Quick answer: Do not pay a UK master’s tuition deposit simply because your scholarship decision is late. First check your exact offer letter, the university’s current deposit policy and whether you can request an extension or use a final funding award as evidence. A scholarship application is not the same as an award, and a refund after a failed funding application is not guaranteed.
This guide is for a Nigerian applicant holding or expecting a UK taught master’s offer. It compares three universities’ published processes; it does not make their rules interchangeable. For another university, repeat the checks using its offer letter and official admissions page. Record the entry year because deposit rules and deadlines can change.
Compare the actual deposit decisions
| University | When a deposit is due | If funding is pending or awarded | What to do next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds | Its 2026/27 taught postgraduate guidance asks Student visa applicants for a £2,000 tuition deposit for the CAS, after academic and English conditions are met and an unconditional offer is accepted. Wait for the university’s payment or exemption-evidence email. | A final full-funding award from a recognised sponsor can exempt the applicant. A pending application or conditional award does not. Leeds warns that an unsuccessful funding application is not a refund ground and advises applicants reliant on a scholarship not to pay while awaiting the result. | Compare the funding decision date with the deadline in your Leeds message. Ask admissions what is possible if the final award will arrive later; do not assume the place or deadline will be extended. |
| UCL | Selected taught programmes require a deposit; the amount and acceptance/payment deadlines are stated in the offer letter. The offer and deposit are separate steps. | UCL may consider an exemption supported by an official award covering the deposit. If an appropriate funding application is pending, it may consider extending the deposit deadline when formal evidence of the application is submitted in the Financial Deposits tab. Neither request is automatic. | Use the Financial Deposits tab before your stated deadline. Attach the funding-body letter or email identifying you, the award and, if possible, the expected decision date. Keep UCL’s decision. |
| Manchester | Its international full-time master’s guidance requires a tuition deposit before CAS issuance, normally after the offer becomes unconditional. The published minimum is £2,500. Some courses separately require an offer-acceptance deposit. | An accepted full Manchester tuition scholarship is automatically waived; recognised full third-party sponsorship can also qualify. A partial award still leaves a deposit or evidence that a recognised sponsor covers the remainder. | Check whether your offer requires an acceptance deposit as well as a CAS deposit, and ask your admissions team how an expected award affects payment timing. Do not treat Manchester’s limited published visa-refusal refund route as a promise of a refund if a scholarship fails. |
Leeds’ page is explicitly for 2026/27 entry; use it to understand the decision, then obtain the policy for your own intake. At UCL and Manchester, your offer and applicant portal determine your personal amount and deadline. The existence of a deposit rule does not by itself tell you that you should pay while funding is uncertain.
Use this four-step decision before paying
- Identify the payment: is it an offer-acceptance deposit, a tuition/CAS deposit or an accommodation payment? Find the exact amount, deadline and refund policy in the university’s own documents. Do not combine different payments in one assumption.
- Identify your funding stage: merely applied, shortlisted, conditionally awarded or holding a final award? Note whether the award covers full tuition, part of tuition, living costs, or a direct payment to the university. See our scholarship coverage worksheet.
- Ask for the route that matches your stage: submit final award evidence for an exemption where the university allows it; request a deadline extension with proof of a pending application where that route exists; otherwise ask admissions what options are available. Keep the answer in writing.
- Test the loss you can bear: if the scholarship fails, can you pay the remaining tuition and living costs, and is the deposit refundable on that particular ground? Put the due date and possible loss in your application budget before deciding.
Worked example: a decision date after a deposit deadline
Fictional example: Ada has a UCL offer whose deposit deadline is 10 May. A scholarship provider expects to decide on 30 May. Ada does not treat the scholarship application as a tuition guarantee. She first checks the offer letter and the current UCL deposit instructions. Before 10 May she uses the Financial Deposits tab to request an extension, attaching the provider’s formal application acknowledgement with the expected decision date. She waits for UCL’s written answer. If no extension is granted, she decides whether she can afford the full study plan and the possible deposit loss; she does not assume a later award will erase the payment requirement.
The same dates would produce a different action at Leeds: its 2026/27 page does not offer a general pending-scholarship exemption and explicitly warns applicants reliant on funding against paying before the outcome. At Manchester, Ada would check whether she has a full or partial award and whether her offer also has an acceptance deposit. These examples are a decision method, not predictions of what admissions will agree to.
Copy this deposit-and-funding record
- University, exact course and intake: ____
- Offer type and conditions still outstanding: ____
- Deposit type, amount, currency, deadline and official policy URL: ____
- Scholarship name, stage, expected decision date and tuition amount covered: ____
- Exemption or extension route and required evidence: ____
- Refund rule if funding fails, with the exact clause or admissions reply: ____
- Remaining tuition and living-cost plan if no award arrives: ____
- Admissions contact, date, written answer and next action: ____
For a concise enquiry, write: “I hold an offer for [course and intake]. My offer states a [type and amount] deposit due on [date]. My application for [named scholarship] is [stage], and its decision is expected on [date]. Does your current policy permit an extension or exemption in this situation? What evidence and portal route do you require, and what happens to my offer if the funding decision is later than the deposit deadline?” Ask separately whether a deposit would be refunded if the scholarship is unsuccessful; do not rely on a refund rule that covers a different event.
If the current intake is no longer feasible, check whether you can defer your master’s offer while seeking funding. Admission approval and scholarship timing are separate decisions; get both answers before changing your plans.
If you are still choosing courses, add deposit timing and refund risk to the master’s shortlisting worksheet. Use the scholarship directory to verify each award’s coverage and application stage. A tuition deposit counts toward fees at these universities, but paying it does not prove that the remaining course cost is funded.
Sources checked on 9 October 2026: Leeds deposit guidance, UCL offer-holder FAQ, Manchester tuition deposit guidance. Confirm the current intake-specific offer and policy before acting. See our editorial policy or report a correction.