Fees, costs and funding (2025/26)
A unique benefit of the Dual PhD Programme between Keele University and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is that you only pay tuition fees to the university where you are physically based each year.
Examples:
- 1 year at Keele University + 2 years at USM → Pay Keele University fees for 1 year, USM fees for 2 years.
- 2 years at Keele University + 1 year at USM → Pay Keele University fees for 2 years, USM fees for 1 year.
This means: no double fees – you are never paying two universities at the same time.
Tuition fees
The cost of PhD fees in the UK is generally around £16,000 per year for international students (£48,000 for a three-year programme). We are conscious that this is expensive for many international students and, in order to support this strategic research cooperation, Keele University is offering the following fee position for the Dual PhD programme:
- Students will pay tuition fees at Keele University for one year, and at USM for two years – fees will be clearly set out in your offer letter
- Keele University will charge home tuition fees instead of international fees (£5,006 per year)
- Tuition fees for the entire course will be in the region of £8,000
- Students will pay tuition fees at Keele University for two years, and at USM for one year – fees will be clearly set out in your offer letter
- USM will charge tuition fees of approx. £1,500 per year to UK Keele-Alumni, and fees of £5,000 to non-Alumni UK students
- Tuition fees for the entire course will be comparable to a standard route PhD at Keele University, but you will gain two PhDs and benefit from an internationally supported project. For UK Keele-Alumni, tuition fees will be lower than a standard route PhD at Keele University.
We warmly welcome applications from international candidates; please contact the Keele-USM Centre Directors Dr Mirna Maarabouni (m.m.maarabouni@keele.ac.uk) or Dr Aziah Ismail (aziahismail@usm.my) in the first instance.
Other costs
Other costs for non-UK students involved in this programme include:
Current information on applying for a visa can be found at: Check if you need a UK visa - GOV.UK. As part of your visa application, you will need to pay the visa fee, the Immigration Health Surcharge and also provide evidence that you have sufficient resources to cover your expenses (accommodation and subsistence) for the duration of your stay in the UK.
Students are free to reside off-campus or on-campus during their period of residence at Keele University. On-campus accommodation offers convenience and a sense of community. For students choosing this option, Keele University will assist with the booking of on-campus accommodation.
Keele University will provide an online English language competence diagnostic test before Postgraduate Researchers are selected and enrolled, to ensure they meet our admissions requirements. The test is administered by the Keele Language Centre and is offered free of charge and will be accepted by the UK Visa and Immigration Service as the equivalent of an IELTS test.
Should students wish to, they can secure an alternative English Language Certification (e.g. IELTS or Pearson), the costs of which should be met by individual students.
