Studying in the UK is undoubtably a good choice, with the country being home to many of the world’s top universities, as well as a cultural hub. However, the cost of living in the UK as well as UK tuition fees are often a source of controversy, with prices also having risen for home students in recent years.
Home Student Tuition Fees UK
While home students were traditionally charged in the range of £3,000 a year for degree programs, they are now required to pay up to £9,250.
According to QS Top universities, the UK is the top fifth most expensive place to study in the world, with the cost for studying an undergraduate degree in the UK starting at £9250 while the average cost of studying at a public university in the world is £2536 and even less for most European cities. Studying in Germany or Denmark is effectively free, while studying in the Netherlands starts from only £1,700 a year.
Nevertheless, if you are a home student, the UK is by no means the most expensive place in the world to study. If considering studying in the United States or New Zealand, studying in the UK could save you a great deal of money. Here is a comparison of the top 6 countries charging most expensive tuition fees are as follows.
| Top 6 countries in order of most expensive | Minimum yearly fees |
| United States | £19,968 |
| New Zealand | £14,335 |
| Australia | £11,453 |
| Canada | £10,376 |
| United Kingdom | £9,250 |
| Hong Kong | £7,794 |
International Tuition Fees UK
International student tuition fees in the UK are considerably costly, although they are still lower than some other countries in the world. International undergraduate fees vary hugely, ranging from around £10,000 to £38,000, with humanities and social science degrees usually being cheapest and medical and life sciences degrees costing the most.
Here are some of the international tuition fees for Kampus Group universities.
| University | Foundation | Undergraduate | Medicine | Postgraduate |
| Malvern House | £11,700 | — | — | — |
| Aston | £15,780 | £13,900-£19,950 | £38,850 | £15,250- £19,000 |
| University of Law | £10,900 | £13,750 | — | £12,360 |
Kampus Group also work with hundreds of other universities, including De Montford, University of Suffolk, Wrexham Glydwr, University of Sunderland, University of East London, University for the Creative Arts, Cambridge Group, Study Group, NCUK, QA, and Holmes education group universities.
You can contact us to discuss university fees in more detail.
Cost of Living While Studying in the UK
When combining tuition fees with the cost of living in the UK, then studying in the UK can be considered to cost quite a fortune for international students. The total average cost of living in the UK is predicted to be around £22,200 per year, and higher in London. Careful financial planning is needing for international students wanting to study in the UK on a budget.
In 2020, the average student living expenses in the UK were around £795 a month, with rent taking the biggest chunk of this, followed by groceries, going out, bills, and course materials. The diagram below has listed the main costs, a full breakdown can be found here.
| Monthly Expenses | Cost per Month |
| Rent | £418 |
| Groceries | £100 |
| Going Out | £46 |
| Transport | £43 |
| Household Bills | £37 |
While £795 is the living expense average for the UK, the cost of living in London for students, according to King’s College, is closer to £1,250 a month. Accommodation expenses take up a great proportion of this. For students on a smaller budget, they may wish to consider living in one of the UK’s other popular student cities.
The Times Higher Education has ranked the most affordable student cities to live in based on food costs, rent, bills, how much time student spend working, socializing and studying, as well as term time income.
The cheapest cities for UK students:
| City | Ranking |
| Cardiff | 1 |
| Aberdeen | 2 |
| Durham | 3 |
| Canterbury | 4 |
| Swansea | 5 |
| Manchester | 6 |
| Reading | 7 |
While living in the UK is costly, there are many ways for students to save. There are a large range of student discounts to take advantage of such as student Oyster card for transportation, discounted cinema tickets, student discounts at restaurants and fashion outlets, and more!
To find out more about the cost of studying the UK or to receive a free of charge consultation, contact us today.
Sources:
The cheapest student cities in the UK | Student (timeshighereducation.com)
How do tuition fees in the UK compare to other countries? | Metro News
UK is Fifth Most Expensive Study Destination in the World | Top Universities
How Much Does it Cost to Study in the UK? | Top Universities
Student living costs in the UK 2021 – Save the Student
Living expenses | Study at King’s | King’s College London (kcl.ac.uk)