A recent study comparing tuition fees charged by UK universities for the coming academic year reveals that the cheapest classroom-based undergraduate degree course for non-EU students costs UK£9,500 at Bucks New University.
The annual study, conducted by the Complete University Guide, also revealed that the most expensive classroom-based undergraduate degree course was offered by Imperial College London at UK£24,000 for the year.
The cheapest postgraduate taught course for non-EU students was also offered by Bucks University, costing UK£9,400, with other cheaper universities revealed to be the University of Bedfordshire (UK£9,900) and the University of Chester (UK£9,700) for similar courses.
The most expensive course for non-EU students studying at a university in the UK in 2016/2017 is the post-graduate MBA, which costs UK£49,000 and UK£50,000 respectively at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. International students can also undertake an MBA course for a more reasonable UK£11,250 at the University of Birkbeck and UK£5,400 at the University of Plymouth.
The course fee for UK students for an undergraduate classroom-based course is capped at UK£9,000 and averages UK£8,891, while the average fee for non-EU students is UK£13,394. The difference between fees for UK and non-EU students is more extreme for postgraduate courses where an average fee for home students is UK£6,486, while for non-EU students the fee is UK£13,442 for classroom-based courses and UK£20,956 for clinical courses.
This tuition fee comparison study is pertinent this year after the recent ‘Brexit’ vote by the UK, which could result in EU students no longer being classed in the same category as UK students and eligible for the lower fees. The report shows that the gap between home and international undergraduate fees has grown significantly in the last few years with international student tuition fees rising by 18.6 per cent since 2013. The current cap for tuition fees for UK and EU students is set to increase to £9,250 in 2017/2018.
At the time of writing, UK£1 = US$1.3
By Bethan Norris
Senior Editor, StudyTravel Magazine