University of Essex

The University is offering a tuition fee discount to students who successfully completed a University of Essex validated Bachelors degree, Masters degree, Postgraduate Diploma or Graduate Diploma, either at Essex or one of our partner institutions. The discount is available for the first year of postgraduate study at Masters and PhD level following the completion of a Masters at Essex. The discount will depend on the achievement of the previous University of Essex validated qualification detailed below: First Class or Distinction; 2.1 or Merit;2.2 or successful completion of a Masters, Graduate or PG Diploma - 20%. Eligibility: These discounts are restricted to students who are entirely self-funded (students receiving a repayable loan to fund their studies will be considered as self-funded). The discount will be awarded to holders of the following University of Essex validated qualifications: Bachelors degrees, Masters degrees, Postgraduate Diplomas, Graduate Diplomas, Postgraduate Certificates in Education Students must register for full-time or part-time postgraduate study at Essex in October 2026-27, January 2027 or April 2027 and must be studying one of the following postgraduate taught courses or research degree programmes: MA, MSc, MBA, LLM, MFA, MAPH, MRes, MAD, MSD, MPhil, PD or PhD. The discount is available for the first year of postgraduate study at either Masters or PhD level and in academic year 2026-27. Students who previously received the discount for a Masters course, will not be eligible to receive the discount for a second Masters course, but will be eligible to receive the discount for a research degree programme starting in 2026-27. This award cannot be held in conjunction with any other University of Essex scholarships or discounts, however, may be held in conjunction with other University of Essex bursaries.

Academic excellence

You will be automatically considered for scholarship eligibility when you apply for the relevant course at this institution

If you meet all the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be considered for this award. You don’t need to complete an application form. The University will assess your eligibility based on the academic transcripts and certificates held on file.

Other eligibility requirements In conjunction with the UKs leading telecommunications company, BT, the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering (CSEE) is delighted to be offering up to six scholarship worth £5,500 each for 1 year full time Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Masters students taking up a place to study in academic year 2026-27 in CSEE, with the exception of any conversion course. The scholarship award can be used in one of the following ways: A tuition fee discount, which will be automatically deducted from your course tuition fee. OR: A stipend towards living expenses. The £5,500 will be paid in instalments throughout the academic year as a stipend, directly to your bank account. Eligibility These scholarships are restricted to students who are entirely self-funded.* These scholarships are available to both Home UK and Overseas fee payers. Students must register at the University of Essex in October 2026 for the first year of a full-time eligible Masters course in academic year 2026-27. Eligible courses are any full time 1 year Taught Masters courses within the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, with the exception of postgraduate Conversion courses which are not eligible. The award cannot be held in conjunction with any other University of Essex scholarships or discounts. Successful applicants would also be required to commit to a Collaboration Agreement with BT. Successful applicants should be available for promotional activities.

Mature students

You need to apply separately for this scholarship

Applicants should complete the application form (.docx).

The University is offering a £250 cash bursary to students who complete the pre-arrival online study skills course, designed to help them make the transition into university study. Eligibility These bursaries are restricted to students applying for eligible undergraduate courses at the University of Essex, who complete the pre-arrival study skills course, Essex Preparation Programme. Eligible courses are full time courses leading to the award of a Foundation Degree, Bachelor’s Degree or Integrated Masters (four years), or year 0 of an Essex Pathways Degree course. Students must register for their first year of full-time undergraduate study at the University of Essex in October 2025-26. Students must complete the pre-arrival study skills course by 23:59 (BST) on 14 October 2026. Students must complete the full course and receive the completion certificate to be eligible. This bursary is available for the first year of study in 2026-27 only. This bursary may be held in conjunction with other University awards. Successful applicants should be available for promotional activities.

Mature students

You will be automatically considered for scholarship eligibility when you apply for the relevant course at this institution

You will need to complete the Essex Preparation Programme by 23:59 on 14 October 2026 entry. You must fully complete the course and receive the certificate of completion. You will be automatically identified and will be notified via your Essex email in November, if you meet the eligibility criteria listed above.

