University of Cumbria

• Rank: 114/131 Sunday Times League Table 2021
• Address: University of Cumbria Fusehill Street Carlisle CA1 2HH
• Country: United Kingdom
• International Office Contact name: Megan Hudson (International officer - South Asia) Kirsty Fisher (International Office) Saiqa Karim (Int'l Admissions & Compliance)
• International Office Contact Email: agentadmissions@cumbria.ac.uk internationalagents@cumbria.ac.uk
• International Office Contact Telephone: +44 (0)1524 530 890
• Accommodation Office Contact Email: accommodation@cumbria.ac.uk
• Accommodation Office Contact Phone: +44 (0)1524 530 890
• Tuition Fee Range: £10,500 - £12,800 - £14,500 (MBA) £15,500
• Scholarships:

  We’re pleased to share details of the international scholarships available for the 2026/27 academic year at the University of Cumbria. Please find the attached scholarship flyer, which we would appreciate you sharing with prospective students in your market.

  Scholarships available (2026/27)

  Eligible students may receive up to £12,000 in tuition fee support, through the following awards:

  • Cumbria International Scholarship
    Undergraduate | Postgraduate
    Up to £4,500 automatic scholarship

  • Cumbria Global Excellence – Merit
    Undergraduate | Postgraduate
    Up to £7,500

  • Cumbria Global Health & Wellbeing – Nursing & Public Health
    Undergraduate | Postgraduate
    Up to £12,000 automatic scholarship

  • Cumbria Global Business Excellence – MBA
    Postgraduate
    £2,500 automatic scholarship

   

  Key dates

  • 5 July – Merit scholarship application deadline

  • 19 August – All scholarships (except Merit): deadline to meet conditions and pay deposit

  • 12 August – Merit scholarship: deadline to meet conditions and pay deposit

  (Some programme-specific deadlines may apply.)

   

  Full details, eligibility criteria, and terms and conditions can be found on our website:
  https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/study/international-students/fees-and-finance/scholarships-bursaries-and-discounts/

  If you have any questions or would like support promoting these scholarships, please contact the relevant International Officer:

   

  Megan Hudson | South Asia / Middle East
  megan.hudson@cumbria.ac.uk

  Shannara Martinez | Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, USA
  shannara.martinez@cumbria.ac.uk

   

   

   

• Additional Info:

  CONTRACT IS GLOBAL BUT NO APPLICATIONS FROM PUNJAB, HARYANA

   

  EMAIL COMMUNICATION WITH CUMBRIA (Message from Univeristy 26 Sept 23)

  We now have a new focussed agent email account: internationalagents@cumbria.ac.uk. Due to the number of emails received by colleagues and delays in response times we would ask that moving forward, all emails relating to the following matters should be sent to the new email account:

  •             General enquiries, not related to admissions or applications.

  •             Marketing enquiries.

  •             Recruitment Event notifications’

  •             Agent commission enquiries.

  For ADMISSION queries please email agentadmissions@cumbria.ac.uk

   

  TUITION FEES (Please check university website)

  Most UG and PG courses have a tuition fee of £13750 for 2024 entry.

  MBA is £15,500.

  MSc Physiotherapy is £17,000 per year (2 year course).

  Please check website for exact figures

   

  ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

  Please refer the document section below for details on entry requirements.

  Note that Open school is accepted for 12th standard students from India

   

  HOW TO APPLY - POSTGRADUATE (not PGCE - see later section)

  Please apply through the link on the course page for the University's website.  You will need to click "New User" and enter the student's own email address and create a password for them.  You will need to share the password with your student.

  If the Apply Now link takes you to the UCAS page (eg for PG nursing) then you must apply through UCAS.

  There is a later section which will ask for "Agent Details".  Here you can list your own C2C email address so you get copies of any correspondence from the University.  Please also select "Connect2Counsellors Ltd" from the Agent drop down list.  You will be asked to put in the agency address which is "Bedford House, 79 Marine Parade, Brighton BN2 1AJ, UK.  List your own mobile number. 

  As an additional source of tagging Please mark at the top of the Personal Statement that the application has been submitted through Connect2Counsellors Ltd.  This will tag the application to C2C.

  If there are problems uploading documents they can be emailed to international.Admissions@cumbria.ac.uk listing the applicant's name and course and reference number.

  Decisions on applications usually take 48 hours but can take longer in peak periods or for popular courses such as nursing and physio etc.

   

  HOW TO APPLY - UNDERGRADUATE (message from Uni Feb 26)

  As part of our policy of continuous improvement we are making some changes to the way students can apply for our undergraduate and some postgraduate programmes at University of Cumbria. This is in addition to the recent update surrounding BSc Nursing. With immediate effect all the following programmes will be directed through the UCAS application process:

  • All undergraduate programmes
  • MSc Physiotherapy
  • MSc Nursing programmes

  However, as a valued partner, we would like to offer you some flexibility. As such, we would like to provide you with dedicated direct application links for the above programmes so you can continue sending applications as normal.  The attached spreadsheet ("Cumbria Uni Agent application links" in the document upload section) contains these links, and we would appreciate it if you could share these with your colleagues. Please note, the direct links will no longer be openly available on our website and students who do not apply via one of our partners will have to apply via UCAS. 

