Finance for international students

Tuition fees cover the cost of a student’s academic studies. This usually includes teaching costs, registration and examination fees.

Remember that accommodation and living costs are not included in these fees. If you choose to live on-campus, approximate costs for this can be found here

How much do undergraduate courses cost?

If you are not classified as a UK student and are undertaking your first undergraduate degree, the tuition fee for 2023 will be £13,900. 

Tuition fees cover the cost of a student’s academic studies. This usually includes teaching costs, registration and examination fees (not repeat or trailing modules, re-sit fees or coursework resubmission). Any costs associated with work placements will be the student’s responsibility. Study tour charges may apply in addition on some courses. Please refer to the fees on the individual course pages.

In addition the following general charges may apply: Re-sit examination fees or coursework resubmission are £5 per credit (for a typical 15 credit module fee £75).

How much do postgraduate courses costs?

  Full time
MSc courses  £16,400

All prices in British pounds Stirling (GBP)

Can I get a job whilst I am studying at university?

Once you receive your Student Visa, you are permitted to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week during term-time. However, the University strongly recommends that you do no more than 10 hours per week paid employment so that you have time to concentrate on your studies. 

Paying fees?

Information about how to pay your fees can be found here. Tuition fees and accommodation costs are payable in advance of registration on the course.

If you're an overseas student you may want to use the International Student Calculator to help with budgeting before you come to the UK.

Opening a UK bank account 

Opening a UK bank account is by far the safest and most effective way of managing your money as an international student. Keep the following points in mind: 

  • Banks in the UK follow their own rules and identity checks which are completely separate from RAU. In order to keep your money safe, banks are very restricted in the ways they communicate with customers and in terms of their processes. This means that you need to attend a bank in person, meet with one of their advisors and sometimes complete a paper application form in order to open a bank account
  • You may need to visit the bank more than once to set up your account, and once you have set up the account, you may have to wait around 10 days for your bank card to arrive
  • RAU has no influence over the types of accounts banks offer to students, the documentation they require or any other of their processes. We don’t recommend any specific banks and it is up to you to decide which bank you would like to open an account with
  • If you are on a programme of six months or less, it may not be possible to open a bank account in the UK 
  • You will need to obtain a student status letter from the Registry Office before you can open a UK Bank account. To request a letter for this purpose write to registry@rau.ac.uk stating which bank you want a letter for as the content of the letter may vary

With this in mind, it is important that you bring sufficient funds to cover initial expenses for your first month in the UK. For safety reasons, it is not a good idea to bring large sums of cash; look for alternative options such as using Travellers Cheques or pre-paid cash cards and paying tuition fees online.