Funding your Study Abroad

The Turing Scheme is the UK Government’s global mobility programme that provides funding to students (both UK and overseas students) at some UK institutions as a contribution towards the costs of their international education placements. The Turing Scheme is delivered by the Department for Education (DfE).

Yes, LSE has secured some funding from the Turing Scheme for the 2025-26 academic year. However, the School was awarded only 14.41% of the amount it bid for. As a consequence, not all study abroad students will receive funding .

The School will prioritise undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special education needs and/or disability (SEND). This is in compliance with the Turing Scheme guidelines, as this group of students is likely to face particular challenges in meeting the costs of an international placement.

Is the Turing Scheme funding sufficient to support all disadvantaged and SEND students?

No. The funding awarded to the School is not enough to cover all undergraduate disadvantaged and SEND students studying abroad in the 2025/26 academic year.

How will School ensure that all eligible disadvantaged and SEND students are supported?

To ensure fairness and in recognition of both the value of studying abroad and the costs associated with it, the School has allocated an additional £106,090 of its own funds. This will guarantee that all undergraduate disadvantaged and SEND students studying abroad in 2025/26 will receive financial support.

What about students who are neither SEND nor from a disadvantaged background?

Unfortunately, there is not enough Turing Scheme or LSE funding to support students who are not from disadvantaged backgrounds, do not have SEND, or who are enrolled on postgraduate programmes. 

The Turing Scheme definition of a disadvantaged student is set out on GOV.UK 

Generally, these are students who meet any of the following criteria:

• someone with an annual household income of £50,000 or less;

• someone who receives universal credit or income-related benefits because they are either financially supporting themselves, or themselves and someone who is dependent on them, such as a child or partner;

• someone with experience of being in care or who is a care leaver – including anyone who is or has been in care, or from a looked after background, at any stage of their life;

• a carer, meaning anyone who both (i) looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction, and cannot cope without their support and (ii) is not paid for this care;

• someone who is estranged – including anyone who has had no contact with their biological or adoptive parents for 12 months or more, or the relationship with their parents has broken down within the last 12 months

• a refugee or an asylum seeker

Students who do not meet the above criteria but still share similar characteristics of financial disadvantage, meaning they are less able to meet the cost of an international placement, may also be considered but not guaranteed.

Please note:

• Being underrepresented in international placements, or in higher education more generally, is not considered a financial disadvantage.

• Please be aware that the primary basis for identifying disadvantaged students will be the financial need and household income data provided by the LSE Financial Support Office.  

The Turing Scheme provides funding to students in the following categories:

1. Contribution to living costs - help with daily living costs for all eligible students.

2. Travel funding – help with cost of travel for disadvantaged students only.

3. Readiness to travel – help with cost of passport, visa, vaccines, travel insurance        and medical certificate for disadvantaged students only.

4. Additional funding for students with SEND – for SEND students only.

 How much is the contribution to living costs?

The amount each student can receive depends on where their destination country is located and the ‘cost of living group’ it has been assigned by the DfE.

Cost of living groups are based on an assessment of the general cost of living in those destinations:

• Group 1 – higher cost of living

• Group 2 – lower cost of living

Information on the cost of living group assigned to each country is available in the list of destinations.

There are different rates for the cost of living depending on the length of the placement as follows:

Placements for students from non-disadvantaged backgrounds

Placements for students from disadvantaged backgrounds

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are eligible for additional funding to cover their ‘travel costs’ and ‘readiness to travel’.

 (a)   Travel costs

This is the cost of one return travel to and from the host country.

 Disadvantaged students can apply to receive additional funding for the actual cost of travel for one return journey including transfers. The Turing Scheme provides additional funding for each disadvantaged student based on a travel grant rate allocated for each destination. The travel grant rate for each country can be found in the list of destinations and grant rates.

 Students can travel to the placement from a location outside the UK or British overseas territory but can only be funded at the standard grant rate.

 Students can return from a different location to the placement, to allow for non-Turing Scheme funded activity, but they can only be funded at the standard grant rate.

 Please note:

• ·     If your travel cost is more than the grant rate for your destination, you will only receive the maximum rate allocated for your destination. For example, if the travel grant rate for your host country is £250, and your travel cost is £300, you will only be eligible to receive £250.
•  Also, if you travel to your placement in the first term, return home for Christmas, and then travel again in the second term, returning at the end of your placement, you will still be eligible to receive reimbursement for your first travel to your host country.

 Disadvantaged students must provide evidence in the form of travel receipts/booking confirmation to receive the travel grant. No travel costs will be paid until the probative receipts have been received.

