GREAT Scholarships 2027-28: £10,000 for a UK Master’s — Eligibility, Deadlines & How to Apply

April 25, 2026

By Haider Sajjad·Updated September 30, 2026

The British Council’s GREAT Scholarships give students from 18 countries at least £10,000 towards tuition for a one-year taught Master’s in the UK. For 2027-28 there are 153 awards across more than 60 UK universities. You apply through the university, not the British Council, and each one sets its own deadline — usually between March and June.

That last sentence is the part most applicants get wrong, and it is the reason most of them miss out. More on that below.

Quick Facts


Award value	Minimum £10,000 towards tuition fees
Level	One-year taught Master’s (postgraduate)
Awards available	153 for 2027-28
Universities	60+ across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
Eligible countries	18 (full list below)
Covers	Tuition only
Does not cover	Living costs, visa fee, NHS surcharge, flights
Deadline	Set by each university, usually March–June
Apply through	Your chosen university’s international office

Who can apply

You need to meet all five of these:

1. Passport from an eligible country. The 18 countries are Bangladesh, China, Egypt, France, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam.

2. A completed undergraduate degree that meets the entry requirements for a UK Master’s.

3. Strong academic results. There is no single GPA cut-off — each university applies its own admission standard first, and the scholarship panel then compares the shortlisted applicants against each other.

4. English language proficiency at the level your chosen university requires. Most ask for IELTS 6.5 overall, but this varies by course — some competitive programmes want 7.0, and some universities accept a Medium of Instruction letter if your degree was taught in English. Check the course page, not a scholarship blog, for this.

5. An offer from a participating university. Conditional or unconditional both count. Without an offer, your scholarship application cannot be assessed.

⚠️ Note on the country list. Not every participating university offers GREAT Scholarships to every one of the 18 countries. A university may have awards reserved for India and Nigeria but none for Pakistan. Confirm your country is listed on that specific university’s GREAT Scholarships page before you apply.

What the scholarship covers

£10,000 is deducted from your tuition fee. It is not paid to you.

For a Master’s costing £16,000, you still have to find the remaining £6,000 yourself. And tuition is the smaller problem — you also need to budget for:

Living costs — roughly £12,000–£15,000 a year outside London, higher in London
Immigration Health Surcharge — paid upfront for the full length of your visa
Visa application fee
Flights and initial setup

The UK student visa also requires proof of funds held for 28 consecutive days. A GREAT Scholarship award letter counts towards that, but only for the amount it covers. Work out your full budget before you accept an offer, not after.

The two GREAT Scholarship types

General awards cover most taught subjects — business, engineering, humanities, social sciences, science.

Subject-specific awards are ring-fenced for particular fields. The best known is GREAT Scholarships for Justice and Law, run with the UK Ministry of Justice. These strands change from year to year, so check which ones are active for 2027-28.

How to apply — step by step

The order matters here, and it is not the order most people assume.

Step 1 — Find universities that offer the award to your country

Start at the British Council’s GREAT Scholarships page for your country. It lists the participating universities and what each one is offering. Make a shortlist of three to five where your country and your subject both appear.

Do this before you shortlist courses. There is no point falling in love with a programme that has no award for your nationality.

Step 2 — Apply for admission and get your offer

Apply for the Master’s course itself through the university’s normal application portal. You will need transcripts, your degree certificate, references, your personal statement, and your English test result.

This is the step with the longest lead time, and the one that quietly kills most applications. Document attestation and notarisation take weeks, not days. If your scholarship deadline is in April and you start collecting documents in March, you will not make it.

Step 3 — Submit the separate scholarship application

Most universities require a second, separate form for the scholarship. Getting an offer does not enter you automatically — a lot of people assume it does and never apply.

You will usually need a personal statement of around 500 words. The panel is looking for three things: academic ability, leadership, and what the British Council calls ambassadorial potential — what you will do with a UK education once you are back home.

Write about specifics. “I want to serve my community” says nothing. “I want to work on freight-corridor logistics planning in Punjab, where delays at dry ports add 11 days to the average shipment” says everything.

Step 4 — Submit before your university’s deadline

Check the “Scholarships and Funding” page of each shortlisted university and write the exact date in a calendar. Deadlines for 2027-28 have not all been published yet; they typically fall between March and June, and they differ by weeks between institutions.

Late applications are not accepted. There is no appeal and no extension.

Deadlines for 2027-28

There is no single deadline. Each participating university sets its own, and they are normally announced between November and February for the following September intake.

Based on previous cycles, expect most to fall between March and June 2027, with the majority in April and May. Some universities also close early once they have enough applications, so applying in the first week after a portal opens is better than applying in the last.

This page will be updated with confirmed, university-specific dates as the British Council and the universities publish them.

Common mistakes that cost people the award

Applying for the scholarship before the course. You need the offer first. The scholarship form asks for your application number.

Assuming the offer includes the scholarship. Separate form, separate deadline, separate decision.

Starting document collection too late. Attestation, notarisation, and sealed transcripts all run on institutional timelines you cannot speed up.

Writing a generic personal statement. The panel reads hundreds. “Studying in the UK will broaden my horizons” is in almost all of them.

Checking only one university’s deadline. If you are applying to four, you have four different dates.

Trusting a third-party blog for the final date. Including this one. Always confirm on the university’s own page before you submit.

In my experience, one of the most common mistakes students make when applying from Pakistan to study in China is delaying document attestation until the last moment. Many students start the admission process first and later discover that a degree, certificate, translation, or verification is still incomplete, which can delay the entire application.
From handling students’ documents, I have learned that it is much better to check all academic documents carefully before applying. If attestation and other required documents are completed in advance, both the university application and visa process can become much smoother.

Is GREAT right for you?

If you can cover living costs and part of the tuition yourself, £10,000 makes a UK Master’s realistic. If you need full funding including a stipend, look at Chevening or the Commonwealth Scholarship instead — both cover tuition, a monthly living allowance, and flights.

For other UK options, see our guide to NHS Scholarships in the UK and the full UK Scholarships directory.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for GREAT Scholarships at more than one university?
Yes. Each university runs its own selection, so applying to several increases your chances. You will need a separate scholarship form and a separate offer for each.

Do I need IELTS to apply?
You need to meet your university’s English requirement, which is usually IELTS 6.5. Some universities accept TOEFL, PTE Academic, or a Medium of Instruction certificate if your degree was taught in English. Confirm on the course page before booking a test.

Is GREAT Scholarships fully funded?
No. It covers a minimum of £10,000 towards tuition only. You fund the remaining tuition, living costs, visa, and travel yourself.

Can I apply for a PhD?
No. GREAT Scholarships are only for one-year taught Master’s programmes.

Does it cover distance learning?
No. The award is for on-campus study in the UK.

Is there an application fee?
The British Council does not charge for the scholarship. Some universities charge a standard admission processing fee, paid directly to the university. No agent should ever be paid for this — see our note on scholarship scams.

When will 2027-28 deadlines be confirmed?
Universities normally publish them between November and February. Check the official page below, or revisit this guide — we update it as dates are confirmed.

Apply

Applications are made through your chosen university, not the British Council.

👉 British Council — GREAT Scholarships (official page)

Find your country’s page there for the current list of participating universities and their individual deadlines.