What's the difference in meaning between being self-funded or sponsored?
King's College London will consider you to be a ‘sponsored’ student where your tuition fees are being paid to King’s College London directly from an external organisation.
You will be considered to be a ‘self-funded’ student where;
- your tuition fees are being paid directly to King’s College London by either you, a member of your family or a friend
- where you are receiving funding towards your tuition fees and the funding is being paid to you directly, rather than to King’s College London, then you are considered to be self-funded.
There is a slightly different process you’ll need to follow if you are sponsored or self-funded. For more details, please refer to our article Paying your tuition fees at King’s.
If you have any other questions about your fees please check out these FAQs as they are a great source of information.
Important to know: Please be aware that funding from a friend or family member is not classified as sponsorship.
Key things to know about the sponsorship process
- At the first stage of your enrolment, which is an online ‘enrolment task’, you will be asked to provide the details of your sponsor.
- Most students will need to supply the Financial Support Letter confirming the funding from their sponsor, including the amount.
- Sponsorship documents can also be submitted after the ‘enrolment task’ using the links below:
- You will need to re-enrol and supply this sponsorship information each year of your course.
- There are a wide variety of organisations which provide sponsorship, so the exact requirements needed will vary.
- The Credit Control department can support you with all queries related to your sponsor letter, invoicing and payment.
For more details on the sponsorship process and what you need to know, including:
- What evidence to supply
- When and how to supply evidence
- When and how sponsors should make payments
Please visit Are your tuition fees funded by a sponsor?
Sponsorship requirements
For many sponsors, you can follow the general guidance which is outlined in the above. However, there are some sponsors with specific requirements, so it’s important you know how things work for your particular sponsor if they fall within this list of sponsorship requirements.
If you have any other questions about your fees please check out these FAQs as they are a great source of information.
My sponsor is paying my tuition fees, what do I need to do?
It is important that you can provide us with proof that a third party is sponsoring you, otherwise you will be liable for all tuition fees.
Important to know: If you are in receipt of a loan from Student Finance then you will not need to provide documentation because we will confirm this directly with Student Finance.
If you are receiving support from other sponsors then you should upload any sponsorship documents during your initial application to King’s. This information will be added to your record to ensure your sponsor is sent the invoices.
If you receive sponsorship after the application process, then you can upload documentation during the online enrolment process or through these below links as soon as possible:
My sponsor is asking for confirmation of enrolment and fees
Confirming enrolment
If you are a new student, your enrolment is a two-stage process; first you have an online enrolment task, and second you attend an appointment in person and receive your student ID card. Once your enrolment is complete, you will be able to access and download your Confirmation of Study letter which confirms your enrolment status and the details of your course.
If you are a returning student, you need to re-enrol through your online enrolment task at the start of each academic year. Once you have done that you be able to access and download your Confirmation of Study letter for the new academic year.
Confirming fees
Your sponsor will be invoiced directly with all the details of fees due, payment deadlines and methods of payment.
If your sponsor is asking for confirmation of your fees before the invoice will be issued, you can provide them with your Offer letter which states your fees.
If your sponsor is asking for more than the Confirmation of Study letter and Offer letter, you or your sponsor can contact Credit Control directly for support.
My sponsor is asking for confirmation of enrolment and fees before they will provide their financial support letter
If your sponsor is asking for confirmation of enrolment and fees before they'll provide you with their financial support letter confirming the sponsorship, your options are:
- Explain to your sponsor you ideally need evidence of their support to complete your enrolment
- Show your sponsor this article as guidance
- Contact Student Admin Services as they're best placed to support you and your sponsor
- Select ‘sponsor’ as your funding option on the enrolment task and complete the enrolment task. You'll be able to complete the task at that stage without having to upload a letter.
- Once you've got your letter confirming your financial support from your sponsor, you can send this directly to Student Admin Services.
Important to know:
- Evidence of your sponsorship should be provided as soon as possible following your enrolment if you've been unable to provide prior to enrolment.
- If no evidence has been supplied by the time invoices are created, you'll be invoiced directly. Invoices are usually issued each year in late October/early November.
If you have any other questions about your fees please check out these FAQs as they are a great source of information.
If you are a distance learning student doing a course through King's Online, through process for payments is slightly different; please refer to King's Online Distance Learning Fees.