Financial Information

This website is designed primarily for use by British students. Obviously, Brexit has changed the financial reality for those who hold a British passport when considering universities elsewhere in the European Union. However, particularly at private universities, there is no change at all. Throughout the site, when you search for courses, you will find EU fees and International Fees listed. Sometimes both amounts will be the same.

The financial reality of studying abroad is a major consideration wherever you choose to go. Once you take the decision to study your full degree abroad you will not be able to access British student finance. Therefore, you need to consider alternative sources of funding. However, this does not mean that studying abroad will be more expensive in real terms than pursuing a degree in the United Kingdom even if the upfront costs are higher.

On the country information pages of this website you will find a brief description of the financial implications of studying in each country. Here we will limit ourselves to some general remarks about student finance abroad and an overview of the cost of public university education in the most popular countries. The cost of private higher education varies dramatically from university to university so we cannot easily summarise the costs involved. However, private education abroad often costs less than £9,000 a year and even when it doesn’t you might find that generous scholarships are on offer.

Please also check each country page for specific advice on financial aid that may be available to British students.

Notes

1. Fees are per year of undergraduate tuition. Some course will last for more than three years.

2. Number of courses and institutions includes private universities.

3. Indicative fees are for public universities only.

4. In Germany, tuition fees in Baden-Wuerttemburg are €3,000 per year for non-EU nationals.

Financing Study in Europe

Within the European Union all EU nationals should be entitled to the same support as local students. In most countries this means that if tuition fee loans are available for local students, EU students should also be able to access that support. Where maintenance loans for living costs are available these can often be subject to a residency requirement meaning that they are only available to students who have been living in the country for a period of time (usually three years) and whose family have been paying taxes there.  There may also be a nationality requirement so if you have a European passport it may be worthwhile investigating precisely which rules apply to you.

In countries where there are no tuition fees you can usually count on no support. In countries where there are tuition fees these may be means-tested for domestic students. In this case, all EU students will be entitled to the same consideration and will be able to submit an application for lower fees. Some private universities also offer means-testing but this may be discretionary.

UK students are no longer EU students and are now treated as international students in all countries except Ireland. This means the likelihood of finding funding through student loans is very low indeed. Scholarships are probably the main form of financial support on offer and their availability for undergraduate students is often not good.

For information about specific countries please visit the country pages on this website.