  MSc Nursing - important note

  Since partners can now place applications for MSc Nursing directly, we must urge you to ensure that students are indeed qualified (and motivated) for this programme and are aware that there is a compulsory interview. If you haven’t already seen it, we recently shared a very informative video available to support applicants to BSc Nursing and this content is also useful and relevant to MSc applicants.  You can find the video here.

  If you require any additional support, please reach out to us and we'd be happy to help.

  Best wishes,

  International Team

   

  ENGLISH LANGUAGE

  Please refer to the document section for details on English language test exemptions or requirements.

   

  ACCOMMODATION

  Accommodation costs in Cumbria are amongst the lowest in the UK. They have some female only accommodation and some ensuite bedrooms.

   

  CREDIBILITY INTERVIEWS

  All students may have a credibility interview AFTER to paying their deposit.  The University now has CAS Shield.  This needs to be completed before the CAS letter is issued.

   

  PHYSIOTHERAPY

  MSc Physiotherapy is a 2 year course (conversion) and is very popular. Students need to apply early.

   

  HOW TO PAY TUITION FEES (message from University 26 June 25)

  We are pleased to inform you that the University of Cumbria has partnered with the leading international payment platform — TransferMate  to offer a secure, efficient, and user-friendly solution for international tuition and accommodation fee payments.

  The platform allows students to pay in their local currency, benefit from competitive exchange rates, and enjoy fast processing times with full tracking and confirmation receipts for every transaction.

  Key Benefits for Students

  • Pay in local currency with competitive exchange rates
  • Access to a wide range of payment methods based on their home country
  • Fast, secure payments with 24/7 tracking and customer support
  • Instant payment confirmations and transparency throughout the process

  Important Policy Update

  Please note that the University no longer accepts bank-to-bank transfers, cash, or cheques as a method of payment, including tuition or accommodation fees and prepayments.

  If your organisation has a legacy agreement that references these methods, be aware that this policy change overrides all previous arrangements. All future agreements will reflect this update. This is now the official University policy and must be adhered to moving forward.

  What We Need from You

  Please inform your advising teams, students, and their families about this new payment option. We ask that you advise the use of TransferMate for all future student fee payments.

  Need Assistance?

  Our team is here to support you with any queries:

  • Tuition Fees: fees@cumbria.ac.uk
  • Accommodation:
     Carlisle – carlisleaccom@cumbria.ac.uk
     Lancaster – lancasteraccom@cumbria.ac.uk
     Ambleside – amblesideaccom@cumbria.ac.uk
  • General or Balance Queries: accountsreceivableteam@cumbria.ac.uk

   

  DEPOSITS/CAS

  For Indian students (and most other nationalities) the deposit is 50% before CAS is issued.

  For Nigerian students we require 75% deposit to secure CAS and 100% before the registration. In this case they will also benefit form £1000 discount.

   

  UNDERGRADUATE NURSING UPDATE (Message from University JAN 26)

  We are writing to you with an important update regarding the application process to BSc Nursing programmes at The University of Cumbria.  

  What's changing?

  To help increase conversion for these high demand programmes, we are now actively encouraging students to apply via our agent network. We have made this decision as we believe you can support us in improving quality of applications, particularly in relation to personal statements and academic interviews.   

   This means students will have two options when applying: 

  1. Apply via an approved partner  

  2. Apply via UCAS  

      

  Both of these options will appear on the course webpages very soon. 

  To improve student access to our valued partners, we are also updating our agent pages of the website with more region-specific information. This will ensure students have transparent access to all our partners, in all markets, in line with the Agent Quality Framework.  

  Placing Applications/ Supporting Resources

  🤝 To support you in recruiting to this programme, we have produced a guidance video for students and counsellors to clarify the application process and expectations. You can view the video here: https://youtu.be/i-wCSPKBhVI?si=OSOMxx-Ha5psQhqK 

    

   You can place applications to these programmes now, by using the below application links with your students: 

  	Carlisle Campus	Lancaster Campus
  BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing	September 2026 Entry - BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing (Carlisle)	September 2026 Entry - BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing (Lancaster)
  BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing	September 2026 Entry - BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing (Carlisle)	September 2026 Entry - BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing (Lancaster)
  BSc (Hons) Children’s Nursing	September 2026 Entry - BSc (Hons) Children's Nursing (Carlisle)	September 2026 Entry - BSc (Hons) Children's Nursing (Lancaster)
  BSc (Hons) Learning Disabilities Nursing	Not available	September 2026 Entry - BSc (Hons) Learning Disabilities Nursing (Lancaster)

   

  Important: please ensure you still complete the Contact Details section within the agency details tab of the application form. This will enable accurate application tagging and support commission processes. 

