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. This year, the Turing Scheme is delivered by the Department for Education (DfE).

Yes, LSE has secured some funding from the Turing Scheme for the 2024-25 academic year. However, the School was awarded only 23.93% of the amount it bid for. As a consequence, not allstudy abroad students will receive funding and those that are supported may not be funded to an equal extent. The School will prioritise students from disadvantaged backgrounds and students with special education needs and/or disability (SEND). These students will be funded to the full extent permitted by the Turing Scheme/DfE.

These are students who meet any of the following criteria: 

• someone with an annual household income of £35,000 or less;

• someone who receives Universal Credit or income-related benefits because they are 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 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 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.

The amount each student can receive depends on where their destination country is located and the ‘group’ it has been assigned by the DfE. 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 destinations in each group is available in the list of destinations. There are different rates depending on the length of the placement as follows. 

Placements for successful applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds funded by the Turing Scheme/DfE

Placements for successful applicants from non-disadvantaged backgrounds funded by the Turing Scheme/DfE 

Yes. Successful applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds are eligible to receive additional funding to cover their travel costs and readiness to travel.

Travel costs

This is the cost of travelling to and from your 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/DfE 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.

Note: If your travel cost is more than the grant rate for your destination, you will only receive themaximum 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.

Disadvantaged students must provide travel receipts to receive the travel grant. If the cost is not yet incurred, the estimated cost or evidence must be provided. Note that the actual receipts or evidence will be required later when cost is incurred. No additional costs will be paid until the probative receipts have been received.

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 policecertificates

•vaccines

•travel insurance

•medical certificates

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

Students with SEND are eligible for additional funding for extra costs that they may face abroad as a result of their SEND. These must be costs that are not already being funded by the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). SEND students cannot receive any additional Turing Scheme/DfE funds for costs that are already funded by the 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.

Yes. LSE has allocated an additional £126,000 of its own money to ensure that all undergraduates who study abroad in 2024/5 will receive some financial support. To ensure the School’s additional funding supports the maximum number of undergraduate students, the following rates will apply for students funded by LSE:

Placements for successful undergraduate non-disadvantaged/non-SEND applicants funded by LSE

Timeframe

The 2024/5 Turing Scheme runs from 1st September 2024 to 31st August 2025. Placements taking place in countries with different academic term dates may begin outside this timeframe, but funding will only be provided for the part of the placement that falls within this period.

Duration

Turing Scheme placements must be between a minimum of four weeks (28 calendar days) and a maximum of 12 months per academic year, excluding travel time. The duration will be calculated using the start and end dates provided on the Certificate of Enrolment/Attendance signed by the host institution.. 

 Yes. Recipients are required to submit a number of documents to the GO LSE team before the Turing Scheme or LSE funding can be released. The GO LSE Team will communicate with successful applicants directly regarding the required paperwork.

General Turing Scheme/LSE Funding paperwork to complete/submit at the start of the placement in order to receive initial 80% grant

• Turing Scheme Grant Agreement/LSE Funding Grant Agreeement
• Learning Agreement
• Certificate of Attendance
• Proof of LSE Travel insurance
• Pre-departure and post-arrival survey (for GO LSE & Langauge Centre only)

 Turing Scheme /LSE Funding documents to complete towards the end of your placemement in order to receive final 20% grant:

• Confirmation of Grant Payment – 80%
• End-of-Mobility Survey  (for GO LSE & Langauge Centre only)

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

  1. Confirmation of Grant Payment – 20%
  2. Transcript of records from host institution

How and when will I receive the funding?

LSE pays Turing Scheme funding in pounds sterling (£) directly into the recipient’s UK bank account. The recipient must have uploaded their UK bank account details into the LSE OneFinance hub before travelling abroad.

Recipients receive their funding in two instalments, an initial 80% and a final 20%. The latter is paid at the conclusion of their time studying abroad.

When will I receive the money?

Payments to successful applicants will be made as soon as possible after all the required documentation has been received but will not be immediate. It is possible that funding may not be paid until early in 2025.

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

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