Cambridge is part of a group of over 140 universities across the UK calling for a rise in tuition fees.

Tuition fees for home students have been capped at £9,250 since 2017. However, in May, the Office for Students revealed that 40% of universities were predicting to end in deficit in the 2023-24 financial year. This figure could rise to 80% within three years in a “reasonable worst-case scenario”.

The University of Cambridge is part of Universities UK (UUK) and the Russell Group, both of which have called for rising fees, claiming that universities faced a “slide into decline” over low funding

These concerns arise amid inflation and decreasing international student admissions this year across the UK.

Professor Christopher Day, vice-chancellor of Newcastle University and chair of the Russell Group says: “The harsh reality is that unless the student and/or the taxpayer pay some more, the sector will shrink or the quality will go down.”

At Cambridge, 24% of students starting in the 2023-2024 admissions cycle are categorised as “other and overseas”. Overseas students pay over double the tuition fee of home students.

A record number of home students were admitted across the UK in 2024, yet UUK voices concern that tuition fees have not risen in line with inflation: “If investment in teaching students had kept up with inflation, funding per student would be in the region of £12,000-£13,000.”

Many home students are already struggling – a second year Cambridge student recently shared that he only has £25 a week to live on from his maintenance loan after paying his rent.

These concerns also come as multiple UK Universities have been forced to offer places with lower entry requirements to international students who pay significantly higher fees, citing “severe financial pressures”.

Cambridge is ranked 39th of the top 50 richest universities in the world based on university endowment rankings.

The UUK’s proposed figures have raised concern over increased student debt. The Vice-chancellor of the University of St. Andrews responded to this, saying: “It undoubtedly is the case that if you learn more, you earn more, and you have to look at the benefit of university education across a lifetime.”