Other eligibility requirements If you are an international student, and are self-funding your postgraduate studies, you could be eligible for a scholarship worth £5,000, automatically deducted from your first-year tuition fees invoice. This scholarship is based on grades obtained in your undergraduate degree, or if you have passed a Masters degree. Applications received for eligible courses will automatically be considered for the scholarship. To be eligible for this award you will need to: be ordinarily resident in one of the countries specified in the table below, Or, If ordinary resident in the UK, you must be an overseas fee payer and a national of one of the countries listed in the table below and; have an undergraduate degree (or Masters degree) awarded by an institution based in one of the countries listed in the table below and: have met the academic requirement for that country, as specified in the table below, or have achieved a UK 2:2.

Academic excellence

You will be automatically considered for scholarship eligibility when you apply for the relevant course at this institution

If you meet all the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be considered for this award. You don’t need to complete an application form. The University will assess your eligibility based on the academic transcripts and certificates you submit with your application for your place at Essex.

This scholarship scheme is for students from Hong Kong studying as new students in academic year 2026-27, who are classified as international students for fees purposes. The awards offered are a discount of £5,000 per year for a maximum of three years of full-time undergraduate study, up to a maximum of £15,000. The scholarship will be automatically deducted from annual tuition fees invoice. Eligibility These scholarships are restricted to students who are overseas fee payers and are entirely self-funded. Students must be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong. Students must register for the first year (Year1) of a full-time 3-year undergraduate degree at the University of Essex in October 2026-27. Applicants must meet our standard conditional offer. The award cannot be held in conjunction with any other University of Essex scholarships. This scholarship is available for each year of full-time undergraduate study for new students in academic year 2026-27, excluding any repeat years of study. Successful applicants should be available for promotional activities.

Mature students

You need to apply separately for this scholarship

You can apply for the award by completing an application form (.docx). The successful awardees will be selected based on the responses to the questions on the application form as well as the academic achievements detailed in their course application.

Other eligibility requirements The bursaries are open to all applicants in need of financial support. In the absence of other determining factors, priority will be given to students from Global Majority/BAME backgrounds. This policy addresses the historic under-representation of students from these backgrounds within the discipline of History. Eligibility These awards are restricted to students who are entirely self-funded*. This bursary may be held in conjunction with other University of Essex awards and scholarships. Students must register at the University of Essex in October 2026 for the first year of a full-time or part-time eligible History MA course within the School of Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies in academic year 2026-27 only. The maximum bursary award available for academic year 2026-27 is £2,500. Part-time students awarded this bursary will receive the full £2,500 in their first year of study only. They will not receive any award for their second (or subsequent) years of study. Applicants who have firmly accepted an offer of a place and met the academic conditions of entry, will be considered for these bursaries. Students must still be a registered student when the bursary is payable Students must not be in debt** to the University when the bursary is payable. This bursary may be held in conjunction with other University of Essex awards and scholarships. Successful applicants should be available for promotional activities.

Income related

You need to apply separately for this scholarship

All students who hold an offer for one of our History MA degrees will be contacted in September 2026 and invited to apply for the bursary. A deadline will be set in the initial contact for applicants to respond in order to be considered for this award.

If you're starting at Essex in 2026-27 and achieve academic excellence in your International Baccalaureate, we will offer you a scholarship of £2,000 for your first year of study. Eligibility: Students must have obtained 34 points or above in the International Baccalaureate. These scholarships are available to both Home and Overseas fee payers with any funding status. Students must register for the first year (Year 1) of a full-time undergraduate degree** at the University of Essex in October 2026-27. Students must have received an offer of admission for entry to the University of Essex for 2026-27 and must actively make Essex their firm choice. The award can be held in conjunction with any other University of Essex scholarships. This scholarship is available for the first year of study (Year 1) at undergraduate level in 2026-27 only. Successful students should be available for promotional activities.

