Information for Applicants
ORSAS helps outstanding postgraduate research students from outside the United Kingdom and European Community to study in the UK by providing for some of the costs of their training and supervision.
ORS awards provide funding to pay the difference, in most cases, between the international student tuition fees and the home /EU student tuition fees charged by the academic institution that the student is or will be attending. ORS awards do not cover the home/EU fee element, maintenance or travel expenses.
The only two criteria for winning an award are: (1) academic ability, and (2) research potential. Other factors, such as: proposed field of study, financial status, nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion/belief, marital status or any other inappropriate distinctions, will not be taken into account.
Please note that to be eligible to apply for an ORS award
- you must be liable for the overseas fee
- you must be of outstanding merit and research potential
- you must not have already been awarded a PhD or equivalent degree
- you must not have held an ORS award before
- the Department or School in which you wish to study must support your application
ORSAS supports only full-time postgraduate research students. If you are intending to take an undergraduate or taught postgraduate course you will not receive an ORS award.
If you are eligible to apply for an award, the first step is to identify the university or college in which you would like to study. The institution you choose will tell you how to apply. Details of participating institutions in England are available on this site. Information on ORSAS in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is provided separately.
