Turing Scheme

No. The Study and Work Away Service (SWAY) will review the activity of students studying and working abroad and will directly select the students eligible to receive Turing Scheme funding. If deemed eligible for the funding we will contact you with further information.​​​​​

Turing Scheme funding is intended to facilitate the international mobility of UK students. The duration of an eligible activity abroad is minimum 28 days to maximum 1 year.

SWAY will monitor overseas activity carried out by students throughout the university and will allocate funding based on the eligibility criteria set out by the funding body. Such activity may include, but is not limited to, study exchanges, overseas work placements and mandatory research placements.

For 2024/25, we will only be able to provide funding to undergraduate students on a mandatory exchange or placement abroad.

If you are eligible to receive funding from the Turing Scheme for an activity abroad, an amount of funding will be provided to contribute towards the general cost of living for each participant. This will vary depending on the destination and duration of your activity. 

We strongly advise students not to rely solely on Turing Scheme funding for core living expenses. It is intended as a contribution towards your living expenses and is unlikely to cover all the costs of your time abroad.

Destination country of activity

Destination countries/territories are grouped into categories. Find out which group your destination falls into:

Check the full list of destination countries / territories within each group 

Duration of activity

For 2024/25, grant rates are as follows.

For activities with a total duration of over 57 days (and under 1 year), recipients will receive:

• £14 per day (for Group 1 destinations)
• £12 per day (for Group 2 destinations)

For activities with a total duration of 28 – 56 days (these will usually take place over the summer), recipients will receive:

• £19 per day (for Group 1 destinations)
• £17 per day (for Group 2 destinations)

Please note that placements lasting over 57 days (or 8 weeks) will receive the rates identified for this category for the full duration of the mobility and not the higher rates for the initial period.

Funding will be paid into your UK bank account. In exceptional cases where students do not have a UK bank account we may issue the payment to a foreign account.

The University of Edinburgh does not pass on any bank charges involved in making payments to foreign accounts; however, some recipients and corresponding banks overseas may charge a fee for receiving payment and you should be aware that the University will not be liable for these charges. Please also note that the processing time for foreign bank payments may incur delays in receiving funding.

Your grant will be paid in two instalments, as outlined below.

First instalment

This will be approximately 70% of your total grant amount. We will request payment of your grant once you have arrived in your host country, and upon completion/submission of the following:

• Travel risk assessment
• Grant contract
• Certificate of arrival
• Learning agreement (for study exchanges only) 

Second instalment

This will be the remaining 30% of your total grant amount. We will request payment of your second instalment once you have completed your exchange or placement, and upon completion and approval of the following:

• Certificate of departure 
• Feedback report or survey

You should normally receive your grant approximately 2-3 weeks after submission of all documents indicated above. While we aim to process all payments as soon as possible, during busy periods it may take a little longer for the grant to reach your account.  Your grant may also be delayed or withheld if you do not submit your documents in time.

Please note that the timing of the funding means you are unlikely to receive your funding immediately on arrival on exchange or placement.  For this reason, you should not depend on this funding for upfront costs, urgent expenses or core living needs.

The grant can be used to cover any living, travelling and studying expenses. For 2023/24 students, we do not require receipts or evidence of your expenditure.

No. The Turing Scheme funding is a grant, not a loan, and we do not expect repayment from students.

The grant calculation is based on the number of days you will spend at your host institution/organisation. Should you return earlier than planned for your overseas activity we may request a partial repayment, e.g. if you originally planned to stay away for a whole academic year but decide to return back home after semester 1.

If you are receiving other funding that is specific to your overseas activity, such as a SEMP grant, we may not be able to provide Turing Scheme funding.  

Find out more about the SEMPT grant

Similarly, if you are receiving funding from your host country, institution or organisation (such as a scholarship, stipend or salary), it is your responsibility to check and inform SWAY whether any terms and conditions attached to this funding will make you ineligible to receive funding from the Turing Scheme.

For 2024/25, students receiving a Turing Scheme travel grant ​​​​​​ are not permitted to apply for, or obtain, funding from another source if it is intended to support your travel costs. The only exception to this is if your Turing travel grant does not cover your travel costs in full.  

