On 9 January, the Government of Scotland announced that, for the first time, Scottish students studying in a university elsewhere in Europe will be able to benefit from the same bursary and loan support system as students attending Scottish universities.

This support is going to be established as a pilot programme, in order to evaluate demand and benefits. The government will provide loans up to GBP 5 500 (EUR 6 422) and scholarships amounting to GBP 1 750 (EUR 2 043). The pilot programme will start in the academic year of 2014/15, and about 250 students will be able to benefit from it.

The Education Secretary, Michael Russell, said, at the time of the announcement of the pilot programme, that it “will help Scots studying at European universities and ensure money is not a disadvantage to students considering this option (…) This will help and encourage our young people who choose to study abroad.”

As part of its student funding policies, Scotland has also announced other measures that will come into force in 2013/14, among which the need for students with a dual nationality (UK national and non-UK) to prove that they have resided in another EU member state for at least three months before the university application, in order to benefit from free tuition at Scottish universities (see ACA Newsletter – Education Europe, October 2012).

The Scottish Government