Turing Scheme Funding - Summer Abroad

The Turing Scheme provides funding for students to gain international experience through study, work, or voluntary placements. It is designed to help you develop valuable skills, broaden your horizons, and boost your career prospects. We have been awarded a fixed amount of Turing Scheme funding for 2025-2026 which will be allocated to students who meet the eligibility criteria.

Turing Scheme funding is a contribution towards placement costs. It is not guaranteed to cover all expenses. Turing Scheme funding can be allocated to undergraduate or postgraduate students who are taking part in shorter term (minimum 14 days) activities including summer schools, international internships, volunteering abroad and research abroad programmes, and who meet the eligibility criteria. These programmes can take place anywhere in the world.

Please note, we have limited funding and students will need to email eagrants@essex.ac.uk to enquire if funding is available to them based on the eligibility criteria.

Turing Scheme funding is considered a general contribution to cost of living and travel costs; therefore, students should budget accordingly based on their destination and duration of their programme. We hope that this funding can help to provide life changing opportunities to students from a widening participation background.

How funding is prioritised

Priority 1

Students from the following groups will be considered for funding as priority.

1. Students with an annual household income of £25,000 or less (as assessed and verified by Student Finance England or other UK student funding provider).
2. 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 and living with them, such as a child or partner.
3. Care leavers and students who are 'care experienced’. This refers to anyone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked after background at any stage of their life.
4. Students who have caring responsibilities. A carer is anyone who has a commitment to providing unpaid care to a family member or friend who could not cope without their support.
5. Estranged Students - those who are irreconcilably estranged from their parent(s). To be considered irreconcilably estranged, the student won’t have had any written or verbal contact with either parent – usually for 12 months or more - and this is unlikely to change.
6. Refugees and asylum seekers.

Please note as part of the group 2-6 above you will be asked to provide official proof of your circumstances.

Turing funding is limited and is unlikely to be available for students outside of priority group 1. However, if funds are available, any remaining funding will then be allocated to students in priority group 2.

Priority 2

Students with an annual household income of £42,611 or less (as assessed and verified by Student Finance England or other UK student funding provider).

Priority 3

Any remaining funding will then be allocated based on students first year mark (highest grade).

Grant rates

Standard grant rates 2025-2026

Widening participation grant rates 2025-2026

You can view the full list of destinations and grant rates via the Department for Education website.

Additional funding for students from priority group 1

Students from this group may also receive the following:

• travel grants of up to £1,360 depending on distance between home and destination
• readiness to travel expenses can also be claimed, including costs of visas, passports, vaccines, travel insurance and health certificates.

If you don’t meet the criteria for additional support

For HE students who do not meet the above criteria for additional support, there may be other grants available to cover some travel expenses, relevant to the student finance system relevant to the participant:

• England – Studying abroad: travel grants for students (England)
• Scotland – Guide to undergraduate funding – SAAS
• Wales – What financial support is available?
• Northern Ireland – Spending part of your degree course abroad
• Participants from British Overseas Territories should check with their government’s education department for the details of support available to them.

How to apply

You do not need to apply for funding for the Turing Scheme for your summer abroad, you just need to email eagrants@essex.ac.uk to inform us about your planned summer abroad and enquire if funding is available.

Essex Abroad will be in touch with eligible students in order of priority groups as outlined above. We will contact you using your University of Essex email account.