Spotlight on: GREAT Scholarships from the British Council

Each year, the British Council offers generous funding through the GREAT Scholarship scheme to international students from selected countries to study a one-year, taught Masters at a UK university.

The scholarships are worth a minimum of £10,000. They’re meant to cover the entirety of your tuition fees (but can’t be used for your living costs, unfortunately).

The 2024-25 academic year is no different, with 210 GREAT Scholarships available for Masters study at dozens of British universities. These are the 14 countries whose nationals can apply for a scholarship:

• Bangladesh
• China
• Egypt
• Ghana
• India
• Indonesia
• Kenya
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Thailand
• Turkey
• Vietnam

In 2024, there are also GREAT Scholarships for Justice and Law on offer for postgraduate studying Law, Human Rights and Justice.

You’ll need to satisfy a few conditions in order to be eligible for a GREAT Scholarship, meeting the following requirements:

• A passport from one of the countries mentioned above
• Hold an offer to study a one-year, taught Masters in 2024 at an eligible university
• A relevant undergraduate degree
• Extracurricular activities that relate to the Masters you’re applying for

The GREAT Scholarship scheme is also about being an ambassador for UK postgraduate study, so you might be asked by the British Council to share your experiences of completing a Masters at a British university. You may also be given the opportunity to attend networking events with fellow scholarship holders.

First of all, you’ll need to apply for an eligible Masters programme at a participating university.

Once you’ve got an offer, you should apply for a GREAT Scholarship through your prospective university’s website. The application procedure differs slightly from university to university, but generally speaking you’ll need to provide them with the following documents:

• Your academic transcripts
• A personal statement where you talk about your ambitions, motivations and goals
• Information about any relevant extracurricular activities you’ve taken part in

Deadlines vary quite widely between institutions, so it’s well worth making sure that you know exactly when your application needs to be submitted. These range from early March to early June 2024, depending on the university.

For more information, check out our guide to the GREAT Scholarships, which has a handy table that lists the universities that are taking part in the scheme. You can also head directly to the British Council website.

Editor's note: This blog was first published on 15/12/20. We've checked and updated it for current readers.

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