Excellence Scholarships - FAQ

1. Do I need an offer of admission to be given a scholarship?

Yes. You will need to apply for your chosen course and be sent an offer letter in order to receive a scholarship.

2. Where will I find my scholarship offer?

You will find your scholarship offer on your offer letter for your course. This includes the amount of the scholarship.

3. Why isn't there a scholarship offer on my course offer?

If your offer letter does not contain an offer of a scholarship, it means that we were unable to consider you as eligible. This could be because your undergraduate degree is not considered equivalent to a UK 2.2 or above, or because you didn’t provide your undergraduate degree documents.

4. How are the scholarship amounts determined?

Depending on your final undergraduate degree classification, the amount will differ. Higher awards will go to higher-achieving applicants.

5. Is there a deadline to accept the scholarship offer?

There is no deadline to accept your scholarship offer. However, in order to retain your scholarship, you will need to accept your offer of study. This means paying any deposit required to accept this offer.

6. How is the scholarship paid?

The scholarship is applied as a tuition fee reduction. There is no cash equivalent.

7. Who is eligible for this scholarship?

Students classified as international fee-payers who have achieved at least a 2:2 or equivalent in their final degree classification.

8. Will the scholarship be reflected on my Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) when I apply for my visa?

Yes, the scholarship amount should be included on your CAS.

9. Will I get a scholarship offer if I have not finished my degree?

You must include a provisional transcript in your application and, subject to how you have performed to date, we will be able to consider you for a scholarship based on this. It is important that you include this information when you apply.

10. I was offered a 2:1 scholarship, but I got a First. Will I get the higher amount?

Yes, you will receive the higher fee reduction if your achieved grades are higher than predicted, resulting in a better degree classification.

11. I was offered a First scholarship, but I got a 2:1. Will I get the lower amount?

Yes, we will lower the scholarship amount if you get a degree classification lower than what your transcript projected.

12. I already have a master's degree. Can I be considered for the scholarship?

We can consider you for the scholarship, but you must include your undergraduate degree transcript with your application as well as details of your master's study. Any scholarship we award will be based on your performance in your undergraduate degree.

13. Do I have to pay a deposit to accept the scholarship offer?

In order to accept the scholarship offer, you will need to accept your offer of study, which includes paying the deposit for your course.

14. How can I apply for more funding?

There may be more funding opportunities for certain subject areas.

15. Can the scholarship be used to pay for the course deposit?

The scholarship cannot be used to pay for the course deposit. You must pay the course deposit in order to accept the scholarship.

16. I am deferring my course entry to 2028-29. Can the scholarship be deferred too?

Unfortunately, the scholarship cannot be deferred to future years. The scholarship can be deferred from September 2027 to February 2028 (if your course has a February entry point). Students who defer to the next academic year will be considered for the appropriate funding scheme(s) operating in that year.

17. Is the scholarship specific to my course? Can I change my course and keep the scholarship?

The scholarship offer is not specific to your course. If you are able to change your course, you will retain your scholarship.

18. My scholarship is not reflected on my finance statement on my online enrolment. What should I do?

Please email us at scholarships@reading.ac.uk to confirm that you have indeed been awarded a scholarship and the information is not listed in your enrolment. We will contact our student finance team to amend this.

19. Can I combine tuition fee scholarships if I have been offered a different scholarship, like GREAT or Climate Stripes Scholarship, etc.?

Yes, you can combine scholarships so long as the additional funding you receive is from a source outside of the University of Reading and the total amount of financial aid does not exceed the total cost of tuition.

20. I am a University of Reading Alumni. Am I eligible for this scholarship?

No, if you are an international alumnus of the University of Reading, you will not be eligible for this scholarship. Instead, you will be awarded the University of Reading Alumni Scholarship, which is applied as a £10,000 tuition fee reduction in 2027/28.

21. I am enrolling onto a Master's course coming from a University of Reading Partner institution. Will I be eligible for this scholarship?

No, if you are progressing from a partner institution with which we have a formal agreement, you will be eligible for the Partner Scholarship, which is applied as a £10,000 tuition fee reduction in 2027/28.

22. Who can I contact if I have a question about my scholarship?

If you can’t find the answer in these FAQs, please email scholarships@reading.ac.uk. You can also refer to our Guidelines, Terms and Conditions.