University of South Wales Scholarships for International Students 2026

Most of USW’s headline scholarships are designed around standard degree enrolment (often on-campus), and some university bursaries explicitly exclude online/e-learning routes.

USW’s international scholarships are generally available across a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate subjects (you’re “automatically considered” when you apply, rather than applying by department), with some exclusions like English language courses and placement years. That means scholarships can support everything from engineering and computing/STEM to business, education, creative industries/humanities, and health-related programmes.

USW offers multiple scholarship routes that cover different nationality/region groups. Some awards are for self-funding international students broadly (automatically considered with your application), while others are targeted. A real example is Nomfundo Elly Mavimbela from Eswatini, who wrote, “I was fortunate to be among the 2–3% of successful applicants” to receive Chevening funding for study at USW.

Often, yes, USW states that proficiency in English is essential for courses at degree level or above, and it lists recognised qualifications such as IELTS and TOEFL (requirements can vary by course, and some programmes require higher scores). USW also notes it can accept IELTS (including an online test in certain cases) as part of its recognised qualifications. In practice, recipients commonly plan for this early: Nomfundo Elly Mavimbela shared, “I undertook the IELTS to demonstrate my English language proficiency,” and said she prepared using “official IELTS study materials for all four sections.”

There isn’t one single minimum grade that applies to every applicant and every programme. USW directs applicants to check the entry requirements on the relevant country pages and individual course pages, because requirements vary by course and qualification type. A helpful real-world reference point is that Nomfundo Elly Mavimbela entered with a BSc background and a reported GPA of 3.28/4.0, and she emphasised that she “carefully reviewed admission requirements and prerequisite courses to ensure I met expectations.” Treat this as an example profile rather than a universal cutoff.

It depends on the scholarship type. For USW’s standard international scholarships, the university describes them as being for self-funding international students and says you are “automatically considered” when your application is received (no separate scholarship application), but you must meet the scholarship conditions. For competitive external awards like Chevening, strong academics plus leadership and a clear career plan matter a lot: Nomfundo Elly Mavimbela said, “The most important aspect of my preparation was working on these four required essays,” and she described revising them multiple times and seeking feedback from alumni.

Document requirements vary by course and applicant background, but USW notes that conditional offers commonly require you to submit what’s outstanding (and gives examples like transcripts or a work reference). In recipient experiences, you should expect to prepare core academic and profile documents early: Nomfundo Elly Mavimbela said she “refined my statement and resume to reflect my strengths and experiences,” and she also prepared an English test (she wrote, “I undertook the IELTS”). If you are applying for major scholarships (like Chevening), plan for additional scholarship-specific materials such as structured essays. Nomfundo highlighted “four required essays” as central to her application preparation.

If you apply directly to USW, the university states that there is no application fee. However, undergraduate applicants who apply via UCAS should expect the UCAS application fee to apply (UCAS sets this fee independently).