The Scottish government is considering introducing a scheme that could see Scottish students who choose to take their entire undergraduate degree abroad receiving the same financial support as students who study at home.

This could mean that if a Scottish student received a place at Harvard University, the government would pick up the tuition fee of nearly $35,000 (£17,650). Subject to the outcome of the feasibility study, the government aims to set up a pilot portable student support scheme for Scottish students from the academic year 2010-11. This would be open to those currently eligible for maintenance support in Scotland.

The study is part of the government's desire for more Scots students to study abroad. Scotland has one of the lowest student mobility rates in Europe.

According to the most recent figures from Erasmus, Europe's biggest facilitator of student exchanges, for every two international students coming to Scotland to study only one Scottish student heads to universities on the continent.

Nordic countries have a long history of offering portable grants for students attaining degrees overseas. Germany is planning on doing likewise next year.

The cabinet secretary for education and lifelong learning, Fiona Hyslop, said the new scheme could remove one of the major barriers to student mobility.

"We believe universities at home and overseas have a vital role to play in creating a smarter, more prosperous Scotland," she said. "We also believe that access to education should be based on the ability to learn, not to pay. This government has already shown real commitment to supporting students studying in Scotland. I also want to look at how we make it easier for students in Scotland to take up such courses."

The announcement was cautiously welcomed by the universities and student groups.

The National Union of Students Scotland said it was a great opportunity for students, but the government should prioritise its funding.

"While that sounds exciting, the problem is we haven't even got the one-year Erasmus programmes working properly," said James Alexander, NUS Scotland president. "We've got institutions saying they don't have enough funding to send students abroad. We've got twice as many students coming into Scotland as leaving, and we need to prioritise our efforts to make the one-year exchange work for as many students as possible."

Universities Scotland, the umbrella organisation representing all Scotland's higher education institutions, said it supported the idea on the condition that the scheme didn't conflict with the funding of domestic universities.

"The mobility of students both in and out of Scotland improves our global connectivity," said a spokeswoman. "However, when government funding is very tight, we would want to ensure any new initiative is fully costed and does not compromise the funding needed to ensure Scotland's universities remain internationally competitive."