Cheapest UK universities for international students: master’s fees for 2027

The cheapest UK master’s we found for an Indian student costs £11,800 (about ₹15 lakh) in tuition. We checked the international fee on the official pages of 47 UK universities and list the 44 that publish one. Most are modern universities charging £17,500 to £21,500, and several cut that fee automatically for Indian applicants.

Several widely shared “cheapest UK universities” lists quote fees that are years out of date. Every figure below links to the university’s own page. Fees change every year and differ by course, so check your course page before you apply.

Which UK universities have the lowest master’s fees?

These had the lowest international list prices for a one-year master’s among the universities we checked. The 2026/27 fee covers the next intake in that academic year, usually January or February 2027 where the course offers one; the 2027/28 fee covers September 2027, where the university has published it.

York St John stands out. Its MSc Computer Science is taught at its London campus, so the cheapest course we found is also one of the few low-fee options in London. Wrexham charges one rate for most MAs and MScs, and Leeds Trinity’s £15,000 falls to £11,900 after an automatic scholarship (below); Leeds Trinity also lists a few MAs at £12,000.

What do the other lower-fee universities in England charge?

Most modern universities in England sit between £17,500 and £21,500 for a computing or business master’s. Some publish one rate for every master’s; most price course by course, so the figure for your course may differ.

“Not shown” means the page we checked showed only the other year. Two universities publish a range rather than a fee per course: Sunderland lists £16,500 to £19,000 for 2026/27, and Suffolk £16,020 to £18,900.

Which are the cheapest universities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

Edinburgh Napier, Aberystwyth and Swansea charge more, from £22,290 to £23,450 for computing in 2026/27, though Aberystwyth and Swansea both take a sum off automatically. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were not part of the 2023 teaching ratings described below.

What is the cheapest MBA in the UK?

MBA fees are set separately from other master’s, and most UK MBAs ask for work experience. The lowest we found on official pages:

Cardiff Met’s single £17,600 rate does not cover its MBA, which is £19,500.

Which is the cheapest university in London for international students?

The cheapest we found is York St John’s London campus: £11,800 for February 2027 and £12,000 for Septemberfor its MSc Computer Science. After it come Glasgow Caledonian’s London campus (£16,700 for computer science), East London (£17,220), West London (£17,250), Middlesex (£18,600), Greenwich (£19,450) and London Met (£20,000, or £15,000 after its 2026/27 award for Indian students). Living costs are higher in London: the visa rate is £1,570 a month, and a year at York St John’s London campus comes to about ₹41.4 lakh in total.

Which universities cut the fee automatically for Indian students?

Automatic awards can change the order. Several universities take a fixed sum off the fee without an application, which can move a £19,000 course below a £15,000 one. These are the awards whose pages say no application is needed, or that every applicant is assessed automatically. Most were written for the 2026/27 intakes, and terms for September 2027 are mostly not yet published.

Others are worth knowing about. Teesside’s £2,000 Global Excellence Scholarship, which it says is not guaranteed, was for September 2026 starters with an offer by 30 April 2026; terms for later intakes are not yet published. Bangor offers £6,000 off its £20,500 fee with no application, but at the university’s discretion. Hull takes £5,000 off for students from South Asia, applied automatically, for entry up to May 2027; its 2027 fee for Advanced Computer Science is £19,355. Cumbria applies £2,000 automatically on specific programmes, and Leeds Beckett gives £3,000 off the first year with no application. Swansea takes £4,000 off automatically for Indian students, but starts from a much higher fee. For September 2027, Aberystwyth’s Global Citizens Scholarship takes £3,800 off science master’s automatically, and South Wales and Abertay assess every international applicant for awards of up to £2,500 and £3,000. Chester says every applicant is automatically considered for its International Scholarship Award but does not state the amount. Coventry advertises £2,000 a year for self-funded students starting in 2026/27 or 2027/28, but it is not automatic.

Is the cheapest university the best value?

