The Turing Scheme

The Turing Scheme is the UK’s global programme for studying, working and living abroad and offers you once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for personal and professional development.

 It gives you the chance to develop new skills, gain vital international experience and boost your employability, as well as developing a wide range of soft skills, language skills and a better understanding of other cultures. 

What is the Turing Scheme?  

The Turing Scheme aims to contribute to the UK Government’s commitment to a Global Britain by helping us to enhance existing international ties and forge new relationships around the world.  

Update on 2024/25 Turing Scheme Funding for Study and Work Abroad placements

The University of Leeds received sufficient funding to provide grants to students participating in compulsory study and work abroad placements, and to students on an optional study or work year abroad who have been identified as coming from underrepresented backgrounds. 

A compulsory placement abroad is one which you are required to complete as part of your degree (and not an optional variant). This includes students on the following programmes:  

  • Languages 
  • Law with language 
  • Integrated masters in the School of Earth and Environment  
  • BMus Music (Performance) 

The criteria for underrepresented backgrounds is listed on this webpage under the ‘Funding’ heading.  

All students undertaking a study or work placement abroad in 2024-25 will be contacted by the Turing Scheme team via email and eligible students will be invited to complete an application form.  

Please note that Turing funding beyond the 2024-25 academic year has not yet been confirmed.

Activities funded by the Turing Scheme for the 2024-25 academic year  

The University of Leeds has been awarded funding to support students undertaking one of the seven international activities listed below in the 2024-25 academic year.     

  1. Study placements abroad

  2. Work placements abroad

  3. Postgraduate research placement abroad – apply through the Doctoral College

  4. Summer Schools – apply through Global Opportunities SharePoint

  5. Medical electives – apply through the School of Medicine

  6. International Health Research – apply through the School of Medicine

  7. Global Experiential Learning activities:

Students who are eligible and selected will receive an application form via email from the Turing Scheme team. 

For summer schools and global experiential learning activities, placements must be undertaken with one of the agreed partner organisations. For more information on these partners, please contact the relevant Activity Lead.   

Eligibility

To be eligible for Turing Scheme funding, you must meet the following criteria: 

  1. Current University of Leeds Registration:  

  • You must be a registered University of Leeds student (this includes international students).  

  • If you have suspended your studies or taken a leave of absence, you will not be considered a registered student.  

  • Intercalating students studying at a different UK institution will not be considered registered students at Leeds.  

  1. Application for Overseas Placement: 

  • You need to have applied for an overseas placement through the University of Leeds (independent applicants are not eligible). 

  • Your placement must be approved by the University of Leeds. 

  • You must intend to complete your placement in person, in your host country. 

  1. Placement Period: 

  • The duration of your placement should be 28 days or longer (e.g., from 1st July to 28th July).   

  • Your international placement should take place between 1st September 2024, and 31st August 2025.  

  • If some of your placement occurs outside these dates, you will only be eligible to receive funding for the dates within the specified timeframe.   

  • If you plan to complete multiple placements with different host organisations, each placement must be 28 days or more, and a separate Turing application is required for each placement.  

  1. No Double Funding: 

  • You should not receive funding from another source to cover the same costs (excluding loans from Student Finance England).  

  1. Approved Risk Assessment: 

  • Your risk assessment must receive approval before the start of your international placement. 

  1. One Turing Grant per academic year: 

  • You can receive one Turing Grant in a single academic year. E.g., if you received Turing funding for your 2024-25 Study Abroad placement, you will not be eligible for Turing funding for a Summer School in Summer 2025.  

Please note that additional selection criteria may be applied if there are more eligible participants than the available number of placements funded by the Turing Scheme. 

Funding

The Turing Scheme offers two types of grants: 

  • Standard Cost of Living Grants 

  • Underrepresented Backgrounds Grants (including a Travel Grant) 

The grant amounts listed below are for placements in the 2024-25 academic year and are subject to change in the future.  

Standard Cost of Living Grants 

The Standard Cost of Living Grant is calculated based on the destination of your host country and the length of your placement. The Turing Scheme funds activities that are a minimum of 28 days and maximum of 365 days.  

The Turing Scheme bands countries together by cost of living:  

  • Group 1 (higher cost of living)   

  • Group 2 (lower cost of living)   

The full list of destination countries within each group is available on the Turing Scheme website under the ‘Cost of Living’ column. The ‘Travel Grant rate’ column is relevant only to students who meet the Underrepresented Backgrounds criteria.

