Exeter Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (Law) Fees
Exeter's Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (including Law) tuition is £24,950/yr for international students, plus visa and living costs. Full breakdown.
The direct answer
International tuition for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (including Law) at the University of Exeter is £24,950 per year, for a 3-year BA or LLB with a September intake (exeter.ac.uk). That figure is per year, not the whole course — Exeter publishes it as an annual fee, so plan for it to recur each year of the degree and confirm the multi-year position in writing with the admissions team before you pay a deposit.
This fee band covers the humanities and social science subjects, and Law sits inside it. It is one of the lower bands at Exeter. If your son or daughter is applying for Psychology, Geography or Engineering instead, the number changes materially — the table below shows every undergraduate band Exeter publishes so no family budgets off the wrong line.
Exeter is ranked 11th of 130 UK institutions in the Complete University Guide 2027 and is a Russell Group member. It is the most selective institution we profile, and that matters for the entry section further down.
Exeter undergraduate fees by subject band
All figures are per year, for international students, as published by the university.
| Programme band | Award | Fee | Duration | Intake |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (including Law) | BA/LLB | £24,950/yr | 3 yrs | Sep |
| Accounting, Finance, Business & Management, Economics, Marketing | BSc/BA | £24,900/yr | 3 yrs | Sep |
| Flexible Combined Honours | BA/BSc | £25,750/yr | 3 yrs | Sep |
| Sport and Health Sciences | BSc | £29,900/yr | 3 yrs | Sep |
| Mathematics and Statistics | BSc | £30,100/yr | 3 yrs | Sep |
| Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Geology, Mining, Natural Sciences | BSc/BEng/MEng | £31,200/yr | 3–4 yrs | Sep |
| Biosciences, Biomedical Sciences, Geography, Nursing, Neuroscience, Psychology | BSc | £31,200/yr | 3 yrs | Sep |
| BMBS Medicine | BMBS | £48,900/yr | 5 yrs | Sep |
Source: official University of Exeter fee pages, exeter.ac.uk.
The catch families miss
Law is in the £24,950 band, but a combined or "with" degree may not be. Flexible Combined Honours is a separate band at £25,750/yr. If your offer letter names a joint programme — Law with Business, for instance — do not assume the arts fee applies. Ask admissions which band the specific programme code sits in, and get the answer in the offer, not over the phone.
Also note that a course with a placement or study-abroad year runs longer than three years. The fee for that extra year is set separately by the university and is not in the table above.
What sits on top of tuition
The tuition fee is only the first half of the money conversation. The UK Home Office requires a separate maintenance amount, held in the bank, on top of whatever the CAS says about tuition.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Maintenance, outside London (Exeter is outside London) | £1,136 per month |
| Maintenance period counted | Up to 9 months maximum, regardless of course length |
| Maintenance total quoted by gov.uk for 9 months outside London | £10,224 |
| Student visa application fee | £558 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | £1,035 per year |
| TB test certificate (required for Nepalese applicants on courses over 6 months) | £65 |
These are separate line items. Add them up yourself with your family's own figures — tuition is on the CAS, maintenance is the gov.uk requirement, and the visa fee, IHS and TB test are paid separately.
The 28-day rule is what actually causes refusals
The maintenance money must sit in the account for 28 consecutive days, and the end of that 28-day period must fall within 31 days of the visa application date. This is the single most common refusal point we see. A family that moves money in from three relatives a week before applying has a technically sufficient balance and a refused application.
If the funds are not in the student's own name, you need relationship evidence plus the sponsor's consent letter and the sponsor's bank statements. Check whose name the account is in before you start the 28-day clock, not after.
Living costs in Exeter
Exeter sits in the South West, grouped with Plymouth and Cornwall for cost purposes. It is cheaper than London and dearer than Bradford or Belfast.
| Exeter / Plymouth / Cornwall | |
|---|---|
| Visa minimum (official) | £1,136/month |
| Realistic monthly spend (estimate) | £900 – £1,300/month |
| Rent for a room or hall (estimate) | £500 – £850/month |
The visa minimum column is the official Home Office maintenance requirement. The realistic and rent columns are estimates built from sector norms, not scraped figures — they are here to stop a family budgeting to the visa floor and running short in February. Exeter is outside London for Home Office purposes, so the £1,136 rate applies rather than the £1,483 London rate.
Use our free Master Reckoner to line up Exeter's fee against the other UK institutions we profile, and see the UK destination hub for the wider picture on regions and provider types.
Entry and English — read this before booking IELTS
Exeter publishes a university-wide English floor of a minimum of IELTS 5.5 equivalent in all four subskills, and undergraduate applicants must also meet the standard GCSE English Language requirement.
Here is the warning that matters: that 5.5 is a university-wide minimum, not the bar for a competitive programme. Exeter is the most selective institution in this group. Individual Law and humanities programmes require materially more, and the requirement is published on the course page. Never let a counsellor quote 5.5 to you as "Exeter's requirement" — check the specific programme page and take that figure.
English tests are valid for 2 years before the programme start date. If a student sat IELTS in the gap year, check the expiry against the September start before assuming it still counts.
Common questions
Is £24,950 the fee for the whole Law degree at Exeter?
No. £24,950 is the fee per year, and the LLB is listed as 3 years. Exeter publishes fees annually and universities generally reserve the right to review them, so ask admissions in writing what the fee position is for years two and three of the specific programme before you commit.
Is Law at Exeter more expensive than other subjects?
No — Law sits in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences band at £24,950 per year, which is among the lower bands Exeter publishes. Science and engineering subjects are £31,200 per year and BMBS Medicine is £48,900 per year. If cost is the deciding factor between two Exeter offers, the subject band is where the difference comes from.
How much do I need in the bank for an Exeter student visa?
Exeter is outside London, so the maintenance rate is £1,136 per month, counted for up to 9 months maximum — gov.uk quotes that as £10,224. This is in addition to the tuition shown on your CAS. It must be held for 28 consecutive days, with that period ending within 31 days of the application date.
Can I bring my wife or husband on this course?
For postgraduate taught courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, dependants are permitted only on a PhD or other doctorate, a research-based higher degree, or for a government-sponsored student on a course longer than 6 months. Raise this with your counsellor at the first meeting rather than after the deposit. Rules are set by the Home Office and published on gov.uk — check the current position there and with the university before making family plans.
Official sources
- University of Exeter — fees, course pages and international entry requirements: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/
Fees, visa costs and English requirements change. Confirm every figure on the official university page for your specific programme before you pay anything. More UK guides are on our blog.