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International Excellence Scholarships 2026

We have 500 scholarships, worth either £3,000, £6,000 or £16,000 available to support eligible international students.

The awards recognise and reward high academic achievement for students applying to study a taught Masters course starting in September 2026.  

At Leeds, we welcome international students from over 140 countries or regions to our multicultural campus. Our International Excellence Scholarship supports students to fulfil their potential and join our diverse community.

We also offer undergraduate and International Foundation Year scholarships for international students.

Applications for International Excellence Scholarships 2026 are now closed.

Eligibility criteria

To apply for an International Excellence Scholarship, you must:

  • be classified as an international student for fee purposes;
  • have a conditional or unconditional offer for an eligible taught Masters course starting in September 2026;
  • be self-funded or partially-funded;
  • demonstrate an excellent academic track record, and be predicted to achieve or have achieved a minimum  of a Bachelor’s degree with a 2:1 (hons) or equivalent;
  • show excellent professional and personal skills evidenced through work experience and/or extracurricular activities.

Excluded courses

The following Masters courses are not eligible for the International Excellence Scholarship:

Application outcome – key dates

Applications for International Excellence Scholarships 2026 are now closed.

If you applied by the 29 May deadline, you will be notified of the outcome of your application by 26 June.

Terms and conditions

  • This scholarship can be combined with our International Regional Scholarship or external funding as long as this does not exceed 100% of your tuition fees. You may also be able to combine this scholarship with a School or Faculty scholarship.
    • Please check the terms and conditions of any other scholarships that you have received to ensure that they can also be combined.  
  • If you are applying through an International Partner Agreement and are offered more than one University of Leeds scholarship, you can only accept one scholarship (this will be whichever award represents the highest value). 
  • The scholarship award cannot be deferred to the following year and is non-transferable to other courses at the University of Leeds.
  • This scholarship is paid as a fee reduction for your first year of study only and can only be used as a fee reduction. It cannot be used towards other costs, including but not exclusive to maintenance or accommodation costs.   

Questions about the International Excellence Scholarships

If you have any questions about these scholarships, please email the Admissions Enquiries team at study@leeds.ac.uk.