Brunel Postgraduate International Bursary 2027: £4,000 Fee Reduction

Brunel University of London gives a £4,000 tuition fee reduction to self-funded international students who join a full-time postgraduate taught (PGT) or MRes course, and there is no separate scholarship form to fill in. The award is the Postgraduate International Bursary, and for the January 2027 intake the university’s advisory deadline for meeting every condition is 30 November 2026.

That deadline matters because the bursary is not decided by an essay or an interview. It is assessed automatically, and what actually triggers it is a paid course deposit plus an unconditional academic profile at the level Brunel asks for. Miss the date and the £4,000 simply is not applied to your fee.

Brunel Postgraduate International Bursary 2027: quick facts

One thing to note before you plan around this bursary: Brunel’s own terms page still carries some wording from the previous admissions cycle in its clauses (for example the eligibility clause that names the earlier January intake). The date printed at the top of that page and in the how-to-apply block is 30 November 2026 for January 2027 entry, and that is the date this post uses. Confirm your intake with Brunel’s admissions team before you pay the deposit.

What the £4,000 bursary actually covers

The bursary is a fee reduction, not cash and not a living-cost grant. Brunel reduces your published tuition fee by £4,000 and you pay the rest.

• On a one-year full-time master’s, the £4,000 comes off your first-year fee.
• On a full-time course that runs over two years, the reduction applies in both years, provided you meet the normal progression rules – a repeated year is not paid again.
• It is paid once for each eligible level of study, so it does not repeat for a second master’s.
• It cannot be combined with any other Brunel scholarship, bursary or discount – the single exception is the 2% prompt payment discount.
• If you qualify for more than one Brunel award, the university applies the one that is worth more across the whole course, not both.
• The reduction never replaces the £5,000 deposit, and it cannot be backdated.

Because the bursary is a fee discount, it does not affect your visa maintenance funds in the way a cash scholarship would – your CAS and your fee liability are simply lower by £4,000.

Who is eligible for the Postgraduate International Bursary

Brunel lists the conditions plainly. You need to meet all of them, not most of them:

• Fee status: you must be classed as an overseas fee-paying student under UK government regulations, and you must be self-funded – not sponsored by a government, employer or other external body.
• Academic level: a UK 2:2 or an equivalent internationally recognised bachelor’s degree. Indian three-year bachelor’s degrees are assessed against Brunel’s country equivalency, so a lower-class degree can still qualify if it maps to a 2:2 or above.
• Alternative routes Brunel accepts: a China Dazhuan qualification with 75% plus three years of work experience, or a UK third-class degree held together with a verified master’s (decided case by case).
• An offer: a full-time PGT or MRes offer for January 2027 entry (the same bursary covers the September 2026 and earlier January 2026 intakes).
• The deposit: your £5,000 course deposit must be paid and received by Brunel by the advisory deadline of 30 November 2026.
• You must also meet every condition of your offer by the time you register.

A September-to-January deferral inside the same academic year keeps the award. A deferral into the next academic year loses it.

Who cannot get this bursary

• Sponsored students, and anyone whose fee status is not settled as overseas.
• Postgraduate research applicants – PhD and MPhil students are explicitly excluded.
• PgCert and PG Diploma courses.
• Brunel Medical School courses, specifically the MSc Physician Associate.
• Distance-learning, online and part-time courses (the terms list part-time as not eligible).
• Students entering through Brunel Pathway College, or progressing to Brunel from a BPC course.
• Anyone who defers entry into a later academic year.

If you are aiming at a PhD at Brunel, this is the wrong award – doctoral funding at Brunel is handled by the research-degree scholarships and by external bodies such as Chevening or the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.

How to apply: there is no application form

This is the part most applicants get wrong, because the bursary looks too easy to be real. There is no separate scholarship application, no statement of purpose and no deadline submission portal for the bursary itself. The sequence is:

1. Apply for a full-time postgraduate taught or MRes course at Brunel for January 2027 entry. Course list and application route are on brunel.ac.uk.
2. Receive your offer, and meet every academic and English-language condition attached to it.
3. Pay the £5,000 course deposit so the funds reach Brunel by 30 November 2026.
4. Brunel assesses you automatically against the bursary criteria – no form, no interview.
5. The fee reduction is confirmed in January for courses starting in January, subject to the offer conditions being met.

If you already paid your full fees before the award was confirmed, Brunel’s student hub can refund the overpayment once you are enrolled.

One condition that surprises people: bursary holders may be asked to act as Brunel ambassadors – campus tours, open days, social media or marketing activity – while they study. It is occasional and arranged by the international recruitment team, but it is written into the terms.

Important dates for January 2027 entry

• Now: applications for January 2027 entry are open, and the bursary is marked open for applications.
• 30 November 2026: advisory deadline – offer conditions met and the £5,000 deposit received by Brunel to secure the £4,000 reduction.
• January 2027: the fee reduction is confirmed for courses starting in January.
• Registration: all offer conditions must be met by the time you register.

There is no separate result date for the bursary, because there is no competition round – you either meet the conditions by the deadline or you do not.

Frequently asked questions

Official links

• Brunel – Postgraduate International Bursary terms and conditions
• Brunel – all scholarships and bursaries
• Brunel University of London – official website

Always check the official terms page before paying a deposit: Brunel updates the wording each intake, and the bursary value, the deposit amount and the advisory deadline can change between cycles.

Related reading: Study abroad scholarships
International scholarships
Post graduation scholarships

Related scholarship posts: Brunel Postgraduate International Excellence Award, Brunel MBA Scholarship, Commonwealth Shared Scholarships.