For placements lasting 28 to 56 days, students will receive:   

  •  £19 per day (Group 1 destinations)  
    Or  

  •   £17 per day (Group 2 destinations)  

For placements lasting 57 to 365 days, students will receive:  

  • £14 per day (Group 1 destinations)  
    Or  

  •  £12 per day (Group 2 destinations)   

Underrepresented Backgrounds (URB) Grant 

The Turing Scheme aims to support students from backgrounds that have been underrepresented in the uptake of global opportunities. If one or more of the following categories applies to you, you may receive an additional £4 per day on top of the Standard Cost of Living Grant to cover living costs, and a contribution towards your travel costs:   

  • Students with an annual household income of £25,000 or less (UK nationals only)  

  • Students from UK Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Groups (UK nationals only)  

  • Mature students (UK national undergraduates who started their degree aged 21 or over and have been out of formal education for at least 3 years)   

  • 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     

  • Students who are care-experienced or care leavers  

  • Students who have caring responsibilities in a formal capacity, for example caring for a disabled parent or sibling  

  • Neither of the students’ parents can be found or it is not reasonably practicable to get in touch with either of them, therefore they are considered estranged students  

  • Refugees and asylum seekers  

  • Students from UK armed forces families  

  • Students who are the first in their family to enter higher education (UK nationals only) 

We will ask you to declare if you believe that you meet one or more of the Underrepresented Backgrounds criteria on your Turing Scheme application form. Internal teams at the University will verify your eligibility. You may be asked to provide evidence if your university record cannot be used to verify your eligibility.

Travel Grants 

If you qualify for the Underrepresented Backgrounds Grant, you will receive a Travel Grant. Travel grant amounts are fixed and depend on the destination of your placement. Travel Grant rates are listed here.  

Please keep hold of all your booking confirmations, receipts, and tickets as you will be asked to submit these as evidence. You must evidence that you have fully spent your Travel Grant. Travel expenses that cannot be evidenced will be deducted from your final Cost of Living instalment. You will be required to make a repayment if this deduction results in a negative final instalment.  

Double Funding

The Turing Scheme does not allow for double funding. This means participants cannot receive funding from multiple sources to cover the same expenses. For example, if you are applying for the Underrepresented Backgrounds Grant, you will not be eligible for the Turing Travel Grant if you are in receipt of the Student Finance England (SFE) Travel Grant. However, you will still be eligible for the additional £4 per day for living costs.   

If you are applying for the Standard Cost of Living Grant from the Turing Scheme, you can apply and receive the SFE Travel Grant, and it will not impact your Turing application.  

If your Turing grant does not fully cover the expenses associated with living in or travelling to your host country, you may seek additional funding from another source, but your combined grants should not exceed the total cost of your expenses.   

You must declare if you are receiving funds from other sources on your Turing Scheme application form. The Turing team may request evidence to ensure the combined funds do not exceed the cost of your placement, so it’s important to keep all receipts.   

If you fail to disclose funding from another source, you may be required to repay your Turing grant in full. Similarly, if it is found that you are in receipt of funds that exceed the cost of your placement, you may be required to repay your Turing grant in full.   

Readiness to Travel Allowance 

If you are eligible for the Underrepresented Backgrounds Grant and your placement is shorter than 56 days, you can apply for additional funding towards costs associated with preparing to travel. Readiness to Travel allowance is specifically for: passports, visa applications and reasonable associated costs such as translated documents and police certificates, vaccinations, travel insurance and medical certificates. All costs must be evidenced, so please keep hold of your receipts. Please note that Readiness to Travel funding is limited and is not guaranteed to participants. To learn more about Readiness to Travel, please contact the Turing team.  

Additional Funding for Disabled Students* 

*Please note that funding to support disability-related costs is referred to as SEND funding by the Turing Scheme. 

Disabled students who receive Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) from Student Finance, e.g., mentoring sessions, may be eligible to continue to receive this funding whilst on placement abroad. DSA funding would be in addition to the Underrepresented Backgrounds (URB) Grant if students are eligible to receive both. In some cases, Turing funding may also be available to support disability-related costs that cannot be covered by DSA.  

Funding will be paid to students directly or to the organisation providing the support (e.g., Disability Services, an external provider, or your host placement provider) at an appropriate time. The Turing team will work with each student independently to support individual needs.     

Students will have the option to declare if they are in receipt of funded disability support on the Turing Scheme application form. If you wish to apply for additional funding to support disability-related costs, please specify your needs and the support you are seeking in detail on the application form. This will enable Disability Services and the Turing team to offer you the best support.  

What our students say

Find out more about how the Turing Scheme can impact your international placement by reading student blogs about their experiences.  

Watch this video to hear firsthand about the incredible experience of volunteering with Think Pacific in Fiji. 

“My experience on a year abroad would have been very different without the funding, it significantly improved my experience to try new things and focus on studies as opposed to worrying how I will support myself constantly." Adam Weston 

“The Turing Scheme financial support allowed me to experience things I would've never been able to experience in my home country. Through this, I was able to also understand other cultures and teach others about my own." Makasa Sesay 

"The application process was easy and the Turing Scheme Team was helpful and ready to answer any questions I had." Lily Sittig 

“I think that the Turing scheme has opened up so many opportunities for me on my year abroad, and it absolutely would not be the same experience without the funding. I’ve been able to try so many new activities and visit so many new places and wouldn’t have been able to do so if I hadn’t received this funding. It has made the experience what it is.” Abigail Herron 

“Incredible opportunity to travel, meet new people, experience a new culture and study new subjects!” Joshua Graham 

Contact details  

Email: TuringScheme@leeds.ac.uk 

Please communicate with the Turing team using your Leeds email account and provide your Student ID number in all communications.