International Excellence Scholarship

Value of award (per year)

The value and number of awards will be confirmed by the beginning of December 2025.

Duration of award

This award is paid annually for the duration of the student's undergraduate programme.

At what stage of my course application can I apply for this scholarship?

You can apply for the scholarship after you have submitted your course application for a place at the University of St Andrews. You do not need to wait until you have received an offer of a place before applying for the scholarship.

Additional criteria

This scholarship is only available to students entering their first year of an undergraduate degree. This includes direct entry into year two of the course, but it does not include students transferring from another institution. 

The Selection Committee seeks applicants who are gifted students with academic excellence. 

Recipients of the scholarship will be expected to engage with our Student Ambassadors Scheme. Work through the scheme is varied but will likely involve engaging in outreach activities and assisting our Admissions staff with events aimed at prospective students to help share your experience of being a student at St Andrews.

Selection is based on academic excellence. We encourage applicants to use the free text boxes within the application form to articulate how they meet the eligibility criteria for this scholarship  – please see the University of St Andrews International Undergraduate Scholarships webpage for more guidance.

Applicants who do not wish to be considered for needs-based scholarships and wish to only be considered for the International Excellence Award are not required to enter in household income information in the application form.

References 

If you wish to be considered for the International Excellence Scholarship, please provide the following: one academic reference and one personal reference.

The academic reference may be the same as one of the academic references submitted with your course application. Academic references must be provided on headed paper and be a maximum of 250 words.

The personal reference should be written by someone who knows you well (but not a family member) who can vouch for the non-academic qualities that you write about in the application form. For example, this could be an academic advisor who is aware of your personal attributes, a current or former employer, or a senior staff member in an organisation where you have volunteered. The personal reference should be a maximum of 250 words.

If your referee or referees would prefer to send the reference or references directly to us, please ask them to email the reference to ugscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk, and to include your name and the name of the scholarship for which it is intended, before the scholarship deadline date. When you apply for the scholarship, if you do not have the references, please upload a holding document with the referee's name, and a note that the reference will be sent directly by them. The references will then be added after you have submitted the application, provided we receive it by the application deadline.

We do not recommend using an academic reference in place of the personal reference, as this may not meet the requirements of the scholarship and may be detrimental to your application. Please only do this if you are sure that it can serve as a personal reference, for example, if it is written by an academic who is familiar with and refers specifically to your non-academic qualities.

Statement of Motivation 

You will be required to provide a statement of motivation in support of your application (maximum 2000 characters). The statement forms part of the application form and is not a document upload. This statement should include your reasons for applying for the scholarship, explaining how you would expect to benefit from the opportunities the award provides, and describing how you think you might contribute to the community while studying at the University of St Andrews. You should also include details of academic achievements which you believe would make you a good candidate for this scholarship.

While preparing your statement of motivation, you may wish to consider: 

• What makes you eligible to apply for this scholarship
• The achievements that you are most proud of
• Any academic prizes you have been awarded
• Any activities you have undertaken, either in or outside school and or college, that demonstrate your motivation for your future studies
• Personal experiences that may have shaped your educational journey
• Is there anything that will make your application stand out?
  The key information you would like our selection committee to know when they consider your scholarship application

It is extremely important that you give complete and accurate information when applying to the University for funding.

Your course and funding application are not linked. Applying for funding in no way impedes your course application.

How to apply

This scholarship is available through the University of St Andrews International Undergraduate Scholarships application.

This scholarship is available for application through the scholarship and funding catalogue in the Scholarships and Funding section of My application.

After you have applied to a course beginning in the academic year 2026, you will be provided with login details for the My application portal. You must allow at least two working days for processing and issue of your login details before you can apply for this scholarship.

If, due to school policy or personal preference, you are unable to upload your references please upload a document detailing the name and email address of your referee and ask them to email the reference to ugscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk by the scholarship deadline. The scholarships team will not be responsible for chasing references, this is the responsibility of the applicant.

Scholarship application form guidance

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions

(opens in new tab)

When will I know the outcome?

The outcome of your scholarship application will be available on View my applications in the Scholarships and Funding section of My Application by mid-March 2026.