 (b)   Readiness to travel

The ‘readiness to travel’ funding relates to costs incurred when preparing to travel. Depending on the availability of funds, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are also eligible for additional funding to help prepare for travel. The ‘readiness to travel’ funding only covers actual costs for the following: 

• ·         passports
• ·         visa applications and reasonable associated costs such as              translated documents and police certificates
• ·         vaccines
• ·         travel insurance (includes mandatory health insurance)
• ·         medical certificates

Disadvantaged students must provide probative receipts to receive the ‘readiness to travel’ funds.

 How can disadvantaged students submit claims for additional funding?

The GO LSE team will provide all eligible students with the relevant form to claim additional funding for travel costs, and readiness to travel. Students must complete the form and submit it by email, attaching all relevant and clearly labelled evidence.

Students with SEND are eligible for additional funding for extra costs that they may face abroad as a result of their SEND status. These must be costs that are not already being funded by the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

 If you are in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA), you should not apply for costs that are already funded by the DSA. You can still apply for SEND support for costs that are not funded through DSA. We recommend that SEND students contact their DSA needs assessor to confirm which costs are not covered by their DSA whilst abroad.

 SEND students must provide evidence of SEND costs to receive the extra funding. All costs will be funded on the basis of real costs incurred. No additional costs will be paid until the probative receipts have been received. 

How can SEND students submit claims for additional funding?

 The GO LSE team will provide all eligible students with the relevant form to claim additional funding for SEND support. Students must complete the form and submit it by email, attaching all relevant and clearly labelled evidence.

BUTEX Scholarship

Generation UK – China

Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship

The John Speak Trust

British American Foundation of Texas (BAFTX)

Daiwa Scholarship

Chinese Government Scholarship

Timeframe

The 2025/6 Turing Scheme runs from 1st September 2025 to 31st August 2026. Placements in countries with different academic calendar can start or end outside of these dates, but most of the placement should take place between these dates and must meet the minimum duration requirement. Funding will only be provided for the part of the placement that falls within this funding time frame.

 Length of placements

 Turing Scheme placements must be between a minimum 14 calendar days and a maximum of 12 months (365 calendar days). Placement durations include weekends and national holidays. The duration will be calculated using the start and end dates provided on the Certificate of Attendance signed by the host institution.

To calculate the length of the placement in days, subtract the placement start date from the placement end date and add one day. This determines the number of days for which the student is entitled to living costs funding. 

The GO LSE team will be contacting eligible students directly with application information and deadlines.

 Is funding from the Turing Scheme a loan and do students have to repay it?

 Funding from either the Turing Scheme or LSE is not a loan. It is a contribution towards the cost of studying abroad that students do not have to pay it back. Recipients will, however, be required to repay any overpaid grant if their period of study abroad is not completed as planned after they’ve received their payment.

Turing Scheme documents to submit

 Students must submit a number of arrival and departure documents to the GO LSE team before any funding can be released. The GO LSE Team will communicate with successful applicants directly regarding the required paperwork. A list of the paperwork can also be found below and downloaded from the GO LSE website. 

Documents to submit within 2 weeks of the start of your placement (to receive initial  80% living cost grant):

•  Grant Agreement (will be prepared and sent to each student)
• Learning Agreement
• Certificate of Attendance
• Proof of LSE Travel insurance (Confirmation email received after completing the LSE Notification of travel)
• Pre-departure & post-arrival survey (for GO LSE, Anthropology & Language Centre students only)

Documents to complete towards the end of your placemement to receive final 20% living costs grant:

• Confirmation of receipt of initial grant (80% living costs) payment form 
• End-of-Mobility Survey  (for GO LSE, Anthropology & Langauge Centre only)

 Additional documents to submit after receipt of final 20% grant payment:

• Confirmation of receipt of 20% living costs grant payment form
• Transcript of records from host institution

Please note: Failure to provide all required documents will result in students not receiving the grant instalments or having to fully reimburse the initial grant which they’ve already received. 

How will students receive the grant?

Payments to successful applicants will be made as soon as possible after all the required documents have been received but will not be immediate. The GO LSE team will inform students and provide updates when their payments are ready. We strongly advise students not to include the Turing Scheme funding in their study abroad budgeting, as it is difficult to determine with certainty when the funds will be paid.

 How will students receive the grant?

LSE pays Turing Scheme and LSE funding in pounds sterling (£) directly into students’ UK bank account. Students must have uploaded their UK bank account details to the LSE OneFinance hub.

 Contribution to living costs payments will be made in two instalments - an initial 80% and a final 20%. The latter is paid at the conclusion of the student’s time studying abroad following receipt of all required departure documentation.

 Additional funding (for travel costs, readiness to travel, and SEND-related expenses) will be paid once the claim and supporting evidence have been submitted.

If you have any questions please contact the GO LSE team at ard.outbound@lse.ac.uk