Master's Degree in the UK for African Students

What a master’s degree in the UK looks like

The award is a Taught master's degree (MA, MSc, MBA, LLM, MRes, MPhil as a research master's). It runs 1 to 2 years and carries 90 ECTS. One full calendar year is the standard shape; the longer version is an extended master’s with a placement, an industrial year or a research MRes. Integrated degrees such as the MEng and MSci are undergraduate awards and sit on our UK bachelor’s degrees page instead.

Teaching starts in September, January. September is the dominant intake; a large minority of universities run a second one in January or February, which helps if a transcript or a sponsor letter is not ready in time for autumn.

Language is not a filter at this level. Every university in the list below teaches all of its master’s programmes in English, so there is no language year to budget for.

Check that the university is a licensed student sponsor before you pay anything. 304 institutions are recognised UK higher education providers, but only a licensed sponsor can issue the CAS your visa needs, and sponsor compliance thresholds were tightened in June 2026. How you apply: Direct to each university's own postgraduate application portal. The UK has no central postgraduate portal; UCAS covers undergraduate entry only.

Is an African bachelor’s accepted?

Yes, though the year-count follows your home system. An honours-level bachelor's degree is required, and the number of years follows the home system rather than a single rule. Four-year (and longer) degrees from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia are accepted directly: Leeds accepts Kenyan bachelor degrees of four to six years, and Salford requires a four-year Nigerian bachelor's. South African three-year Bachelor's degrees are not on their own sufficient at the research-intensive universities: Manchester requires 'a Bachelor (Honours) degree' and Edinburgh 'a good Bachelor's degree with honours', which in South Africa means the additional one-year Honours degree (NQF level 8). A three-year ordinary or pass degree without honours generally routes through a pre-master's programme (Sussex ISC: one semester GBP 13,900, two semesters GBP 20,750 for 2026/27) rather than direct entry.

Your class of degree matters more than the years. 2:1 (upper second class honours) is the mainstream minimum, with 2:2 accepted on a minority of courses. Country equivalents published by UK universities: Nigeria — CGPA 3.5/5.0 or 60 per cent for 2:1 (Manchester, Portsmouth), CGPA 3.0/5.0 or 50–59 per cent for 2:2 (Portsmouth), 2:2 minimum at Salford; Kenya — GPA 3.0/4.0 or 60 per cent and above for 2:1, 50 per cent and above for 2:2 (Edinburgh, Leeds); South Africa — 70 per cent (Second Class Division 1) at Manchester, 65 per cent at Edinburgh. Competitive courses at the highest-tariff universities ask 65–70 per cent even where the published floor is 60.

Egypt and Morocco have no published conversion table; the transcript GPA decides. UK ENIC (via university) compares the level of your qualification, not its grades; the admissions office decides the rest. No APS check (no), no apostille (no).

How much a master’s costs in the UK

UK universities bill by the academic year, not by semester; instalment plans exist, but they split a single annual fee. Taught master’s tuition runs £9,000–30,000 per year at mainstream universities and £12,500–19,500 per year at private providers such as Arden University and Regent College London. Subject drives the spread inside each university: Edinburgh publishes £16,800–47,680 per year and UCL £20,500–42,700 per year, while Oxford starts at £40,730–46,350 per year.

Living costs are £1,171–1,529 per month, the figures the Home Office uses. Real budgets move further than that: £1,260–2,340 per month in London against £710–870 per month in Coventry. Add the health surcharge of £776 per year, the £558 visa fee and a TB test at US$75–165.

The figure that decides whether you can apply at all is the maintenance requirement of £10,539–13,761, calculated as £1,171/£1,529 per month × up to 9 months + first-year fees and evidenced by 28-day bank statements or official sponsor letter. Our proof of funds guide explains how the 28 days are counted, and the cost of studying in the UK page gives the full breakdown.

English requirements for a master’s

The national reference floor at master’s level is IELTS 6.5, and that is what most universities ask. Nottingham sits below it at 6. Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Southampton and Warwick ask 6.5. Durham, LSE, Oxford and UCL ask 7.

A medium-of-instruction letter is accepted at Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Nottingham, Oxford and Sheffield, judged case by case at Birmingham and Manchester, and not accepted at Durham, Imperial, King’s, LSE, UCL, Glasgow, Southampton or Warwick. The immigration rules sit behind the university’s decision: where the sponsor holds a track record it assesses your English itself and records it on the CAS, and no separate Secure English Language Test is then required. If you are building a case without a test, read studying in the UK without IELTS before you shortlist.

