INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS

i) If your degree programme began in September 2012 and you are away in 2013/14

• Students who are studying abroad for less than a full academic year will pay UCL fees as normal. 
• UK and EU fee payers studying on the Erasmus programme for a full academic year will pay no tuition fees to UCL. Please note: the Erasmus fee waiver does not apply to overseas fee payers.
• All other students studying abroad for a full academic year (this includes students abroad for a whole year but on the Erasmus programme for only one term) will pay UCL tuition fees at a reduced rate. The year-abroad tuition fee rate for 2012/13 is as follows:

N.B. Self-paying students are expected to pay their fees before or by the start of the session. These may be paid in two instalments, the first being due by the start of the academic year, the second by 1 February. Any enquiries regarding payment of fees should be addressed to Student Fees, Room G19, South Wing (fees@ucl.ac.uk).

ii) If your degree programme began after September 2012 and you are away in 2014/15

• Students who are studying abroad for less than a full academic year will pay full UCL fees as normal. 
• UK and EU fee payers undertaking a study abroad for a full academic year (whether at a university or work placement, Erasmus or otherwise) will pay 15% of the normal fee amount to UCL, roughly £1350.
• International students (or their sponsors) will pay 50% of their normal fee amount to UCL.

N.B. Self-paying students are expected to pay their fees before or by the start of the session. These may be paid in two instalments, the first being due by the start of the academic year, the second by 1 February. Any enquiries regarding payment of fees should be addressed to Student Fees, Room G19, South Wing (fees@ucl.ac.uk).

ii) If your degree programme began in September 2011

• Students who are studying abroad for less than a full academic year will pay UCL fees as normal. 
• UK and EU fee payers studying on the Erasmus programme for a full academic year will pay no tuition fees to UCL. Please note: the Erasmus fee waiver does not apply to overseas fee payers.
• All other students studying abroad for a full academic year (this includes students abroad for a whole year but on the Erasmus programme for only one term) will pay UCL tuition fees at a reduced rate. The year-abroad tuition fee rate for 2012/13 is as follows:

N.B. Self-paying students are expected to pay their fees before or by the start of the session. These may be paid in two instalments, the first being due by the start of the academic year, the second by 1 February. Any enquiries regarding payment of fees should be addressed to Student Fees, Room G19, South Wing (fees@ucl.ac.uk). 

Exchange Programmes

Students on an exchange programme with one of UCL’s partner universities will not be required to pay tuition fees to the host institution.

Erasmus students will not be charged for tuition by the host institution, but may be charged a student enrolment or registration fee. You are expected to pay this fee (typically in the region of €250) yourself from your Erasmus grant. Such fees are therefore non-refundable by UCL.

Independent Study

Students who opt to study abroad outside of a formal exchange will have to pay tuition fees to their host institution. Providing the preconditions explained below have been satisfied, these fees will be reimbursed (up to certain limits) by UCL.

Tuition fees for approved study (outside an exchange framework are reimbursable by UCL, but there are preconditions:

• Prior to reimbursement, UCL must have received your tuition fees from the relevant source (Student Loans Company, sponsor or yourself);
• The particular course(s) and institution(s) you are attending must have received the prior written approval of your department. You will not be reimbursed for fees if, for example, you change your year-abroad programme of study without obtaining the written consent of your Study Abroad Tutor(s). They will inform the Study Abroad Team, who in turn will inform UCL Student Fees).
• Only tuition fees are reimbursable. Costs incurred for board and lodging, photocopying, books etc., are not reimbursable and neither are enrolment fees for Erasmus students.
• Please note that the maximum amount which can be reimbursed (at September 2012) is £1,155 for UK/EU fee payers.Overseas fee payers who pay fees at their host institution should contact the Study Abroad Team for details of the upper limit for fee reimbursement.
• The refund request must be lodged within 6 months of your return to UCL.

To obtain reimbursement of tuition fees you must:

• Provide UCL Student Fees with the original receipted invoices or receipts from the host institution indicating sums paid and specifying to what those costs relate. Non-specific receipts will not be accepted. Ensure you obtain detailed invoices/receipts at time of payment: you may encounter difficulties in obtaining this detailed information at a later date.
• Send receipted invoices/receipts with a covering letter to Mr Mike Smith, Student Fees, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT.

NB. If you have a UK bank account and provide the following details - bank name, full branch address, sort code, account number and your own full name - UCL will arrange reimbursement by bank transfer. Subject to preconditions given above having been met, reimbursement requests received after 31 October will normally be processed in 10-14 days. Due to the pressures of work associated with the start of each academic session, no refunds can be processed prior to 31 October.

Student Finance from Regional and Local Authorities

The statutory student finance package provides maintenance loans and grants to assist with living expenses and a tuition fee loan to cover university tuition fees.

Repayment of these loans commences the following April after you have left or graduated from university and are earning over £15,000. All UK and EU full-time undergraduates who have resided in the UK throughout the three years before the start of their course are eligible to apply. Overseas students are not eligible for student loans.

