UK universities offer up to £8,000 fee discount to attract foreign students

Financial Times reports that at least 22 British universities are offering automatic tuition fee discounts to foreign postgraduate students, with some institutions providing up to £8,000 off. The discounts are applied directly without requiring separate scholarship applications, as universities face falling international student numbers due to visa rule changes. Postgraduate enrolment has dropped 17% in the two years to March 2024, after the UK restricted students from bringing family members.

The University of Nottingham will give a £3,000 automatic scholarship to foreign postgraduates starting in 2026, while the University of Aberdeen introduced an £8,000 discount last year. Tuition fee revenue from foreign postgraduates in England fell from £5.5 billion in 2023-24 to about £5 billion in 2024-25. Julian Westwood, director of S Squared Insights, told the Financial Times that universities are shifting from small scholarships to broad, easy discounts, warning that falling student numbers and lower fees could strain university finances.

Zeenat Fayaz, founder of The Brand Education, said the strategy risks triggering a price war where competition is based on fees rather than quality or reputation. She added that some large universities are also lowering grade requirements for admissions, which could pose a major challenge for the sector.