Not always. The Office for Students rates English universities in its Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). Several of the lower-fee universities above earned Gold overall in 2023, including Teesside, Derby, Coventry, Plymouth, Hull, Lincoln, Huddersfield, Greenwich, Anglia Ruskin and Sheffield Hallam. Wolverhampton and Leeds Beckett were rated Bronze. Wrexham, Cardiff Met, Glasgow Caledonian and Ulster, outside England, were not assessed in TEF 2023.

A rating describes the whole university, mostly at undergraduate level, so read it alongside the course itself: the modules, whether there is a placement and what it costs, and where graduates work. Computing courses labelled “conversion” are designed for students from other subjects, so check you are not paying for a year that repeats your degree. Our master’s requirements guide covers entry rules and deadlines.

What does a year at a low-fee UK university cost in total?

At these universities, tuition is usually less than half the bill. A Student visa application from 30 November 2026 must show living costs of £1,203 a month outside London and £1,570 in London, and we use those rates for twelve months as a realistic budget. Add the £558 visa fee and the health surcharge, which is £776 a year and comes to £1,164 for a typical one-year master’s visa.

These are illustrations at £1 ≈ ₹127 using the 2027/28 fee where published and the 2026/27 fee otherwise (Wrexham, Coventry). They sit below the ₹45 to 65 lakh we quote for a typical UK master’s outside London. Rent is the biggest part of living costs, and it is lowest in the North East and Yorkshire: university rooms start at £85 a week at Teesside, £90 at Sunderland and £99 at Hull. Our UK cost guide breaks down every line.

How much do you pay before the visa?

Most universities want a deposit before they issue the CAS, the reference number you need for the visa. Teesside asks for £4,000 and refunds it if the visa is refused; Sunderland asks for £3,500, and students from India on its instalment plan must pay 50% of the year’s fees before the CAS. Refund terms differ: Derby, for example, deducts an administrative fee of £500 from most refunds, including some after a visa refusal.

For the visa itself you must then show the rest of the first year’s fee plus nine months of living costs, held for 28 days in a row. The living-cost part alone is £10,827 outside London or £14,130 in London for applications from 30 November 2026, on top of any unpaid fee. A low tuition fee therefore cuts the visa money too. Our UK visa funds guide explains the rule, and the education loan guide compares lenders.

Will UK fees rise for 2027 and 2028?

Most universities that have published 2027/28 fees raised them by £200 to about £1,630, and a few held them steady (Cardiff Met, Abertay, London Met). The larger change comes later. The government plans an international student levy of £925 per international student per year in England from 1 August 2028, subject to Parliament’s approval. Chester already says its fees will rise by £925 a year from 2028/29, subject to formal approval. A one-year master’s starting in September 2027 ends around the time the levy begins, so it matters most for courses starting from 2028.

Does a cheaper university change your work rights?

No. The Graduate visa is the same at every UK university with a licence to sponsor students: it lasts 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027, so anyone starting a master’s in 2027 will get 18 months. What does differ is the university’s location and links with employers, which affect how easily you find work in that time. During the course, master’s students can usually work up to 20 hours a week in term time; budget without counting on it.

Are online lists of the cheapest UK universities accurate?

Not always. When we compared popular lists with the official pages, several quoted Suffolk at about £13,000 (its range is £16,020 to £18,900) and Greenwich at £14,500 to £16,500 (its MSc Computer Science is £19,450), while some left out York St John and Wrexham altogether. Older lists still include Buckinghamshire New University, whose page now says it is only accepting applications from people who do not need a visa, which rules out Indian students on a Student visa. Check every fee on the university’s own page.

How else can you cut the cost?

• Pay early or in full. Several universities give a discount for this: Wolverhampton offers £1,000 for paying in full before the CAS, Cardiff Met up to £1,000, and Lincoln £1,000 for January 2027 starts paid in full by its deadline.
• Choose a January start if the September fee has risen. Our UK January 2027 guide lists the dates.
• Apply for funded scholarships early. Chevening’s 2027/28 round has closed; our UK cost guide lists the others.
• Budget for the placement fee if your course offers one; it is extra at most universities.
• Check whether you need IELTS. Some universities accept your school English marks instead; our guide to studying without IELTS explains when.

Can we cost your UK shortlist for you?

Yes. Bring your marks, subject and budget to a free profile evaluation.