  As mentioned, we expect the website changes to be made imminently and appreciate your patience whilst we undergo this transition. If you have any difficulty with the above application links, or require further support, please reach out to our International Officers directly: 

  Megan Hudson | megan.hudson@cumbria.ac.uk | South Asia/Middle East 

  Shannara Martinez | shannara.martinez@cumbria.ac.uk | Africa, Europe, South East Asia 

  -----end of message from university.....

   

  POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION (PGCE) IN THE UK

  If you are not familiar with PGCE courses in the UK then you should watch the webinar held by Jan Ashbridge at the Institute of Education at Cumbria University.  This was a hugely useful session and helped explain: the courses; entry requirements; how to apply; application process; reference requirements; scholarships and bursaries; and job prospects.

  https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/NMwZhN8D4V61letsJrqoYpbkao7GcD3j-dKbuRhSn9qgACWEZcICsAZCNmNOulov.L7IPMmCTAom4MkAb

  Key points to note:

  1 International students will require GCSE English and Maths and some may require science also at grade C4 or above.  Equivalences are not accepted.  Students would need to provide evidence of achieving these grades by 30 June each year.  They can sit these exams through the following online providers:

  Edge Hill - https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/study/equivalency/

  Equivalency Testing - https://www.equivalencytesting.com/

  A Star equivalency  - https://astarequivalency.co.uk/

  2 International students will require a DBS check.  DBS stands for Disclosure and Barring Service and is basically a Police check to confirm whether you have a criminal record.  As teachers are teaching minors under the age of 18 these DBS checks are mandatory for student teachers as they will go on “teaching practice” to different schools.  International students are required to get a DBS check when they arrive in the UK so they are encouraged to arrive before the term starts as these DBS checks can take several weeks to process.

  3. Applications for the PGCE are made through the Department for Education “Apply System” and not direct to the University. References are only taken up after the University has interviewed the student.  Referees will be sent an email asking them to provide an emailed reference.  It is the student’s responsibility to chase the referee for the reference.   If the student has finished their degree in the last 3 years the reference must come from their University, if they completed their degree more than 3 years earlier the reference can be provided by an employer or other suitable non family member who can comment in a professional capacity on the student’’s ability to study a postgraduate course and aptitude to be a teacher.

  https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-teacher-training

  4. Applications take around 2 weeks to process and if shortlisted the applicant will be invited to an online interview with the University.

  5 Statement of Purpose must detail why they want to become a teacher - it is a very important part of the application and students must spend time preparing the best SOP they can.

  6 English language requirements are IELTS 6.5 with 6.5 as minimum score in writing and speaking

  7 The PGCE course starts in September and finishes in June or early July.  The University then makes a recommendation to the Department for Education for the student to be granted “Qualified Teacher Status” or QTS.  You can only be employed as a teacher in the UK if you have QTS.  Usually students receive confirmation of their QTS 4 - 8 weeks after finishing their PGCE.

  8 Students may proceed to do an online MA in Education in Professional Practice within 5 years of completing their PGCE if they would like a masters qualification.

  9. Part time work is strongly discouraged during a PGCE as it is an intensive course.

  10. Tuition fee at Cumbria is £13,575 which can be reduced to £12,575

  11. There is a £10,000 International Relocation Bursary that international students can apply for if they are going to teach Maths, Physics for some sciences as these are national shortage areas.

  12. There is a potential for a bursary scholarship of up to £29,000. International students may also be considered for this.  Further information can be found here

  https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/scholarships-and-bursaries

  13. Job prospects are excellent for teachers as long as the student is happy to work anywhere.  Starting salaries are around £28,000 outside London and £33,000 inside London.  Many students get offered a job during their teaching practice in schools if they impress the head teacher.

  14. Cumbria will still carry out credibility interviews.

  15. The PGCE Primary has a January intake with the application deadline likely to be mid November.  The PGCE Secondary only has a September intake..

• Commission(%): 15% - 20%
• Commission(Additional Information):

  For January 2025 and May 2025 intakes ONLY – once the deposit is paid, students can request the opportunity to pay remaining fees in 5 equal instalments starting in March (for January intake) or July (for May intake).

  Changes to Process for Payment of Agent Commission (October 24)

  1. 1. Agent commission will now be paid in two instalments (based on the fact that most students pay 50% deposit).
     2. If a student has paid their fees in full (in advance), 100% commission will be due and payable 6 weeks after face-to-face registration has been completed.  
     3. An additional measure will be introduced to check that the student is engaging academically for the first six weeks before payment of commission is authorised.
     4. Where a student is paying their fees in instalments (Jan 2025 and May 2025 intakes only), the first commission payment will be calculated on the amount paid by the student by registration – ordinarily this will be at least 50% of the tuition fee. This will be payable 6 weeks after face-to-face registration has been completed. A full and final second commission payment will be made once the student has paid 70% of their fees (first and second instalment).

   

  15% commission paid for the first 20 students.

  20% commission paid for the 21st student onwards.

  All commission is based on the nett tuition fee paid i.e. minus scholarships and any fee discount for early payment.

  A further 5% commission will be paid for undergraduate students when they enter the second year of their course.

  15% will be paid for the International Foundation Programme or Pre-sessional English language