Cambridge’s tuition fee income from overseas students has soared by nearly £100 million in recent years, while its income from UK students is falling.

This comes after Varsity revealed that the University is facing a £53 million deficit and “flying blind” financially.

Cambridge’s gross tuition fee income has increased by £69.9 million over the past five academic years, reaching £359 million in 2023-24, according to data obtained via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The University’s income from international student fees, which are significantly higher than those for UK students, has increased by £97 million during this period.

Income from home students, meanwhile, has dropped by £27mn during this period, according to FOI data.

Cambridge’s fees for overseas students have increased consistently over recent years. While international tuition fees vary by course, the mean fee has increased from £28,588 to £37,037 between the academic years 2019-20 and 2023-24.

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), told Varsity that these figures “reflect what’s going on across the UK higher education sector in general, which is that public money is being held down.”

UK undergraduate tuition fees have been capped since 2017. Last November, the education secretary announced that the maximum annual fee will rise by £285.

Cambridge, and other top universities, are “expected to act more entrepreneurially [to] find more of their own sources of income,” Hillman said, including by “trying to obtain more money from abroad”.

But, Hillman believes that this results in fewer places at top universities being available to UK students. “It’s getting harder to get into Cambridge because more places go to international students,” he said.

In an FOI response, Cambridge said that Brexit may have contributed to the sharp increase in international fee income, and comparative drop in home fee income, which occurred in 2021-22. Since this academic year, EU students have been charged international fees at UK universities, whereas they had previously been entitled to lower “home” fees.

Hillman, however, believes that the impacts of Brexit are “a bit of a red herring”. Cambridge “always” recruits “far more non-EU international students than EU international students,” he claimed.

Cambridge’s intake of EU students has dropped in recent years, compared with rising admissions of students from China, Singapore, and Hong Kong – the University’s three largest cohorts of overseas students.

In the 2019 admissions cycle, EU students accounted for 36% of Cambridge’s overseas admissions. By 2023, this proportion had dropped to 18%. Also in 2023, China, Singapore, and Hong Kong accounted for 56% of the University’s total overseas admissions.

Sarah Anderson, president of Cambridge’s Students’ Union (SU), told Varsity that Cambridge “must consider widening participation and the impact of tuition fees on [its] ability to attract the brightest students regardless of background”.

The SU “will always lobby the University to increase the financial support available to both home and international students,” she said.

A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge emphasised the grants available to students struggling to meet the costs of their courses.

They told Varsity: “The University provides a range of support which includes one of the most generous bursary packages in the UK. The Cambridge Bursary Scheme makes over £10m of funding available every year and offers support of up to £3,500 a year for full-time undergraduate students whose household income is less than £62,215 a year.”

“We also have a Financial Assistance Fund that offers support for students experiencing unforeseen financial difficulties. Recently we increased the amount available to any one individual from that fund to reflect the cost-of-living crisis.”

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