IMESS Scholarships

All applicants applying for an IMESS programme will be automatically considered for the IMESS Scholarship on condition that applications are received before 27 March 2026.

We anticipate that a scholarship will be provided by each of our partner institutions.

A number of attractive scholarships will be available to Home, EU and International students (at either the Home or International rate).

Please note that scholarships cover some of the tuition fees in each year of the programme but do NOT cover all of the costs associated with attending the programme (e.g. accommodation, food, travel).

You will need some additional source of funding to cover the full costs associated with accommodation, food, travel and books. For example, in year one (all students are in London) it is estimated that the average living costs for a single graduate student for an academic year are approximately €12,000. Living costs in year 2 vary.

Marking Criteria for IMESS Scholarships 

Students considered for the IMESS scholarship will be scored by IMESS consortium partners according to the following five criteria. Successful applicants will show excellence on the criteria in their IMESS Supplementary Questionnaires:

Academic Merit (35%)
Guide to scoring:
18: narrowly satisfies the required academic standards
35: excellent marks from a highly relevant degree programme in an internationally renowned university
Personal statement of motivation and research interests (35%)
Guide to scoring:
18: basic evidence of motivation to study on the IMESS programme and research interests related to the IMESS programme
35: clear and specific evidence of excellent motivation to study on the IMESS programme, excellent research proposal related to the IMESS programme (including choice of study track, second year university and specific electives)
Reference (10%)
Guide to scoring:
5: referee is generally supportive but unenthusiastic and points out some relevant weaknesses
10: referee unreservedly recommends the applicant and points out specific relevant strengths
Note: the overall assessment of the applicant in reference forms can be used for guidance.
English Language (10%)
Guide to scoring:
7: Non-native speaker – “Good” level of English (based on evidence from language proficiency certificate, e.g. test score of 7.0 in IELTS).
10: Native speaker or other evidence of exceptionally good English proficiency (e.g. test score above 7.5 in IELTS and/or long-term residence in majority English-speaking countries).
Note: UCL SSEES minimum English proficiency requirement is “Good”. English Language qualifications accepted by UCL for graduate study: IELTS, Cambridge Certificate, City & Guilds ESOL, UCL Language Centre or Pearson Test of English. Further information
Other – relevant experience/interests (10%)
Guide to scoring:
0: no indication of relevant experience in terms of work (paid or voluntary), extracurricular activities or foreign language learning.
10: extensive evidence of at least two of the following: (1) highly relevant (paid or voluntary) work experience, (2) extracurricular activities with direct relevance to the IMESS programme, (3) foreign language learning.

Where applicants achieve the same final aggregate score, in deciding on the nominations, reference is made to the additional following criteria:

  1. the distribution of scholarship nominations across second year partners;
  2. the spread of applicants across study tracks;
  3. the gender distribution;
  4. the regional distribution of applicants.

Key Dates 

Scholarship applications deadline: 

27 March 2026 (no separate application needed)

Programme applications deadline:

26 June 2026   

Our Alumni Say…

Link”I loved my first year in UCL, where I could pick the courses I was really interested in and developed my academic research abilities. The second year enabled me to explore another country and I was really impressed by the culture in Russia as well.”

Zhuxin Mao, IMESS Economics and Business, 2014-16

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