Universities to look at for a master’s

University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, ranked #35 (QS 2027). Fees run £16,800–47,680 per year, the widest range on this list, and a medium-of-instruction letter is accepted. Living in the city is £1,550–1,820 per month.

University College London, London, ranked #8 (QS 2027). £20,500–42,700 per year with IELTS 7 and no application fee (free). Each course sets its own rolling deadline.

University of Manchester, Manchester, ranked #40 (QS 2027). A narrow fee band of £33,100–36,300 per year, IELTS 6.5, and a £60 application fee. Living costs are £1,350–1,450 per month.

University of Leeds, Leeds, ranked #77 (QS 2027). £27,300–39,250 per year, IELTS 6.5, and Kenyan bachelor degrees of four to six years accepted. Applications for 2027 opened on 1 October 2026 and 30 July 2027 is the recommended cut-off.

University of Nottingham, Nottingham, ranked #97 (QS 2027). The lowest English bar here at IELTS 6, fees of £26,900–39,700 per year, and living costs of £900–1,500 per month.

University of Glasgow, Glasgow, ranked #80 (QS 2027). £26,460–34,470 per year with published country tables mapping Nigerian and Kenyan grades to a 2:1 or a 2:2. Deadlines are set per programme.

University of Warwick, Coventry, ranked #68 (QS 2027). Fees span £25,340–59,500 per year, the top of that being the business school. Coventry is the cheapest city on this list to live in at £710–870 per month.

University of Bristol, Bristol, ranked #57 (QS 2027). £18,000–59,400 per year, IELTS 6.5, a medium-of-instruction letter accepted, and degrees required to carry national accreditation. More options sit on our UK universities page.

Scholarships for a master’s

Two schemes pay for a full master’s, and both close a year before you start. Chevening Scholarships covers full tuition for One academic year — a full-time taught master's starting in the autumn term, and applicants from all nine of our countries are eligible. It closes on 6 October 2026 for the 2027/28 cycle, and it asks for At least 2,800 hours acquired after the undergraduate degree and over a minimum of two years — roughly two years of full-time work at 35 hours a week; full-time, part-time and voluntary work and paid or unpaid internships count, entered as up to 15 employment periods.

Commonwealth Scholarships (UK) adds a stipend of £1,712–2,000 per month but not everyone can apply: Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia are eligible, Kenya is restricted, and Egypt, Zimbabwe and Morocco are not. It closes on 20 October 2026 and funds a one-year taught master’s only, with no MBA. University fee waivers are separate and smaller; see UK scholarships.

How to apply for a master’s in the UK

1. Check your degree clears the bar. Confirm the honours requirement and the class your target course asks for. UK ENIC (via university) compares the level; the university decides the rest.
2. Shortlist courses and confirm the sponsor licence. Only a licensed student sponsor can issue a CAS. Check this before paying any application fee.
3. Apply directly to each university. Direct to each university's own postgraduate application portal. The UK has no central postgraduate portal; UCAS covers undergraduate entry only. Admission is Rolling; varies by course, so early applications meet emptier competition.
4. Apply for funding first, not last. Chevening Scholarships closes 6 October 2026 and Commonwealth Scholarships (UK) on 20 October 2026 — both roughly a year before teaching starts.
5. Prove your English. Sit an accepted test to the band on the offer, or ask whether the university will assess your English itself and record it on the CAS.
6. Accept the offer, pay the deposit and get your CAS. The CAS number is what the visa application is built on; an invalid or withdrawn CAS is a standard refusal reason.
7. Build the money file. Hold £10,539–13,761 for the full 28 days, using 28-day bank statements or official sponsor letter.
8. File the visa. Pay £558 plus the surcharge, book biometrics and the TB test, and allow about 3 weeks for a decision. The steps are set out on our UK student visa page.

After the master’s

The Graduate Route lets master’s graduates stay 18 months to work or look for work, at any skill level and with no job offer needed. It costs £937 plus the health surcharge, and it is a one-off: you cannot extend it or take it twice. It is a search window, not a work visa — to stay longer you need an employer willing to sponsor a Skilled Worker visa, and employer sponsorship costs rose in December 2025.

A doctorate is the other route, and it carries a longer stay of 36 months. Entry usually runs through a supervisor and a research proposal rather than a portal, and funded studentships close far earlier than self-funded places; see PhD study in the UK.