Only students who meet the Turing Scheme’s widening access criteria will be eligible for a Turing Scheme travel grant.

For WP students on a mandatory period abroad as part of their UG degree programme, we ​​​provide both additional financial support and a travel grant for students who meet the Turing Scheme's criteria for this (see below).​​​​​

Where possible, SWAY will try to identify students eligible for additional support via existing WP routes.  However, if you fall under one of the following categories and have not been contacted by us before you leave for your mobility, we strongly encourage you to contact the SWAY team to check if you are eligible for additional financial support:

• Students with an annual household income of £25,000 or less (or the equivalent for non-UK students). Please see below for information on how we assess your annual household income; 
• Students receiving Universal Credit or income-related benefits because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them, such as a child or partner; 
• Students with experience of being in care or care leavers – including anyone who is or has been in care, or from a looked after background, at any stage of their life; 
• Students who are carers, meaning anyone who is not paid to provide care for a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction, and cannot cope without their support; 
• Students who are estranged – including anyone who has had no contact with their biological or adoptive parents for 12 months or more, or the relationship with their parents has broken down within the last 12 months; 
• Students who are refugees or asylum seekers.​​​​​​

For further information and to receive an application form with instructions on what is required to be considered for the additional support grant, please contact the relevant SWAY team contact details for your activity:

Contact the SWAY team

How we assess your household income

Students are eligible for the additional support grant if your annual household income is £25,000 or less (or the equivalent in your home country for EU/EEA/International students).

Your household income is the total amount your family earns each year before tax and National Insurance. Household income is usually based on earnings for the previous tax years (2022/23 if you're going on exchange/placement in 2024/25).

Whose income is assessed depends on whether you are classified as a dependent or independent student.

Please refer to the SAAS criteria for independent students.

UK students 

To identify students with either home (Scotland) or RUK tuition fee status who are eligible for the additional support grant, we use the information provided by your student funding body.

Those students who received the highest grant as set out by the home funding body will be entitled to receive the additional support grant. Those students who fall into an income bracket which includes incomes above £25,000 will only be entitled to the grant if their assessment of income from the relevant funding body shows their annual household income is £25,000 or less.  

EU/EEA/International students  

For students with EU or international tuition fee status we require further information from you to confirm that your household income is no more than the equivalent of £25,000 to assess your eligibility for the additional support grant. For guidance on what we require, please contact the relevant SWAY team contact details for your activity.

Additional funding is available for students with specific needs or disabilities, where participation would not be possible without extra financial support (e.g. where additional costs would exceed the normal grant allocations and funds cannot be obtained from other sources).

If you believe you could be eligible for this additional funding please contact the SWAY team detailing the specific expenses for which you would require funding. Please be aware that we must collect proof of your incurred expenses for approval of additional funding.

Contact the SWAY team

Yes, non-UK nationals are eligible for funding.

Yes, it is possible to receive funding for more than one study or work away activity. As there is limited funding, this will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

No. You must be physically present in your host country to be eligible for the Turing Scheme funding. Any significant periods of time spent studying or working remotely will not be eligible for funding.

As the grant is calculated based on the number of days your exchange or placement lasts, if the dates of your exchange or placement change, we have to recalculate your grant accordingly based on the amended duration of your exchange or placement.

This means you may have to repay part of the funding you've already received, if your stay is shorter than originally planned - so bear this in mind if you change your plans!

If your exchange is shorter than the minimum duration (28 days), you will lose your eligibility to funding and you will be required to repay the totality of the grant you've already received. If there are special circumstances in place which forced you to interrupt your exchange early and you have medical evidence or similar to prove this, we will liaise with the Turing Scheme to see if you are able to retain funding for the period covering the actual duration of your exchange.

Turing Scheme funding comes from an external source and we must follow the rules set by the funding body. In the event that students are recalled to Edinburgh, we will liaise with the funding body for the most relevant guidance.

In most cases, you are only entitled to receive funding for the period you actually spend abroad on exchange or placement.  You will normally be required to repay any funds paid to you which cover a period of time during which you were not on an approved exchange or placement abroad.