Fee deposits - Frequently Asked Questions

The deposit allows offer holders to demonstrate their commitment to attending their chosen programme of study at UCL and aids UCL in its resource and student number planning.

Tuition fee deposits do not apply to undergraduate programmes or postgraduate research programmes (MPhil/PhD, specialist doctorates or the MPhilStud, with the exception of selected specialist doctorates in the Eastman Dental Institute), graduate diplomas or graduate certificates. Tuition fee deposits may be charged for Master’s by Research (MRes) programmes.

UCL charges a deposit to postgraduate taught programmes as standard to help with resource allocation and student number planning. Some programmes may be exempted where tuition fees are not collected centrally by UCL or the programme is run in partnership with another body or institution. 

No. Programmes to be included are agreed before the start of the relevant admissions cycle and no programme advertised as not requiring a deposit will be changed once the admissions cycle is in progress. 

The deposit will be held by UCL and following enrolment will form part of the total tuition fee charged for the programme of study at which point it will become subject to the procedures and policies applicable to tuition fee payments for current students.

This will vary according to your programme of study, mode of attendance and fee status. For full-time and part-time students, the deposit amount will usually be set as set as 2.5% of the first year fee for those with a fee status classification of UK and 10% of the first year fee for those with a fee status classification of Overseas.

The overall tuition fee required for the first academic year of the programme will be advertised on the prospectus page for the specific course.  For modular/flexible mode of attendance, a deposit of £350 will be required for those with a fee status classification of UK and £500 for those with a fee status classification of Overseas.

Separate levels may apply to some programmes. If your application is successful the deposit due and payment deadline will be communicated to you in your offer of admission.

For September starters, the deadline for full payment of the deposit will be the later of:

• 1 April,
• six weeks from the date of the offer of admission

but no later than the day preceding the formal start date specified in the offer of admission.

Some programmes will have earlier deadlines and you should consult your offer letter for the deadline which applies to you.

No, the requirement to pay the deposit will only arise once you accept your offer. You may do this, via the Applicant Portal, at the earliest opportunity and by any response date specified in your offer of admission. Your deposit does not need to be paid until the payment deadline stated in your offer of admission.

No. The payment of the deposit is a separate requirement. You still need to accept UCL’s offer, via the Applicant Portal at the earliest opportunity and by any response date specified in your offer of admission.

Following acceptance of the offer of admission, payment must be made through UCL’s online payment system, provided by Flywire, by the offer holder or a third party acting on his/her behalf. The payment system can be accessed via the Financial Deposits page in the Applicant Portal.

Payments can only be made via Flywire and not through any other method.

Payment may be made in multiple instalments but full payment of the specified amount must be received by UCL by the deadline specified in the offer of admission.

If full payment is not received by the specified deadline UCL reserves the right to withdraw the offer of admission. If UCL intends to withdraw an offer, the offer holder will be sent email notification by Graduate Admissions shortly after the payment deadline. The notification will provide at least two days’ notice of the withdrawal of offer. If the tuition fee deposit is paid in full during that period the offer will not be withdrawn for non-payment.

If you are in debt to UCL with respect to tuition fees at the point of offer, UCL may not issue a decision until such a time as the debt is confirmed as discharged.

If your fee account balance is in credit (for example, due to overpayment of tuition fees for a previous period of registration), Graduate Admissions will confirm the credit with UCL Student Finance and subject to the offer holder’s agreement, any tuition fee credit will be stated in the Applicant Portal and will be reflected in the balance of any deposit payment due.

If UCL agrees to a transfer from one programme to another, whether before or after payment of the tuition fee deposit but before enrolment, and the newly selected programme does not require a deposit, any deposit paid prior to the transfer shall be refunded or, with the offer holder’s consent, be held by UCL against tuition fees for the newly selected programme. If UCL agrees to a transfer from one programme to another, whether before or after payment of the tuition fee deposit but before enrolment, and the newly selected programme requires a deposit, any deposit paid prior to the transfer shall, with the offer holder’s consent, be held by UCL towards the deposit for the newly selected programme. The applicant portal will update accordingly with the amount of tuition fee deposit paid (if any) noted against the offer of admission for the newly selected programme.

Should UCL agree to an offer holder deferring entry to the following academic session, any payment made will be held on account and will form part of the tuition fees, once enrolled. UCL will only consider a request to defer entry once the deposit payment has been made in full. Deferral of admission is only permitted once.

Exemption from the requirement to pay a deposit may be extended to applicants who provide official documentary evidence to Graduate Admissions that they have been awarded funding, in the form of an acceptable studentship, scholarship, or sponsorship, sufficient to cover the deposit in full.

Evidence should constitute a formal, dated letter of award from the funding body, naming the applicant and programme of study. The document should be issued on headed organisational stationery and be signed by a relevant officer of that organisation.

Graduate Admissions will consider the information and decide whether an exemption may be permitted. If this is agreed the requirement to pay the deposit will be cancelled.

Should an offer holder have an application for appropriate funding pending, which will not be decided by the deadline, UCL may consider extending the deadline accordingly. Any such extension will be subject to receipt, by Graduate Admissions, of evidence of the application for funding in the form of a formal, dated letter from the funding body on its letter head and signed by an authorised officer of the funding body specifying the name of the offer holder and expected date of decision. 

Should UCL agree to extend the deadline, full payment must be made by the extended deadline or exemption agreed. The task to request an extension or exemption can be accessed via the 'Financial Deposits' tab in your applicant portal once you have accepted an offer of admission.

UCL will consider all requests for exemption from the deposit requirement at its absolute discretion.

Tuition Fee Deposits are generally not refundable.

Tuition Fee Deposits are refundable in the following circumstances:

• Having provided authentic evidence of qualifications, an Offer Holder fails to meet the conditions related to academic entry requirements set out in the Offer Letter and following consideration of the results, UCL decides they should not be admitted (this excludes conditions relating to English language proficiency);
• An Offer Holder in good faith applies for and fails to secure the necessary clearance to enter the UK in order to undertake the programme;
• UCL is unable to admit an Offer Holder due to the programme of study or specific mode of attendance previously agreed with UCL ceasing to be available;
• If the Offer Holder has paid the Tuition Fee Deposit in full or in part and has subsequently, but before Enrolling, received full funding for the programme of study and is able to provide appropriate evidence;
• If an Offer Holder, who has accepted their offer of a place at UCL on a postgraduate programme and paid the Tuition Fee Deposit changes their mind within 14 days of paying the deposit (the “cooling off period”) and ends their Student Contract within the cooling off period.

Refund requests should be addressed in writing to UCL Graduate Admissions using the Admissions Enquiries contact form and will be acknowledged within 10 working days of receipt. Authority to approve refunds of tuition fee deposits rests with the Director, Access & Admissions.

Authorised refunds will be returned to the same individual and using the same method as for the original payment. UCL will not refund the exact amount of deposit that it receives.

If the deposit is being refunded to a non-Sterling bank account where a currency conversion is necessary, any exchange rate fluctuations shall be at the risk of the offer holder.

UCL shall also be entitled to deduct any bank charges directly connected to the refund of the deposit.

Where formal enrolment has been completed, and as of the start date of the programme of study (as detailed in the Offer Letter), refund requests become subject to the arrangements concerning tuition fee refunds for current students.