St Andrews BA International Honours Scholarship: Scholarship for Excellence

Value of award (per year)

• $6,000 (US dollars) towards tuition fees. There are 4 awards available.
• $12,000 (US dollars) towards tuition fees. There is 1 award available.

Duration of award

This award is available for four years of undergraduate study.

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

• Only available to students entering first year of the BA International Honours commencing at St Andrews.
• The Selection Committee seeks applicants who are gifted students with academic excellence. The successful scholars will be expected to fulfil an ambassadorial role and represent the University at a number of events and contribute to various University publications.
• You will be required to provide a statement of motivation of up to 250 words in support of your application. This 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 on the dual degree while studying at both the University of St Andrews and the College of William & Mary.
• Recipients of the scholarship will be expected to engage with our Student Ambassadors Scheme. Work through the scheme is varied but will likely entail engaging in outreach activities and assisting our Admissions staff with events aimed at prospective students and offer holders to help share your experience of being a student in St Andrews.

If you wish to be considered for the BA International Honours Scholarship, please provide 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 your 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, in place of the reference, please upload a holding document with the referee's name, and a note that the reference will be sent directly by them. The reference 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.

How to apply

This scholarship is available for application via the BA International Honours Scholarship through the scholarships and funding catalogue in the Scholarships and Funding section of My application.

After you have applied to a new BA International Honours 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 log in details before you can apply for this scholarship.

Scholarship application form guidance

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions

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When will I know the outcome?

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