Scholarships to study in the UK for Indian students
UK funding for Indian students comes from three places and they behave very differently: UK government awards such as Chevening, Commonwealth funding, and individual universities, which is where most of the money actually is and where the fewest people look.
At a glance
| Awards we list in this group | 10 |
|---|
Where UK funding actually comes from
| Source | Scale | Competitiveness |
|---|---|---|
| UK government (Chevening) | Fully funded, very few | Extremely high — leadership and work experience weigh heavily |
| Commonwealth | Fully funded, few | Very high, with a development focus |
| University awards | Partial, many | Moderate — often automatic on your application |
| Departmental and trust funding | Varies | Often uncontested because almost nobody asks |
Most Indian applicants aim at the first two and ignore the third. A partial award of several thousand pounds you are likely to get is worth more than a full award you are statistically unlikely to win — and you can hold both ambitions at once.
What UK applicants get wrong
- Applying too late. The big awards close roughly a year before the course starts, often before UK university applications even open.
- Ignoring automatic awards. Many universities assess every applicant for merit funding, and some require a separate short form most people never submit.
- Treating Chevening as a fallback. It assesses leadership and work experience, not only marks, and an academic-only application rarely lands.
- Missing departmental money, which is advertised on department pages rather than the central scholarships page.
Work backwards from the earliest deadline you find, not from the course start. For the fully funded UK awards that date is usually in the autumn of the year before you intend to go.
UK scholarships we list
10 awards, each with its own deadline, eligibility and the source we read it from.
UK scholarships — FAQs
2 questions
Yes — Chevening and Commonwealth both fund fully, and both are very competitive. University awards are far more winnable and are usually partial.
The major government awards open roughly a year before the course starts. University awards usually follow your admission application.
Want help shortlisting? A counsellor matches your marks, course and budget to the awards you can actually win — free.
Sources
Checked against these sources on 1 October 2026.