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How Much Does this Degree Cost? A FAQ and Guide to the Tuition of the University of London’s BSc in Computer Science, with Example Calculations!

Updated on 2021-01-14

Hello /r/UniversityOfLondon!

Lately I’ve been fielding questions about the programme tuition, both here on the subreddit and at our unofficial Discord server (invitation-link here!). Hence I decided to write up a quick guide and FAQ, in hopes of answering questions for prospective students and applicants.

Where do I find official documents from the University, detailing fees & tuition?

You may find the 2021 Fee Schedule for the University of London’s BSc in Computer Science in the following link (PDF) below:

You may also find the general University of London webpage for course fees at the following link. This may be useful, especially if the 2021 Fee Schedule is out of date:

How do I pay for this degree?

Fees (i.e. tuition) for the University of London’s BSc of Computer Science is assessed on a per-module basis. Specifically, you pay for each module that you intend to take in your upcoming term (i.e. semester) during your module registration. You’ll only be able to access your module content, upon successful completion of payment.

Essentially, this means that you pay for the cost of your degree on a per-term (i.e. per semester) basis. A full time student that takes 4 modules per term will pay the cost of 4x module fees before the start of each term. This means you’ll be making two payments in an academic year, as there are 2 terms in a year.

What is the module fee? How much does each module cost?

The module fee is different depending on which country you are from. There are Band A countries, and Band B countries, and the United Kingdom. The module fees are the cheapest for Band A countries, slightly cheaper for the United Kingdom, and full-price for Band B countries. For a full-list of Band A and Band B countries, see the following link (PDF):

As of 2021-01-14, the module fees are:

Band A Countries:

Band B Countries:

United Kingdom:

Note: please refer to the official University of London fee schedule, for official information. Fees may be increased on an annual basis in order to adjust for inflation, and my numbers may be out of date:

Are there any additional costs, apart from module fees?

Yes. The biggest additional cost are exam-centre fees. Final end-of-term exams for modules must be taken at a physical exam centre, where you will be charged a fee for proctoring. Exam centres are independent organisations (generally local universities, community colleges, or highschools) that administer exams as a service. Note that not all modules have end-of-term exams. For those that do not have end-of-term exams, you will not have to visit an exam centre, and you won’t pay an exam-centre fee.

Unfortunately, exam-centre fees vary significantly, since they are set by the exam-centre. For my local exam centre in the United States, I was charged a very nominal fee of $25.00 USD per exam-hour, with an additional $20.00 USD shipping charge to ship the test results back to London. Exam centres can be cheaper or significantly more expensive, depending on where you live in the world. Hence, it is suggested that you contact your local exam centre, and find out their fees in advance.

For a list of all exam centres, see the following University webpage:

Do I have to purchase any textbooks or materials?

No. All study materials are provided to you, in electronic (PDF) form. Students are given required readings either in the form of PDFs (generally for shorter documents or excerpts), or they are directed to visit the University of London’s Online Library. The Online Library provides required textbooks and study material in the form of E-Books.

All of the textbooks used in the programme are relatively well known and ‘common’ textbooks used by many Computer Science departments across the Anglosphere, hence many students are able to check-out copies from their local libraries or community colleges without issue. Likewise, some students choose to purchase their own textbooks, which can generally be found at reasonable prices on eBay.

Basically, you don’t need to purchase any textbooks as the University provides free electronic copies.

How much does this degree really cost? Can you provide an estimate?

Here is the full cost breakdown of the total programme for Band B countries, which include the United States (make sure to double check to see if you are in a Band A or Band B country. It is much cheaper if you are in Band A):

First, recall that the complete University of London BSc of Computer Science is composed of 22 modules and a Final Project. Hence:

Cost Breakdown for Band B Countries:

Total Cost for Band B Countries:

Average per term cost for Band B (4 modules per term, graduation in 3 years):

This average includes the application fee and the Final Project, which are amortised over the span of the whole degree (3 years).

Average per term cost for Band B (3 modules per term, graduation in 4 years):

This average includes the application fee and the cost of the Final Project, which are amortised over the span of the whole degree (4 years).

Please note that the above estimate is only applicable to students from Band B countries (which includes the United States). Prices for Band A countries are significantly lower.

Conclusion and Further References

I hope this guide has been helpful to all prospective students and applicants who are considering the University of London’s BSc in Computer Science! One of the best parts about this degree programme, is it’s flexible nature and reasonable cost. By writing this, I hope the overall costs of the degree are clearer. Thank you for reading my post!