What a year abroad actually costs, country by country

Families almost always compare tuition. Tuition is roughly half the picture, and the half that varies least. Here is the full shape of the number.

What actually makes up the cost

• Tuition, the headline figure, paid to the university.
• Living costs, rent, food, transport, phone. Often close to tuition, and in Germany far more than it.
• One-off costs, visa fee, health surcharge or insurance, flights, deposits, translation and courier. Budget ₹2–4 lakh depending on destination.
• The buffer, three months of living costs that you do not touch. Students who skip this end up taking a top-up loan at a worse rate.

Indicative annual totals

Tuition plus living, per year, for a taught master’s. Figures are estimates for 2026 intakes and vary by city and course.

Why course length changes everything

A UK master’s runs twelve months. An American one usually runs two years. At the midpoint of each range, the UK degree costs about ₹33 lakh in total and the American one about ₹89 lakh, before either student earns anything. The per-year figure is not the number that matters; the whole-degree figure is.

What brings it down

• Scholarships, which most commonly cut 10–50% of tuition. See scholarships.
• Part-time work, generally capped around 20 hours a week in term. It covers living costs in part; it does not cover tuition.
• Studying outside the biggest city. Regional Australia and northern England can cut living costs by a third, and regional study in Australia extends post-study work rights.
• Germany, if the course fits. No tuition at public universities changes the arithmetic entirely.

We give you a written breakdown for your actual shortlist before you commit to anything, see education loans for how to fund it.