Wide variations in tuition fees for international and postgraduate courses revealed in posthumously-completed survey

The only comprehensive survey of undergraduate and postgraduate tuition fees across the United Kingdom is released today, revealing a wide variation in postgraduate and international fees.

The National Survey of UK Tuition Fees covers some 150 degree-awarding institutions and relates to the 2011–12 academic year. This is the last year before universities in England and Wales are permitted to charge up to £9,000 a year for undergraduate courses.

The survey has appeared annually since 2002, when it was published single-handedly by Mike Reddin, following his distinguished academic career at the London School of Economics. It was unique and its positive reception within the media and higher education ensured its continuation. The annual survey rapidly achieved wide respect as the key reference source made freely available to all who wished to use it – or to consult it on his idiosyncratic website www.publicgoods.co.uk.

Mike Reddin died in April part way through the 2011 Survey and Christine Penny, his partner, and Bernard Kingston, founder of The Complete University Guide, have completed it to honour the invaluable and selfless work Mike carried out for the benefit of others.

The survey shows that annual fees for taught postgraduate courses range from £3,400 to £31,750 for home and EU students, and for overseas students outside the EU from £7,120 to £35,600.

Undergraduates from countries outside the EU are charged fees ranging from £6,000 to £23,000.

Dr Kingston commented: “There is a wide variation in postgraduate and international student fees, and, in my opinion, has the obvious stamp of a market. There are some straws in the wind for a potential undergraduate market should this be permitted at some point in the future.”

Undergraduates in universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland pay a 'standard' annual fee of £3,375 for 2011. Scottish universities impose no fee on students from Scotland or the EU studying full time on their first degree, and £1,820 on English, Welsh and Northern Irish residents. From 2012 universities in England and Wales are permitted to charge fees of up to £9,000. Tution fees for Scottish and NI institutions have not yet been confirmed by the respective governments.

Read more about Mike Reddin and his National Survey of UK Tuition Fees.

To see the 2011 tution fees, together with past years, visit our University Profiles and click on the Fees & Finance tab.