2026 Goldsmiths University of London Scholarships ( Fully Funded)

Goldsmiths, University of London is a public university in southeast London, known for its work in the arts, humanities, social sciences, computing, and creative industries. It offers several scholarships to help international students afford study in the UK. The best known is the Sanctuary Scholarship, formerly called the International Response Scholarship. It is fully funded, but it is aimed at students with refugee or asylum status in the UK rather than at international applicants in general. Goldsmiths also runs International Undergraduate and International Postgraduate Scholarships, which are smaller awards for fee-paying international students.

About the Goldsmiths University of London Scholarships

The Sanctuary Scholarship supports people who have been displaced and are seeking safety in the UK, and it lets them start or continue higher education at Goldsmiths. Only a few places are available each year, and applicants compete for them. The International Undergraduate and Postgraduate Scholarships are separate awards for international students who have accepted an offer at Goldsmiths. Their value varies by level of study. Goldsmiths reviews these programmes each admissions cycle, so values and numbers can change.

Scholarship Coverage

Sanctuary Scholarship

A full tuition fee waiver for each year of study
An allowance of £8,825 for each year of study
Accommodation costs for a single study bedroom in Goldsmiths halls of residence, up to £200 per week
Up to four awards for the 2026 entry cycle: two for undergraduate students and two for postgraduate taught students

International Undergraduate Scholarships

Awards of £2,000 and £5,000 for undergraduate and International Foundation Certificate students, in the most recent published cycle
Up to 35 awards in that cycle

International Postgraduate Scholarships

Awards of £2,000 and £4,000 for postgraduate taught and Graduate Diploma students, in the most recent published cycle

Duration

The Sanctuary Scholarship is paid for each year of study, so it lasts as long as the degree. That is typically three years for an undergraduate degree, or longer where a programme includes a placement year or foundation year, and typically one year for a taught master’s degree. The International Undergraduate and Postgraduate Scholarships are awards linked to the programme the student has accepted an offer for.

Eligible Fields of Study

Sanctuary Scholarship: Any undergraduate or taught postgraduate degree at Goldsmiths, provided it is taught in person. Online degrees are not eligible.

International Undergraduate Scholarships: Undergraduate degree programmes and International Foundation Certificate programmes. Fine Art and Fine Art Extension programmes are excluded.

International Postgraduate Scholarships: Postgraduate taught degree programmes and Graduate Diploma programmes. Fine Art and Design programmes are excluded.

Eligible Countries

The Sanctuary Scholarship has no nationality restriction. Eligibility depends on immigration status in the UK, not on country of origin. Applications from Ukrainian applicants seeking refuge in the UK under the Home Office’s special arrangement are also considered.

The International Undergraduate and Postgraduate Scholarships are open to students who are liable to pay international tuition fees. This includes fee-paying students from within the EU.

Eligibility Requirements

Sanctuary Scholarship applicants must:

Have refugee status in the UK, or have an active asylum application in the UK, and provide documents proving it
Hold an offer for an undergraduate or taught postgraduate degree at Goldsmiths
Be enrolled on a programme taught in person
Be legally eligible to study in the UK. Anyone on Immigration Bail must not have a condition that prohibits study.
Meet Goldsmiths’ general scholarship eligibility criteria and regulations

International Undergraduate and Postgraduate Scholarship applicants must:

Be eligible to pay international fees
Have accepted an offer on an eligible Goldsmiths programme
Meet Goldsmiths’ general scholarship eligibility criteria and regulations

How to Apply for Goldsmiths University of London Scholarships

Sanctuary Scholarship

Apply for, and receive, an offer on an eligible undergraduate or taught postgraduate programme at Goldsmiths.
Complete the online scholarship application form on the Goldsmiths Sanctuary Scholarship page.
Upload documents that prove your refugee or asylum status to your MyGoldsmiths account.
If you want university accommodation, submit a separate accommodation application. Mention in the notes section that you are applying for the scholarship.

For the 2026 entry cycle, applications opened on 16 February 2026 and closed on 25 May 2026 at midnight British Summer Time.

International Undergraduate and Postgraduate Scholarships

Accept your offer on an eligible programme.
Complete the application form on the relevant scholarship page.
Submit before the deadline. In the most recent published cycle there were two deadlines, in March and May. After each one, half of the available awards were given out.

Selection Criteria

Sanctuary Scholarship recipients are chosen on a competitive basis in two stages:

Eligibility shortlisting: The Scholarships Co-ordinator checks each application against the eligibility criteria. Every applicant who meets them moves to the next stage.
Panel review: An awarding panel assesses the applications. It includes representatives from Admissions, Widening Participation, and the Immigration Advisory Service.

The panel gives equal weight to the applicant’s academic record and their answers on the application form. It looks at the content and relevance of the answers, not the standard of the writing. The panel decides the final recipients and the reserve candidates.