How to fund my placement year abroad?

Funding options for international placements and internships

We believe that everyone should have the opportunity of doing a placement year, gap year or ad-hoc internship abroad, so we have come up with some handy information and advice to help those considering an undergraduate, post graduate or summer gap year placement ways of affording it.

Turing Funding

The Turing Scheme provides grant funding to education providers like universities to support their students to pursue study and work placements around the world. This is specifically for international placement opportunities.

Students cannot apply directly to the Department for Education (DfE) for Turing Scheme funding. If you are a student who wants to do an international work placement or internship, please contact your university to find out if they have Turing funding that can help towards your trip costs.

You can claim up to £147.50 per month for trips four to eight weeks long and for anything over eight weeks you can claim up to £445 per month. This is often awarded on a first-come first-served basis, so our advice is to discuss this early on in the academic year with your university.

Contact your placement office or placement tutor and ask them for information on Turing funding.

BUTEX funding

Many UK universities are now members of a scholarship programme called BUTEX.

Each year Butex awards a number of scholarships to undergraduate students studying abroad for a term or a whole academic year, and students undertaking a summer school programme, overseas work/internship/traineeship placement of varying lengths of time.

Butex scholarships are based on a calendar year and not the academic year.

The scholarships can be applied for through your university and contributions are roughly around £500.

Contact your placement office or placement tutor and ask them for information on BUTEX funding.

FundMyTravel

FundMyTravel gives travellers their own platform for raising money.

Large crowdfunding sites contain campaigns for everything from new businesses to community projects to family emergencies, making it complicated and challenging for travellers to find their voice. FundMyTravel is uniquely used for those that want to raise money for travel.

It can help to budget for your trip, incentivise donors to contribute, and even request offline support. Students can reach out to friends and family and help them get their ideal placement or international experience.
https://www.fundmytravel.com/

Self funding

Almost everyone who joins us will do a certain amount of self funding, even if they’re also successful at raising some money through other ways.

Essentially this means getting a paid job and saving money each week or month to put towards your trip. This could be alongside your studies or during a holiday.

It can seem daunting when you initially look at the amounts required for our fees, flights and visas etc but remember you don’t have to pay everything up front. It’s normally fine to spread the payments out over many months. Paying in instalments can help you budget.

Many people start their trips in September / October which gives the summer holidays for working and saving money for the big adventure!

Please contact us if you want assistance calculating the overall cost and how to afford it.

Access to Learning Fund

The Access to Learning Fund is available to UK ‘Home’ fee paying students. I It is awarded yearly, normally from September.

The amount of any grant made depends on the students’ individual circumstances. It is assessed using a financial shortfall calculator from the information provided by the student. If there is a shortfall, students will be awarded a grant.

Students will need to be income assessed by the Student Loans Company before making an application.

The Fund cannot be used to meet the cost of tuition fees for any undergraduate or post-graduate student.

Hardship Funding

You could get extra money from your university or college if you’re experiencing financial hardship. You may be, for example:

• a student with children, especially single parents
• a mature student with existing financial commitments
• from a low-income family
• disabled
• a student that was previously in care (a ‘care leaver’)
• homeless or living in a foyer

The amount you can get is decided by your university or college. It’s paid in a lump sum or instalments.

You will not usually have to pay the money back, but in some cases you’ll get a loan that you have to repay.

Contact the student services department at your university or college – they’ll decide if you qualify.

More info

Find out more about our destinations and types of placements.

Got a question?

Email us at [email protected] or email us your CV to check your eligibility.