By Dr Rahul Choudaha
One of the key aspects of international campuses’ positioning in India is that they offer an affordable pathway to earning a global degree. Yet there has been little objective data on how their tuition pricing compares with Tier-1 private universities, and what that means for competitiveness and strategic positioning across the sector.
The Rapid Arrival of Universities
India’s National Education Policy 2020, along with subsequent regulations from IFSCA in GIFT City (October 2022) and the UGC (November 2023), permits foreign universities ranked in the world’s top 500 to open campuses in India. Within a short span, the first Australian campus opened in GIFT City, by Deakin, and the first campus under UGC regulation opened in Gurugram, by the University of Southampton from the UK. Since then, at least 20 universities have signalled interest, of which 13 are now admitting students for 2026–27.A recent research report, “The Landscape of International University Campuses in India 2026,” analyses the 91 programmes on offer for 2026–27 across these 13 foreign universities, taking a deep dive into programme offerings, academic rankings, and tuition fees: United Kingdom (7) — University of Aberdeen, Birkbeck, University of London, University of Bristol, University of Liverpool, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Southampton, University of York; Australia (5) — Deakin University, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Victoria University, The University of Western Australia (UWA), University of Wollongong; and United States (1) — Illinois Institute of Technology.
The Data Uncovers the New Middle
To quantify relative tuition-fee positioning, the research compared average first-year undergraduate fees at the 11 foreign universities offering undergraduate programmes (two offering only postgraduate programmes were excluded) against average first-year fees at a select set of Tier-1 private universities in India, and against fees for studying abroad at the same universities’ home/parent campuses.
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The analysis found that, in terms of investment required, international campuses sit between Tier-1 private universities and studying abroad — though closer to the former. Specifically, studying at an international campus costs more than twice (115%) as much as a Tier-1 private university, but only about a third (36%) of the cost of studying abroad at the home/parent campus. This comparison excludes living and travel costs, which make studying overseas even more expensive.
A Perception Gap, Not Just a Price Gap
International universities are arriving in India at a time when barriers to study abroad are rising and post-graduation work opportunities are shrinking. But cost alone doesn’t tell the full story: key expectations that students and families hold, particularly around placements, haven’t been tested yet — simply because these campuses are too new to have graduated a meaningful cohort. As a result, the perceived cost of an international campus can feel higher than its actual price tag, leaving many families in a wait-and-watch posture.
Placement outcomes for undergraduates are still a couple of years away, but one-year postgraduate programmes will face industry scrutiny as early as next year. That first round of outcomes will heavily influence the following admissions cycle, and likely have a ripple effect on undergraduate admissions too.
Modest Numbers Cannot Replace Study Abroad
Foreign university campuses cannot fully replace or replicate the immersive experience of studying abroad. They’re more like a Tier-1 private university with the added value of a global degree — again sitting somewhere in the middle in terms of value offered. These are offerings that never existed in India before, opening up a new set of choices for students. However, the numbers are modest compared to the 1.25 million Indian students pursuing a degree overseas.
Another finding from the report is that all 13 universities combined are expected to enrol fewer than 3,000 students across 91 programmes in 2026–27. Given that several universities received regulatory approval late in the recruitment cycle, only about half of those seats may get filled. This reinforces the picture of a segment priced in the middle, but still modest in scale at this introductory stage.
For higher education leaders, this insight from the analysis on the landscape of foreign universities carries a strategic signal: a global degree in India priced at a discount to studying abroad, but at a premium to a Tier-1 private university. That positioning will be tested over time as international campuses go from introduction to growth and maturity. Tier-1 private universities, meanwhile, now face a genuinely new alternative competing to attract talent — not just students, but faculty and staff too. In sum, this new middle is young and small, but it introduces a real new dimension of choice and competition that will shape the future of private higher education in India, at least in its premium-priced academic programmes.
The author is Rahul Choudaha is the Managing Director of DrEducation Research.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author, and ETEDUCATION does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETEDUCATION will not be responsible for any damage caused to any person or organisation directly or indirectly.
