Direct application

The University of St Andrews accepts direct applications from a small number of students each year. You should only submit a direct application if:

You are not submitting a total of more than five applications to UK universities. A Direct application to St Andrews and UCAS applications to other universities in the UK can be made simultaneously, but all applications submitted via Direct application are counted as part of your five.
You are liable to pay tuition fees at the overseas rate. You can find out more about your fee status on the tuition fees page.
You are not applying to St Andrews via UCAS or the Common Application.

Applicants for the BA International Honours joint degree with William & Mary can apply through either our direct application or through the Common Application, even if they have applied for other programmes through UCAS.

In order for us to begin processing your application, payment of an application fee of £50 (pounds sterling) is required. You will need to complete the payment process before you submit your application. Details on how to pay can be found on the University's online shop.

If you wish to submit a direct application to the University, this checklist will help you through the application process.
1. Take a look at the courses available at the University of St Andrews.
2. Check the entry requirements and any subject-specific prerequisites for your programme:
  - International students should meet the Standard entry requirements listed on our course pages.
  - We always list the requirements for SQA Highers, GCE A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate on course pages, but accept a broad range of qualifications from around the world. Find out what we accept from your country on our entry requirements page.
3. You should also check the General entry requirements for the course you are interested in, which are listed on the course page.
4. The University of St Andrews offers a wide range of degree options, including joint Honours degrees. Before you start your application, you will need to decide which Faculty you wish to study in. There are four Faculties at the University of St Andrews, Arts, Science, Divinity and Medicine. You can find out more about the structure of the undergraduate degree programme on our degree routes page.
5. Once you have decided which course and Faculty are the most appropriate, you can begin to fill in the online direct application form.
6. Draft your personal statement carefully so that it reflects your choice of course. Guidance on what to include in this statement and the questions we would like to you consider can be found on the personal statement page. You can also find more information about what we look for in an application on the how to apply page.
7. Pay the required £50 (pounds sterling) fee through the University’s online payment service. Please note the order number given to your purchase on your application form so that we can match the payment to your application.
8. Submit your application by the appropriate deadline. The current direct application deadlines can be found below.
Students who apply to the University of St Andrews through the direct application method must not submit an additional application to St Andrews through UCAS or the Common Application.

However, applicants for the BA (International Honours) joint degree with William & Mary can apply through our direct application for this programme even if they have applied for other programmes through UCAS.

Your direct application must include:
- A personal statement detailing why you are applying for the course. Find out what we look for in a personal statement.
- An up-to-date transcript showing the subjects you are taking at high school and your achieved and predicted grades. If your school has a school profile, this should also be included.
- An evaluation of your general character, academic ability and likelihood of success at university level from a teacher or high school counsellor. You should either:
  - attach your referee’s report in the form of a letter on school stationery, dated and signed by your referee.
  - or send the name and details of the person who will provide your reference with your application, and use the referee report form (PDF). This must be clearly marked with your name. You can attach this form to your application, send it separately or we can email the referee directly if that is more convenient.
- If you have taken any of the following external tests, then we would like to see the scores: SAT, ACT, APs and SAT subject tests. Unofficial score reports are acceptable when you apply, or if you are contacted and asked to provide more information. If you decide to send official scores the appropriate reference numbers for St Andrews are:
  - 7775 for SAT and AP
  - 5316 for ACT
- Please do not send anything else. If the University requires any additional information, you will be contacted via email requesting it.
The final date for the receipt of applications to St Andrews to qualify for full and equal consideration is:
- Medicine: 6pm (GMT) on Wednesday 15 October 2025 for all applicants applying to study Medicine.
- All other undergraduate courses: 6pm (GMT) on Wednesday 14 January 2026 for all other MA or BSc undergraduate applications.
While we encourage early applications, we will continue to consider international applications where places remain available after this date. Applications received after the equal consideration deadline will be assessed based on subject and course availability.

Applying for the BA (International Honours)

The deadline to apply to the BA (International Honours) programme is Friday 1 May 2026. As there is limited availability on this programme, applications will close when the programme is full. We strongly encourage applicants to apply early.