Money matters

Tuition fees

Before you leave, remember to pay your tuition fees to Oxford Brookes or to confirm with Oxford Brookes that your Student Loans Company will contribute towards your fees as usual. If you are eligible for UK support and on an exchange/work placement (Erasmus+, International, or a combination) for a full academic year, you will also benefit from a partial tuition fee waiver and can expect to pay £1500 in fees. Please see the Student Finance England fact sheet below, which details the financial provision for students studying/working abroad.

Other costs

You will be responsible for all other costs such as accommodation, purchasing your airfares, travel and health insurance and visas. Some countries require medical certificates from your doctor or criminal checks by the police as part of the visa application. Please read about the visa application process at the relevant embassy's website early enough so that you are able to arrange for all required documents on time. Some checks might take up to a month to be complete.

Please note: You may already need to provide information about your finances for the whole semester/academic year as part of your application to your host university. For example, the North American universities require you to submit bank statements/sponsor letters from parents/Student Finance England documents to show that you have the required funds for immigration (in the USA this could be something around $8700-$11000 per semester depending on the university. These figures are only estimates and are subject to change without notice.)

Please therefore always check the partner university web pages for up-to-date budgeting information before applying. You might not be issued with any immigration paperwork before the host university has seen the financial support documents. If you have any questions about this, please email the Oxford Brookes Exchanges team at studyabroad@brookes.ac.uk.

Turing funding

The University has been successful in its bid for funding through the new Turing scheme, and currently has funding for its International exchange programme, International work placements and Japanese Studies placement year.

Turing funding arrangements for 2024/2025 have not yet been confirmed, but the University will apply for further funding through the scheme, should it be able to do so.

See Frequently Asked Questions about the Turing scheme.

Student Finance England travel grants

If your student finance is based on your household income, you may qualify for a travel grant from Student Finance England. Please see the link below for further information.

Maintenance loan payments

Maintenance loan payments are usually paid in three standard instalments during an academic year. However, Student Finance England offer three types of “manual payments” for students studying abroad, should the standard automatic payments not be suitable. 

  • Early Payment of the first instalment for those students who are  studying abroad more than 25 working days prior to the start of their course start date.
  • Payment in Two Instalments - In certain countries (usually but not limited to USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) the university year runs across two semesters  In these instances a student can request that their entitlement be paid across two instalments rather than the standard three. If this is requested the student will receive their first instalment as normal (unless an early payment has been requested) and will then receive instalment two and three at the same time, paid on the standard second term start date.
  • Payment in One Instalment - In some countries (usually China, Japan and Russia) the student may be required to show that they have the money to support themselves financially for the year prior to gaining access into the country. In these instances Student Finance England will pay the full student entitlement for the year on their first instalment date (unless requested otherwise). Students MUST also be abroad for the full academic year to request this payment."

Please note that Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland and SAAS may follow different payment arrangements

Santander Student Awards

The Santander International Experience Bursary provides funding for periods of international experience, such as attending a summer school at one of our partner universities, volunteering overseas, or participating in an internship abroad.

The award is open to any full-time student currently enrolled on an undergraduate degree course and planning an international experience, who has been assessed for a Brookes bursary.

Applicants should not have previously participated, or plan to participate in study or work abroad as part of their programme at Oxford Brookes.

BUTEX Scholarships

Each year BUTEX awards a number of scholarships to students going on non-Erasmus+ international exchanges for either a semester or whole academic year. The value of each scholarship is currently £500 and will be paid to the winners once they have arrived and registered at their host university.