’s degree. You will be notified as soon as the decisions are made if your application is successful.

There are plenty of study abroad scholarships and funding opportunities available for international students pursuing higher education in the UK. This article has provided some insights into the GREAT Scholarships. If it seems right for you, definitely research it further. If it doesn’t suit you, don’t worry, UAPP blog will introduce more UK study abroad scholarship schemes, so make sure to stay tuned!