Foreign universities, particularly from Australia and the UK, are rushing to establish international branch campuses in India. However, one of the challenges at this early stage of development of these campuses is that students and families have to make high-stakes decisions with limited, inconsistent, and evolving information.

In an opinion article published in Firstpost, Dr. Rahul Choudaha writes:

These universities are required to offer the same programmes as their home campuses, and hence, they are introducing programmes with different nomenclature, durations and costs to India. In addition, scholarships announced by different universities have different timings and criteria, making it difficult to get a clear sense of net tuition pricing.

In this article, based on the findings of the report, “The Landscape of International University Campuses in India 2026”, Dr. Choudaha also shares variations in tuition fees based on duration of programme and country of origin.

For example, the tuition fee for a four-year Bachelor’s in Data Science at the University of Aberdeen, Mumbai, costs Rs 48 lakh, compared to Rs 33 lakh for a three-year degree from Victoria University in Gurugram. Likewise, the total tuition fee for a two-year MSc in Data Science at Illinois Tech Mumbai costs Rs 30 lakh over the programme duration, compared to Rs 17.6 lakh for a one-year MSc in Data Science at the University of Southampton in Gurugram.

For undergraduate programmes, Australian campuses cost more — about 16 per cent higher than UK ones (Rs 14.2 lakh vs Rs 12.2 lakh). UK undergraduate fees also vary more widely — anywhere from Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 15.0 lakh — compared to Australia’s narrower range (Rs 11.0 lakh to Rs 17.9 lakh). For postgraduate programmes, it flips — the UK is a bit pricier, but the gap is small (~5 per cent). Australia’s postgraduate fees are more consistent across campuses, while the UK’s fees vary much more widely (Rs 12.5 lakh–23.1 lakh).

Dr. Choudaha asserts:

While international campuses have widened students’ choices to earn a global degree at home, the range of options is not the easiest to navigate. More data transparency and consistency will help students and families make informed choices while supporting the success of these campuses.