Deposit payments and refunds

You must pay a deposit to secure your place on some of our postgraduate courses. This page has been revised to incorporate information from our previous Terms of postgraduate offers page.

Payment of deposits

For some of our courses you will need to pay a deposit to secure your place. We will let you know in the offer letter if a deposit is required and you will be given a deadline date when this is due to be paid.

Any deposit that you pay will be credited to your fee account at Lancaster University and will be deducted from the total fee payable at registration. Interest is not paid.

If we do not receive a valid deposit payment to the value in pound sterling (GBP) stated in the offer by the deadline date, we will not be able to guarantee you a place on your chosen course of study.

Pay online by debit or credit card

The easiest and fastest way to pay your deposit is by debit or credit card when you accept your place on the University's Postgraduate Applications Portal. Please remember to ensure that you have a sufficient funds or credit limit on your card to pay the deposit before using this method.

Other ways to pay

Payments can be made via the University's Postgraduate Application Portal and the following payment methods are available:

  • UK bank transfer
  • Debit or credit card
  • International bank transfer/card/E-wallets

Please see the Application Portal for further details and advice.

Caution

Always use a University approved payment pathway and beware of third parties offering to pay your fees on your behalf at a discounted rate. If you are concerned, please seek the advice of the University via the Admissions Office or ASK.

Tuition fee deposit refunds

The tuition fee deposit is not normally refundable. However, a refund may be permitted in the circumstances described below. Documentary evidence must be provided before a refund request will be considered. We may also need to verify documentary evidence provided as part of a refund request.

Deposit refund requests must be submitted by email or in writing no later than 30 days after the start date of your course, as detailed in your offer.

Deposit refunds for postgraduate academic courses

If you request a refund within 14 days of it being paid, we will refund your deposit in line with the United Kingdom's Consumer Contracts (Information Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

We may refund a deposit if:

  • You are refused necessary entry clearance (visa) to enter the United Kingdom for a Lancaster University course. You would not be eligible for a refund if your visa application was refused by the UKVI on the grounds of deception, fraud or lack of credibility on your behalf; or because you failed to follow UKVI guidance whilst applying for your student visa. You will be required to provide the visa refusal document before a refund will be considered.
  • You do not meet one or more academic conditions set in the offer and we reject your application. You would need to provide evidence that a reasonable attempt has been made to meet your offer condition(s), and the attempt must have been made after the date of the offer.
  • You are unable to attend the University because of exceptional or mitigating circumstances, for example, in the event of serious illness. This will be considered on a case-by-case basis and evidence of your situation will be required.

We will not consider deposit refund requests if you have omitted significant relevant information, made false or misleading statements, and/or provided fraudulent information at any time during the admissions process.

If you wish to request a refund of a tuition fee deposit for a postgraduate academic course you will need to provide documentary evidence to support your request. Any documents provided as evidence which are not in English must be accompanied by a certified translation.

Any deposit refund is at the discretion of the University. Any deposits that are refunded will only be refunded to the account they were paid from.

Contact the admissions team

If you need to contact us, then you can email our Admissions Office or telephone us on +44 (0)1524 592032.