International Postgraduate Taught Merit Scholarship 2025

Each scholarship is a competitive award worth £10,000 towards the original tuition fee for a postgraduate taught programme starting in September 2025. The scholarships are available to all new international students who meet the eligibility criteria.

You must hold an offer to study at the University of Sheffield.

Eligibility criteria

Your programme must commence at the University of Sheffield in autumn 2025.

• Distance learning courses are ineligible for a merit scholarship.
• You must receive an offer for a course studied in full at the University of Sheffield. Masters programmes split between the University of Sheffield and a partner institution are not eligible to apply for a scholarship.
• All Crossways courses and Erasmus Mundus courses are ineligible for a merit scholarship.
• For tuition fee purposes you must be self-funded and required to pay the overseas tuition fee.
• You must not be a sponsored student*.
• For scholarship purposes all MArch programmes are considered as postgraduate taught programmes and are not eligible for undergraduate scholarships.
• Anyone studying a Masters/integrated PhD programme is eligible for a merit scholarship in the Masters element of the programme only.
• These scholarships are not applicable to any postgraduate courses where the higher clinical fee is applicable. This includes, but is not exclusive to, the following courses:
  • DClinDent Orthodontics
  • MClinDent in Orthodontics
  • DClinDent Endodontics
  • MClinDent in Paediatric Dentistry
  • DClinDent Periodontics
  • MMedSci in Diagnostic Oral Pathology
  • DClinDent Prosthodontics
• The University of Sheffield reserves the right to review and change scholarship provision.

How to apply

Applications are now open. The deadline to apply is 1pm (UK time) on Monday 12 May 2025.

Apply for an International Postgraduate Taught Merit Scholarship 2025

A single application form enables applicants to be automatically considered for multiple scholarships if they meet the eligibility criteria; however, only one award can be received.

Selection criteria

This is a competitive process and not all applications will be successful. A panel of senior members of staff will select the strongest applications and will be looking for the following:

• Applicant has given examples of achievements which represent excellence and initiative in educational, voluntary, or professional areas.
• Applicant has shown how these achievements relate to the course they have applied for at the University of Sheffield and connected that to their future ambitions.
• Applicant has a strong academic profile.

Award criteria

• You must commence your programme at the University of Sheffield in autumn 2025.
• The International Postgraduate Taught Merit Scholarship 2025 cannot be awarded in conjunction with any of the following scholarships:
  • International Postgraduate Taught Scholarship 2025
  • NCUK Postgraduate Taught Scholarship 2025
  • Professor David Locker Scholarship in Social Science, Oral Health and Dentistry 2025
  • MBA Scholarship 2025
  • GREAT Scholarship 2025 for Egypt, Malaysia and India
• In the event that you are selected for any of the above scholarships the most valuable award will take precedence.
• The scholarship can be awarded in conjunction with any available scholarships from the Department or Faculty you will be studying in, subject to not becoming a sponsored student*. Please use the funding calculator to find out if any scholarships are available from your Department/Faculty.
• The scholarship cannot be awarded in conjunction with any funding from an external sponsor**, excluding a loan, which has to be paid back in full.
• If you are receiving a loan (which has to be paid back in full) from an organisation to which we offer a discount, you are not able to combine this scholarship with the discount - the most valuable award will take precedence.
• If you are studying a 2-year masters programme the scholarship will be available in the second year of your studies subject to successful completion of year 1, and all remaining eligibility and award criteria.
• The scholarship is not applicable to any years in industry or study abroad years that are compulsory or optional elements of your course.
• If an offer of a place of study requires a deposit to be paid by a set date you must pay this deposit to continue to be eligible for the scholarship and to hold your offer for a place of study.
• If you are selected for a merit scholarship and you fail to meet the conditions of your offer you will no longer be eligible to receive the award.
• If you change your Masters programme during your studies your merit scholarship may be forfeited.
• The merit scholarship can be provided for a maximum of 2 full-time academic years. This does not include years in industry or year(s) abroad. For part-time students on programmes that last longer than one year the scholarship will be split pro rata for a maximum of 4 years.
• Part-time students will receive the full value of the scholarship split pro rata over the duration of the course.
• The scholarship will be applied as a tuition fee discount only, there is no cash alternative.
• The decision of the scholarship panel is final. No scholarship applications or decision appeals will be considered.
• All decisions made by the University are made in good faith. If a scholarship is awarded on the basis of predicted grades and you do not achieve the predicted grades or if the information provided is false, the University reserves the right to remove the scholarship.
• If you are selected for the scholarship, you will be required to pay a tuition fee deposit by a fixed date.
• If you are offered the scholarship, we’ll ask that you confirm acceptance of your scholarship by a fixed date. You will also need to accept your course offer by 4pm (UK time) on Tuesday 8 July 2025.

* Sponsored student is defined as an individual who is in receipt of a total sum of funds that matches or exceeds the original tuition fee required by the University.

** Government or governmental organisation – international, national or regional; research council; charity; private enterprise; or any similar organisation.