Glasgow Caledonian University: Courses, Fees & Admissions

University profile

About Glasgow Caledonian University

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) is a public modern university with its main campus in Glasgow city centre and a postgraduate campus in London. It describes itself as the largest modern university in Scotland and as the University for the Common Good, a mission set out in its Strategy 2030 and its values of integrity, responsibility, creativity and confidence. The university community numbers about 1,500 staff and over 22,000 students from more than 100 countries, and GCU is a registered Scottish charity (SC021474).

The Glasgow campus on Cowcaddens Road is built around the Sir Alex Ferguson Library, with study spaces for 1,800 students, a large campus refectory and the ARC Health and Wellbeing Facility. GCU London, at 40-48 Fashion Street in Spitalfields, a short walk from Liverpool Street Station, teaches master's courses with a focus on sustainability, responsible business and public health. Transnational partnerships operate in China, Oman, Nepal, Singapore and Malaysia.

Teaching and research are organised in three academic schools:

Glasgow School for Business and Society: business, law and social sciences
School of Health and Life Sciences: health, social care and life sciences, and a major provider of graduates for the NHS
School of Science and Engineering: engineering, computing, the built environment and applied sciences

Areas of strength include building and surveying, the UK's only honours degree in Risk Management, computer game development and multimedia, optometry and the allied health professions. GCU has links with over 300 industry partners, offers a wide range of professionally accredited courses and is Scotland's leading provider of Graduate Apprenticeships. It is also known for widening access: 23% of its Scottish full-time first-degree entrants come from the 20% most disadvantaged areas of Scotland (SFC 2025), supported by the College Connect team and the Caledonian Club outreach programme.

Students can live on campus at Caledonian Court, a self-catering residence for 660 students across the road from the university, and support services include a Disability Service, Mental Health and Wellbeing, a Careers Service, a Law Clinic, the GCU Vision Centre and the Students' Association. International students are supported by the International Office and the Visa Immigration Support and Advice (VISA) team, and GCU is a signatory of the UK Agent Quality Framework. GCU holds EcoCampus Platinum accreditation and was named Scotland's most environmentally sustainable university in the People and Planet league table (2025).

University information

Tuition fees 2026/27

Annual full-time undergraduate fees for 2026/27 (1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027) are £1,820 for Scotland students, £9,790 for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and £15,700 for EU and international students. MOptom costs £21,900 a year for international students, rising to £26,900 in Year 5. Fees for taught postgraduate courses depend on the course. For example, many MSc courses in Glasgow cost £9,200 for home students and £19,400 for international students, while the London MSc International Marketing costs £9,200 and £16,700. Fees may rise by up to five per cent a year for courses lasting more than one year. Tuition fees

International students

New to GCU Undergraduate: self-funding international students starting a full-time course from September 2026 get up to £2,500 off their tuition fees each year. Details
New to GCU Postgraduate: a tuition fee discount for students from India and Nigeria on full-time taught postgraduate courses starting in September 2026.
New to GCU Regional Scholarship: a tuition fee discount for taught postgraduate students from Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
GCU Postgraduate Ambassador Scholarship: a full tuition fee scholarship for applicants who hold an unconditional offer for January 2027 entry in Glasgow or London and can show commitment to the Common Good.

Rest of UK and Ireland

The RUK and Ireland Common Good Bursary is awarded automatically to full-time undergraduates from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It pays £2,000 cashback a year and includes a final-year fee waiver of £9,790. On a four-year degree, this means £6,000 cashback plus the waiver, worth £15,790 in total. On a five-year degree, it means £8,000 cashback plus the waiver, worth £17,790. Details

Other scholarships and bursaries

GCU Anniversary Scholarships: support for students living in Scotland who have faced financial or personal challenges, including care-experienced and estranged students. These were set up by Sir Alex Ferguson CBE and Dr Murray Rowden with corporate partners. The application deadline is 7 August 2026.
Student Loyalty Discount: 30% off for returning GCU students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught courses.
Early payment discount: 5% off fees over £5,000 when paid by the early payment date.
Asylum Seeker Scholarship: may cover fees for asylum seekers living in the Greater Glasgow area who start an undergraduate programme in September 2026.
Course-linked awards: the London Insurance Market Charitable Trust Scholarship (Risk Management and Finance), the Boots Scholarship (Optometry), the Moffat Scholarship (Travel, Tourism and Events), the David MacLennan MA TV Fiction Writing Scholarship (£10,200 towards tuition), Data Lab funded places on selected MSc courses, and BE-ST funded places on built environment master's courses.
External funding promoted by GCU: Carnegie Education Fund undergraduate tuition fee grants and Carnegie Masters Grants for students from Scotland, ICAS bursaries of up to £2,500 for Accountancy or Finance students from households earning under £34,000, UK postgraduate loans, U.S. Federal Student Loans, and fully funded Graduate Apprenticeships. Home students can also apply to the Childcare Fund.

