UK University Funding Prioritises Chinese, Black and Ethnic Minority Students and Asylum Seekers

Below is an advertisement we have been invited to share for a number of funded studentships at Queen Mary University of London. It states that, to apply:

You must be a UK permanent resident from an underrepresented group in research, e.g. Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic (with the priority for this round given to those from Black origin).

Here is the full advertisement:

For the record, according to Grok:

The most recent publicly available data from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) itself indicates that 77% of domestic (home) undergraduate students are from BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) backgrounds. This is stated on its official facts and figures page, which appears to draw from relatively current profiles (referenced in guides like the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide around 2024-2025).

Birkbeck, University of London offer Diversity100 PhD studentships to students who self-identify as BAME applicants, as does the University of York.

It’s worthwhile noting that under the Equality Act 2010 (Sections 158-159) universities must demonstrate under-representation to justify ring-fencing. Based on QMUL’s ‘Student Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Data Report’ of 2020, 42% of home fee-paying postgraduate students were BAME. The figure for the Faculty of Science and Engineering, for which these posts are advertised, is likely higher since STEM subjects attract proportionally more BAME students than non-STEM subjects according to the Royal Society. By comparison, to determine if BAME students are under-represented at postgraduate level, according to the most recent census data, between 20-25% of young adults (18-24 age group) in England and Wales are BAME.

Fee Waivers for Chinese nationals

Each year Queen Mary also offers 60 joint PhD scholarships with the China Scholarship Council whereby Queen Mary covers full tuition fees for four years and the Chinese authorities fund a cost-of-living stipend. The annual PhD tuition fee for international students is £23,200 for non-lab based subjects and £28,950 for lab based students. Based on an average £25,000 this is equivalent to a total of £1.5 million each year underwritten by the University. Only Chinese nationals qualify to apply for funding, and do so in China.

Around 40 UK universities participate in China Scholarship Council (CSC) funding schemes, waiving tuition fees for more than 650 CSC‑funded scholars each year. Assuming the same level of fee waivers as applied by Queen Mary this is equivalent to over £16 million per year on a rolling basis.

Fee concessions for asylum seekers

Queen Mary also offers a “Asylum Seekers Fee Concession” to “all asylum seekers or children of asylum seekers who meet the eligibility criteria”:

Home undergraduate tuition fees at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) are roughly £9,250-£9,535 per year, while overseas (international) undergraduate fees typically range from about £18,000 up to £40,000-plus per year depending on the course.

According to Student Action for Refugees (STAR), over 80 UK universities provide scholarships, bursaries, or fee waivers for asylum seekers. These schemes vary widely. Some offer full fee waivers, others provide home‑fee concessions (like QMUL and Brunel) and many include living‑cost bursaries, accommodation support or both.

You can access the full STAR network list here. STAR is funded by the UK National Lottery Community Fund, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which is one of the UK’s social justice charities and had a budget of around £53 million in 2025, and the Garfield Weston Foundation, which distributes over £100 million a year in grants.

There is also quite an industry catering to the ‘educational needs’ of asylum seekers, including help from Displaced Student Opportunities UK. They, and STAR, are supported by ‘Universities of Sanctuary’, a network of universities committed to making “Higher Education institutions places of safety, solidarity and empowerment for people seeking sanctuary”.

Until he retired, Norman Fenton was Professor in Risk Information Management at Queen Mary University of London. Martin Neil is Professor in Computer Science and Statistics at Queen Mary University of London. This article first appeared on their Substack page, Where Are the Numbers?