Academic excellence

You will be automatically considered for scholarship eligibility when you apply for the relevant course at this institution

If you meet all the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be considered for this award. You don’t need to complete an application form. The University will assess your eligibility based on the academic transcripts and certificates you submit with your application for your place at Essex. If you are eligible, you will be notified via email from August and within 2 weeks of meeting the eligibility criteria.

Other eligibility requirements We welcome applications from talented student-athletes competing at regional, national, or international level. Scholarships are available across all of our performance programmes, as well as for high-performing individual athletes. If you are committed, ambitious, and ready to contribute to Essex performance sport, we want to hear from you. At the University of Essex, we support ambitious student-athletes who want to excel in both sport and study. Our Sports Scholarships provide financial support and access to a high-performance environment designed to help you reach your full potential. Whether you compete in one of our performance programmes or as an individual athlete, we invite you to apply.

Sport

You need to apply separately for this scholarship

Apply online.

Eligibility These awards are restricted to students who are overseas fee payers. International students who hold a student visa are required to have enough funds to pay for their course and support themselves with living costs and visas costs, while they are studying in the UK. This is a requirement of the student visa and is outlined in the Student Immigration Rules. Students must register at the University of Essex in for the first year of a full-time Masters course in academic year Masters course, in this context, includes all taught master’s courses: MA, MSc, LLM, MRes, MPP, MBM, MBA. Masters by Dissertation courses (MAD/ MSD) are not included. The maximum bursary award available for academic year is £776. Students must still be a registered student when the bursary is payable. Students must have paid both instalments of their tuition fee for academic year or their fees must be being paid by a sponsor where a payment plan has been agreed in advance. Where students are being partially funded by a sponsor, the student must have paid all the fees that they are responsible for. Students must not be in debt to the University when the bursary is payable. Students are only able to apply for the bursary once and to a maximum value of £776 regardless of course duration. Students may be asked to provide proof of their current visa permission (e.g. a copy of their Biometric Residence Permit or digital immigration permission) and their Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) reference number (this can be found on the IHS payment confirmation email/receipt or the visa application confirmation email).

Mature students

You need to apply separately for this scholarship

We will identify eligible students. If you are eligible to receive this bursary, you will be contacted via your Essex email account.

Other eligibility requirements Eligibility These scholarships are restricted to students who are overseas fee payers and are entirely self-funded*. Students joining Essex from one of our University transfer Partners will be considered for this award. Students must be studying on one of the dual or accelerated Masters programmes outlined in the University Transfer agreement between the University and the appropriate university transfer programme link institution. Students must register at the University of Essex in October 2026 or January 2027 for a full-time Masters course in academic year 2026-27 only, leading to the degree of: MA, MSc, LLM, MFA, MRes. The award may be held in conjunction with the Early Bird Discount and cannot be held in conjunction with any other University of Essex scholarships. Applicants must meet our standard conditional offer. This scholarship is available for the first year of Masters study at Essex only. Students studying University of Essex Online courses, delivered by the University of Essex. Successful applicants should be available for promotional activities.

Mature students

You will be automatically considered for scholarship eligibility when you apply for the relevant course at this institution

If you meet all the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be considered for this award. You don’t need to complete an application form. If you are unsure if you are studying at one of our global channel partners, school or colleges, please contact our Postgraduate Admissions Team.

The Department of Sociology and Criminology is offering six £11,025 scholarships to assist postgraduate students taking any MSC/MA full-time or part time taught masters course within the department. Eligibility These scholarships are available to students who are home and overseas fee payers and are entirely self-funded*. Applicants must have received a conditional firm or unconditional firm offer to study a full time or part time MSc/MA course within the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Essex starting in October 2026. The award cannot be held in conjunction with any other University of Essex scholarships. Successful applicants should be available for promotional activities.

Mature students

You will be automatically considered for scholarship eligibility when you apply for the relevant course at this institution

You can apply for the award by completing an application form (.docx) and submitting it to our Sociology and Criminology PGT Administrator.