Research studentships cover tuition fees and usually pay a monthly stipend. Scholarships and funding

GCU Postgraduate Ambassador Scholarship (January 2027) →

New to GCU Postgraduate Scholarship (India and Nigeria) incl. GCU Plus →

New to GCU Regional Scholarship (Postgraduate) →

New to GCU Undergraduate Scholarship (International) →

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Undergraduate entry

Full-time undergraduate applications are made through UCAS, and the UCAS application fee of £28.50 covers up to five choices. GCU accepts applications for most undergraduate courses until 30 June; after that date, applications go through UCAS Clearing. Entry requirements differ by course. As an example, BA Business Management in the Glasgow School for Business and Society asks for SQA Highers ABBB, A levels BCC or IB 26. Applicants need a personal statement and a reference.

GCU also considers Foundation Apprenticeships (accepted alongside SQA Highers in place of one Higher at grade B), HNC/HND qualifications for entry to Year 2 or 3, Access and SWAP courses and T Levels. Widening access applicants may receive a lower or adjusted offer for some courses. This includes applicants who have completed a pre-entry SWAP programme, live in a target postcode area, are care-experienced, or have refugee or asylum-seeker status. Recognition of Prior Learning, part-time study and Graduate Apprenticeships are separate routes.

International undergraduate entry

International undergraduate applicants apply through UCAS, or they can apply directly to GCU between July and September. In-country representatives approved by GCU can help with applications. For September 2026 entry, the standard deadlines were: application by 19 June 2026, documents by 26 June, deposit by 10 July, financial documents by 24 July and final CAS issue by 31 July 2026. Later dates applied to nationals of Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the USA and Vietnam. For January 2027 entry, the standard application deadline is 6 November 2026 and the final CAS issue date is 18 December 2026. Some programmes, mostly in the School of Health and Life Sciences, close earlier.

English language requirements

The minimum is academic IELTS (or IELTS for UKVI) 6.0 with no element below 5.5, and some courses ask for more. GCU also accepts the following, among others:

TOEFL iBT 78, with at least Listening 17, Reading 18, Speaking 20 and Writing 17
PTE Academic 59 with 59 in every sub-score
Cambridge English 169 with no element below 162
LanguageCert Academic 65 with no element below 60
Oxford ELLT 6 with no element below 5
Higher English at grade C, or A level English at grade D
WAEC or NECO English Language at C6 or higher
KCSE English at grade C
CBSE or CISCE Indian XII English at 70%

Medium of Instruction letters are not accepted. Nationals of majority English-speaking countries, as defined by UKVI, who were educated in English may not need to provide evidence.

Postgraduate taught and research entry

Most taught postgraduate courses are applied for through the GCU Online Application Portal, using the Apply button on each course page. A few courses use UCAS, and some Allied Health courses also require Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks and NHS applications. Applicants provide a personal statement, references and academic transcripts. PhD applications go through the same portal, where applicants choose from listed research subjects and intakes. For international postgraduate research applicants, the October 2026 intake closed for applications on 26 June 2026 and the February 2027 intake closes on 23 October 2026.

Visas

The Visa Immigration Support and Advice (VISA) team advises on Student visas from outside the UK, switching or extending a visa within the UK, Home Office credibility interviews and post-study work.

Glasgow campus (Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA): home to all three academic schools and undergraduate, postgraduate and research study. Facilities include the Sir Alex Ferguson Library (study spaces for 1,800 students, open-access PCs and online resources), the largest campus refectory of its type in Scotland, catering outlets, the ARC Health and Wellbeing Facility for sport and exercise, the GCU Vision Centre, the Law Clinic and the Archive Centre.
Caledonian Court (Dobbies Loan, Cowcaddens, Glasgow G4 0JF): on-campus residence for 660 students in self-contained, fully furnished flats of six to eight bedrooms, with heating, electricity and internet included in the rent and a pay-as-you-go laundry. Priority goes to care-experienced UK students, students with disability-related or medical needs, students under 19 living outside commuting distance and first-year international students. Applications for the first round of offers for 2026 closed on 16 March 2026, and accommodation is not guaranteed. No designated family or postgraduate housing is offered.
GCU London (40-48 Fashion Street, Spitalfields, London E1 6PX): postgraduate campus teaching master's courses in seven subject areas, including MSc International Management and Business Development, MSc International Marketing, MSc Computer Science, MSc Advanced Computer Science and the Master of Public Health. The campus spans three floors with teaching and video-conference rooms, computer facilities with Apple Macs, a library, group study spaces, breakout lounges and a roof terrace.

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