Turing Scheme Funding
Funding your Study Abroad
Turing Scheme Funding 2026/27
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 2026-27 academic year. However, the School was awarded only 15.89% 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.
What about students who are neither SEND nor from a disadvantaged background?
Unfortunately, there is not enough Turing Scheme 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.
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
| Placement duration | Group 1 | Group 2 |
| 14 to 56 days | £19 per day | £17 per day |
| 57 to 365 days | £14 per day | £12 per day |
Placements for students from disadvantaged backgrounds
| Placement duration | Group 1 | Group 2 |
| 14 to 56 days | £23 per day | £21 per day |
| 57 to 365 days | £18 per day | £16 per day |
Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are eligible for additional funding to cover their ‘travel costs’ and ‘readiness to travel’.
(a) Travel costs
This is the direct costs of travel to and from a placement, for one return journey including transfers from home to the airport (or travel hub) or from the travel hub to the placement. Students can determine the best way to make their return journey, including any stopovers, but they can only receive travel funding for up to the grant rate for the placement destination.
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, 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 and one return travel.
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, costs for travel to visa appointments, and police certificates
- Study permits
- Vaccines
- Travel insurance (includes mandatory health insurance)
- Medical certificates
The purchase of goods or assets, such as clothing or luggage is not eligible for readiness to travel funding. 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 to ard.outbound@lse.ac.uk, 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. The purchase of goods or assets (i.e. any item capable of being purchased for money or money’s worth which has a continuous useful life of one year or more) is not eligible for additional SEND funding.
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 to ard.outbound@lse.ac.uk, attaching all relevant and clearly labelled evidence.
Timeframe
The 2026/7 Turing Scheme runs from 1st September 2026 to 31st August 2027. 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.
Students can travel in advance of placements or delay their return journey to conduct non-Turing funded activities (for example, an additional Summer study period or travel), but they can only receive cost of living funding for the duration of their Turing Scheme placement
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 student's Certificate of Arrival and Certificate of Departure, both 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 the Turing Scheme 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 eligible applicants directly regarding the required documents.
Documents to submit within one week of the start of your placement (to receive initial 80% living cost grant):
- Certificate of Arrival
- Learning Agreement
- Grant Agreement (will be prepared and sent to each student after the Certificate of Arrival is received)
- Proof of LSE Travel insurance (Confirmation email received after completing the LSE Notification of travel form)
- Pre-departure & post-arrival survey (for GO LSE, Anthropology & Centre for Language Studies 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-Placement Survey (for GO LSE, Anthropology & Centre for Language Studies students 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: All Turing Scheme documents, expect online surveys, must be submitted to the GO LSE team by email to ard.outbound@lse.ac.uk. Failure to provide all required documents will result in payment delays, students not receiving the grant payment, or having to fully reimburse the initial grant which they’ve already received.
When 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.
Once all relevant documents have been received, the GO LSE team will process them and forward the payment request to the Financial Support Office (FSO) for payment to be made directly into the student's bank account on LSE OneFinance hub. A remittance notification will then be sent to the student.
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 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% paid post arrival, and a final 20% paid at the conclusion of the student’s placement following receipt of all required 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 and verified.
If you have any questions please contact the GO LSE team at ard.outbound@lse.ac.uk