Supporting international students

What is UCAS' role?

We're the official online admissions service for UK universities and colleges – we are a non-profit organisation and have registered charity status. We work on behalf of the universities, connecting people to higher education.

What we do:

• Process applications
• Provide fraud and verification services
• Provide information, advice and training
• Conduct education sector engagement
• Signpost to relevant resources on finance, immigration, and visas

What we don't do:

• Suggest courses/universities
• Make decisions/offers
• Advise on finance/immigration/visas

We support international guidance councellors, tutors, agents and advisers, on top of processing applications to hundreds of universities and colleges in the UK.

To manage all of your student applications to UK universities in one place, you can become a UCAS registered centre.

• It’s free to become a UCAS centre. 
• Manage and submit applications through the advisor portal 
• Link your applications to your centre 
• Get UCAS advice, information and training 
• Access specialised application and tracking tools. 
• Receive a monthly newsletter with access to free resources and tailored content. 
• Get access to a dedicated support team. 

It’s the same registration process as becoming a UCAS centre if you're a school – with the same benefits above – we just ask you to provide a reference from one of our member universities or colleges in the UK.

• This shows you are committed to helping students apply to study in the UK.
• Universities and colleges can then easily monitor applications from your agency.

We're keen to work with any agents who work with our member universities and colleges in the UK. If you have any questions about registering as a UCAS centre, email us at [email protected]

We attend many events internationally so you, your students, and their parents can ask us about higher education and UCAS applications. We'd also be happy to consider meeting with you if you're visiting the UK. 

To really help your students, you will need to know and advise on the following:

• Researching study options using the UCAS hub
• UCAS' application process and online application. See our adviser toolkits for further details
• Knowledge on qualifications and English language test, if applicable 
• How to complete the personal statement
• General information on the tuition fees and finances associated with studyisng in the UK

To keep up to date with UCAS, sign up for our newsletter. 

UCAS Conservatoires applicants manage their own applications. Referees are contacted by the applicant with details of what to do.

Read our information about providing a reference for UCAS Conservatoires applicants.

We have information for international audiences on how UK higher education works, choosing courses and applications web pages.

Alternatively, you can access guides and training resources by clicking on the links below.

Qualifications advice for international advisers