Other eligibility requirements The University is offering a tuition fee discount to applicants who are former employees of the University of Essex (UoE), UoE Campus Services or a UoE subsidiary company for a minimum of three consecutive years of more than 0.5 full time equivalent (FTE) hours throughout that period. The discount is available to students studying at Undergraduate and Postgraduate (Masters and Research) level, who start their course in the 2026-27 academic year. Eligibility Students must be former employees of University of Essex, UoE Campus Services or UoE subsidiary companies for a minimum of three consecutive years and for at least 0.5 FTE hours throughout that period. Students must register for full-time or part-time study at undergraduate or postgraduate (Masters or Research) level on a new course at UoE in the 2026-27 academic year (all intake points). Graduate Diploma and Post Graduate Diploma qualifications are also eligible. The discount is available for the first year of full-time study or for two years of part-time study and can only be awarded once, applicable to one course at Essex. This discount is restricted to students who are entirely self-funded (students receiving a repayable loan to fund their studies will be considered as self-funded). This discount is only available for students studying courses delivered by the University of Essex. Students studying University of Essex Online courses, delivered by the University of Essex. This award cannot be held in conjunction with any University of Essex scholarships or discounts, however, may be held in conjunction with UoE bursaries. Successful applicants should be available for promotional activities.

Mature students

You need to apply separately for this scholarship

You will need to complete and submit the Always Essex Staff Discount Application form 2025-2026 (.docx) and inform the Admissions Office at the time of your course application that you have submitted the form to be considered for the Always Essex Staff Discount. The University will assess eligibility based on the application form, in consultation with University of Essex People and Culture, to confirm prior employment.

Other eligibility requirements The School of Philosophical, Historical & Interdisciplinary Studies is offering a bursary of up to £5,000 to assist one student studying an MA or PHD in Art History, Curating or Heritage at Essex, intending to travel to Latin America on a study visit related to their study. The bursary will assist with accommodation, travel costs or any other approved costs related to the research. The bursary has been created in memory of the artist Eleonore Koch. This bursary will be awarded to only one student in academic year 2025-26, therefore the application process is competitive. Eligibility These scholarships are restricted to currently registered students studying an MA or PHD in Art History, Curating or Heritage at Essex.

Mature students

You need to apply separately for this scholarship

To be considered for these awards you must submit an outline of the proposed research, including a summary of travel plans and anticipated costs and an indication as to why the bursary would be beneficial.

Essex Business School is offering fee discounts between 10% and 100% of tuition fee value to students funding their own MBA studies starting in October 2026. The award will be offered in the form of a tuition fee discount. Terms and conditions Eligibility These scholarships are restricted to students who are entirely self-funded. Students must register at the University of Essex in October 2026 for the full-time or part-time MBA starting their first year of study at Essex in 2026-27. Limited scholarships are available, and students are considered for their eligibility on a first-come-first-served basis. Students must accept their offer of a scholarship award within two weeks of an offer being made. Students receiving an award will be expected to be available for promotional activities.

Mature students

You will be automatically considered for scholarship eligibility when you apply for the relevant course at this institution

If you meet all the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be considered for this award. You don’t need to complete an application form.

Other eligibility requirements This scholarship scheme is for international students who are overseas fee payers from specified countries seeking to join our University as an undergraduate student. Eligibility These scholarships are restricted to students who are overseas fee payers and are entirely self-funded*. Students must be ordinarily resident (see below for the definition of ordinary residence) in one of the countries specified above Or, if you are ordinary resident in the UK, students must be an overseas fee payer and a national of one of the countries listed in the table above. Students ordinarily resident (see below for the definition of ordinary residence) in one of the countries specified above must register for the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree** at the University of Essex in October 2026-27. If entering directly through APEL, this can be stage 2 or 3 provided it is your first year of study at the University of Essex. The award may be held in conjunction with the Early Bird Discount and cannot be held in conjunction with any other University of Essex scholarships. This scholarship is available for the first year of study at undergraduate level in 2026-27 only. Students studying University of Essex Online courses, delivered by the University of Essex. Successful applicants should be available for promotional activities.

