A student in a mustard jumper walks past a glass and sandstone building on a wet autumn campus in Scotland, carrying a laptop, while planning to study at the University of the West of Scotland.

University of the West of Scotland: Fees, Intakes and Entry

UK
November 06, 2026

TL;DR: The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) teaches international students at four Scottish campuses and in London, with January, May and September starts on many courses. For 2026/27, many taught master's courses cost £16,275 and lab-based ones £18,900, and an Enhanced International Scholarship can cut the fee to £13,000 or £15,000. For January 2027, applications must be uploaded by 11 November 2026.

UWS is a practical choice if you want a UK master's with more than one start date in the year and a fee that sits below many city universities. This guide sets out the fees, the English requirement, the January timeline step by step and how the scholarship works. To see whether your profile fits before you start, Check your eligibility with Prosper.

Is the University of the West of Scotland a good choice for international students?

For many international students it is, mainly for three reasons: several intakes a year, fees at the lower end of the UK range, and an automatic scholarship on selected courses. UWS has campuses in Paisley (about 10 minutes by train from Glasgow), Lanarkshire, Ayr, Dumfries and London (Docklands).

Campus What it is known for
Paisley Business, computing, engineering, science, law, social work, games
Lanarkshire Nursing, midwifery, life sciences, computing and cyber security, engineering
Ayr Education, nursing, music, film and media, journalism
Dumfries Nursing, social work, childhood studies, computing, business
London Business, finance, IT, cyber security, project management, health

University of the West of Scotland fees

UWS publishes fees on each course page. These are 2026/27 international fees.

Course Campus Fee (2026/27)
MSc Information Technology (for non-IT graduates) Paisley, London £16,275
MBA Paisley £16,275
MSc Big Data Paisley £18,900
BA (Hons) International Business with Pathways London £16,275 a year
BEng (Hons) Cyber Security Lanarkshire, London £18,900 a year

Enhanced International Scholarship. On selected full-time undergraduate and taught master's courses, UWS reduces the net fee to £13,000 for classroom-based courses and £15,000 for lab-based courses, fixed for each year of study. It is for self-funding international students in Business, Computing, Education, Engineering, and Health and Life Sciences, at the Scottish and London campuses. There is no separate form; it is applied when the offer is made, and places are limited.

For a wider view of costs, see UK tuition fees for international students, and compare another Scottish option in our Robert Gordon University guide.

Check your eligibility ›

University of the West of Scotland January intake: the timeline

UWS publishes the same January 2027 dates for its Scottish and London campuses.

Step Date
Upload your application Wednesday 11 November 2026
Unconditional offer issued Monday 16 November 2026
Fee payment through Flywire Wednesday 18 November 2026
CAS documents and payment receipts 23 November 2026
Last CAS issued 7 December 2026
Course starts Monday 11 January 2027

At the Scottish campuses you pay at least 75% of the net fee before UWS issues your CAS. For London, the deposit is set out in your offer letter. If the January dates are too tight, many Paisley and London courses also start in May, and most start in September. Our guides to the UK university deposit and how to apply for a UK student visa cover what happens after the offer.

University of the West of Scotland English requirements

  • Undergraduate and taught master's: IELTS Academic 6.0 overall, no component below 5.5.
  • Research degrees: IELTS 6.5, no component below 6.0.
  • Nursing and midwifery courses that lead to registration: 7.0 overall, with 7.0 in reading, listening and speaking and 6.5 in writing.
  • PTE Academic: 59 overall and in each element for courses that need IELTS 6.0, taken at a test centre.

UWS also accepts LanguageCert, Oxford ELLT, Trinity ISE and its own English test. Results must be from within two years of the course start. Our PTE exam guide explains the test format.

What to check before you apply

Entry for taught master's is usually a degree comparable to a UK 2:2, and the MSc Information Technology considers an ordinary degree case by case. UWS checks overseas degrees against UK ENIC. Read the course page for the subject background each master's expects, especially for Big Data, which needs a computing or engineering degree.

Applying from Sri Lanka

UWS says it has welcomed students from Sri Lanka since 2000 and that its admissions team knows the Sri Lankan education system. It does not publish fixed A/L grades or a degree percentage for Sri Lanka, so the admissions team assesses each application. Biometrics are given at VFS Colombo, as our VFS Global Colombo guide explains, and a TB test at the IOM clinic in Colombo is part of the UK visa process.

Frequently asked questions

When is the University of the West of Scotland January 2027 deadline? The University of the West of Scotland asks international applicants to upload their January 2027 application by 11 November 2026. The last CAS is issued on 7 December 2026 and teaching starts on 11 January 2027.

How much are UWS fees for international students? For 2026/27, many University of the West of Scotland taught master's courses cost £16,275 and lab-based courses such as MSc Big Data cost £18,900. The Enhanced International Scholarship can reduce the net fee to £13,000 or £15,000 on selected courses.

What IELTS score does the University of the West of Scotland need? Most undergraduate and taught master's courses at the University of the West of Scotland need IELTS Academic 6.0 overall with no component below 5.5. Nursing and some health courses ask for more.

Does UWS have a London campus? Yes. The University of the West of Scotland has a London campus in Docklands that teaches business, finance, IT, cyber security, project management and health, with January, May and September intakes.

PS: With the January upload date on 11 November, a complete file matters more than speed. Prosper can apply to the University of the West of Scotland for you and line up your documents, or plan a May or September start if January is too close. Check your eligibility with Prosper.

Check your eligibility ›

References

  1. MSc Information Technology, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/postgraduate-course-search/information-technology/
  2. Master of Business Administration (MBA), University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/postgraduate-course-search/master-of-business-administration-mba/
  3. MSc Big Data, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/postgraduate-course-search/big-data/
  4. BA (Hons) International Business with Pathways, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-course-search/international-business-with-pathways/
  5. BEng (Hons) Cyber Security, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-course-search/cyber-security/
  6. Enhanced International Scholarships, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/money-fees-funding/scholarships/enhanced-international-scholarships/
  7. CAS information, Scottish campuses, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/international/how-to-apply/cas-information-scottish-campuses
  8. CAS information, London campus, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/international/how-to-apply/cas-information-london-campus/
  9. English language requirements, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/international/english-language-requirements/
  10. Campuses, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/university-life/campuses/
  11. Sri Lanka, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/international/country-information/sri-lanka/
  12. Postgraduate entry requirements, University of the West of Scotland, https://www.uws.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/postgraduate-entry-requirements/

Team Prosper

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Team Prosper
Team Prosper|Editorial Team
Team Prosper is the editorial desk at Prosper Global Education, the Colombo-based study abroad consultancy co-founded in 2023 by Lasantha Jayawardena and Sandeepani Wickramasinghe. Articles carry this byline when they report a policy update, a university announcement, or an intake change, rather than draw on either founder's first-hand experience of guiding students. The desk links to the primary government or university source behind every factual claim, and says plainly when a rule is still changing or a detail has not yet been confirmed. Requirements move, and an article that pretends otherwise is worth less than one that tells you what is settled and what is not. For guidance on a specific application, Prosper's counsellors work directly with students and families from the Colombo office.
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