Students who will study abroad for a period of at least 50% of an academic quarter (normally equivalent to a term) as part of their course may be eligible for an overseas rate of loan for that period. In 2011/2012 the maximum loan for study overseas is:

• Non final-year student: £6,535

Students should make a single application to their Regional Funding Authority (Student Finance England, Student Awards Agency for Scotland, Student Finance NI, or Student Finance Wales). Visit the Current Students website for details of how to apply.

You can also apply for assistance with your travel costs (see below for details).

Students who are in receipt of means tested support from Student Finance England or Student Finance Northern Ireland should be eligible to receive an additional travel bursary to assist with overseas travel costs. 

Students receiving any support (means-tested or not) from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland on a compulsory study abroad year can apply for funding to cover travel expenses. Please see page 17 of the SAAS Guide to Student Support 2013-2014 for details.

Unfortunately, there are no additional travel grants available to students receiving funding via Student Finance Wales.

Students who are entitled to receive the UCL bursary will continue to do so while on their year abroad, provided that they continue to pay their tuition fees to UCL. For further information about UCL bursaries, please refer to: www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/scholarships/undergraduate/hebss_nsp/

The Access to Learning Fund (ALF) provides discretionary financial assistance for students. All UK and EU full-time undergraduates who have been resident in the UK throughout the three years prior to the start of their course are eligible to apply. Overseas students are not eligible to apply.

You are not excluded because you are on your year abroad and, if you meet the preconditions for applying i.e. that you have taken out a full maintenance loan to which you are entitled, then you are encouraged to apply. Application forms and guidance notes are available from the Student Financial Support website at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/money/bursaries/access_fund.

Applicants should read the guidance notes carefully and send the completed application form, together with their supporting documentary evidence, to the Student Funding Office, Room G19, South Wing, Student and Registry Services, UCL, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT.

All students who participate in the Erasmus programme will receive financial support in the form of the Erasmus Mobility Grant. The monthly rate of the grant for 2011/12 is approximately €225. Rates for 2012/13 will be set in July 2012.

• Click here for more information about Erasmus grants

BUTEX UK Scholarships 2013

BUTEX is now accepting applications for its UK Scholarship Programme 2013!

The Scholarship is open to all undergraduate students currently registered at a UK university which is BUTEX-affiliated.  If you are not sure whether your home institution is BUTEX-affiliated, please see our website. To be eligible to apply you must have been offered a study abroad or exchange place which is not eligible for an ERASMUS grant.

This round of applications is for students who have a study abroad placement commencing in either September 2013 or January 2014.  Your place must be for a minimum of one semester.

The value of each scholarship is £500 and will be paid to the winners once they have arrived and registered at their host university.

For further details of how to apply for this scholarship please visit the BUTEX website.

Students who take up a British Council English Language Assistant position are paid a salary comparable to the local rate, and/or are provided with accommodation for the duration of their placement. This will vary according to which country/town/school you will be working in, but by way of an example, language assistants in France and Germany earn c. €800 per month.

Assistants who work in EU countries will be given Erasmus status and therefore benefit, additionally, from the monthly Erasmus grant (€225 in 2011/12) and from a tuition fee waiver if they have Erasmus status for a full year. Students who do not have Erasmus status for the full year together with those whose assistantships are in Latin America will be liable to pay fees to UCL.

Please note: Students on Erasmus placements (including English Language Assistants receiving an additional salary) are entitled to the normal statutory package of maintenance loans and maintenance grants.

Although it may well be possible to find a salaried work placement abroad, from a financial perspective it is safer to assume that your employers will provide you only with minimal expenses (e.g. assistance towards transport costs etc…) or that your placement will go unpaid entirely.

Please note: Students who are paid a salary during their work placement may not be eligible for a full maintenance loan or maintenance grant. Please contact your Regional Funding Authority for more details.

Students wishing to study outside of the EU are likely to require a visa, and will be required to bear the cost of this themselves. In order to obtain a visa, some countries will require you to provide evidence that you will have sufficient funds to support yourself. Typically this could be US$12,000 – US$18,000 (c.£7,700 - £11,500), AUS$12,000 – AUS$14,000 (c.£8,100 - £9,500), or CAN$9,000 – CAN$10,000 (c. £5,750 - £6,400). In addition to this, students going to the US will need to pay a visa application fee of $130 and a SEVIS Immigration Fee, which is normally around US$200.

Certain countries e.g. Australia will require a medical certificate. The details of this will depend upon your nationality, countries recently visited etc., and you will be required to pay for this.

It is extremely important that you draw up a realistic budget to help you handle your finances whilst away on your year abroad. To help you do this, the Study Abroad Team have put together a simple spreadsheet which you can use to help you outline expected costs.

Download Budgeting Worksheet (right click and 'Save As' to download)