Mature students

You will be automatically considered for scholarship eligibility when you apply for the relevant course at this institution

If you meet all the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be considered for this award. You don’t need to complete an application form. The University will assess your eligibility based on your country of domicile and fee status that you submit on your application for your place at Essex.

Other eligibility requirements The department of Government is offering a bursary of £3,000 to assist one postgraduate student within the department of Government to assist with tuition fees or living costs. We have been extremely fortunate to offer this award due to the kind donation from one of the departments early graduates, and its first Masters student to earn his PhD at Essex. This bursary will be awarded to one student in academic year 2026-27, therefore the application process is competitive. Eligibility Applicants must have received a conditional firm, or unconditional firm offer, to study a full-time Postgraduate course, within the Department of Government, at the University of Essex starting in academic year 2026-27. Applicants need to have accepted their offer to be considered for this award. Applicants must have achieved a 2:1, or higher, in their undergraduate degree. Applicants must be able to demonstrate a financial need. Other University of Essex awards can be held in conjunction with this bursary. Successful applicants should be available for promotional activities

Academic excellence

You need to apply separately for this scholarship

You can apply for the award by completing an application form and submitting it.

Other eligibility requirements Eligibility These scholarships are restricted to students who are overseas fee payers and are entirely self-funded*. This scholarship is available for three years of study. It will not be available during Year 3 of the four-year Placement Year or Year Abroad degrees (I.e. the year in industry for Placement Year degrees, or the student exchange year for Year Abroad degrees). Applicants must be studying on a progression link agreement at one of our Global Link institutions above OR progressing directly from their studies at one of the above International Schools or Colleges. Applicants must register for a full-time undergraduate degree** at the University of Essex in October 2026-27. University of Essex International College (UEIC) students must have successfully completed their studies and be progressing directly onto the main programme of study at the University. International Year One and Foundation courses are eligible for this award. Students studying University of Essex Online courses, directly delivered by the University of Essex. The award may be held in conjunction with the Early Bird Discount and cannot be held in conjunction with any other University of Essex scholarships. Successful applicants should be available for promotional activities. Applicants must meet our standard conditional offer.

Mature students

You will be automatically considered for scholarship eligibility when you apply for the relevant course at this institution

If you’re studying on a University Transfer programme agreement at one of our Global Link institutions OR you’re progressing directly from your studies at one of the International Schools or Colleges, and you meet all the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be considered for this award. You don’t need to complete an application form. The University will also assess your eligibility based on your country of domicile and fee status that you submit on your application for your place at Essex.

Other eligibility requirements The University of Sanctuary Scholarship is available to new postgraduate taught students taking up a place to study in October 2026, who have been granted UK Asylum status or Discretionary/Limited Leave to Remain as a result of an asylum application, and those with Humanitarian Protection, as result of an asylum application or through a dependants claim. The scholarship includes: A full tuition fee waiver on a one-year full time Postgraduate Taught Masters programme University accommodation £6,000 to support living and study costs Eligibility Immigration status: Eligibility will be based on the following permissions being granted by the Home Office and alignment with UNHCR guidelines: a refugee (subject to obtaining an appropriate permissions), or granted Refugee or Humanitarian Protection status, or discretionary Leave to Remain, or Limited Leave to Remain following an asylum application, individually or through a dependent’s claim, or be seeking asylum within the UK Leave to remain must cover the duration of your studies A recognised refugee in a third country who obtains the appropriate visa from the UK to study here for the duration of that degree programme. This scholarship is restricted to students who are entirely self-funded*. This scholarship is available to Home UK or overseas fee payers. All applicants must have received a conditional or unconditional offer to study an eligible Postgraduate programme at the University of Essex before 2nd June 2026. Students must register at the University of Essex in October 2026 for the first year of a 1-year full-time Masters course in academic year 2026-27 only, leading to the degree of: MA, MSc, or LLM.

Mature students

You need to apply separately for this scholarship

Apply for the Sanctuary Scholarship using the application form (.docx) and send this via email along with evidence of your immigration status, and a letter of reference.