The University of Sunderland in London offer a range of bursaries to full-time, Home undergraduate students studying eligible courses. Bursary awards will be allocated to under-represented cohorts according to the following criteria.

Under-represented cohorts	Bursary Award***
Gypsies, Travellers, Roma, Showpeople and Boaters*	Awards £3,000: £3,000 cash awarded over academic years 1, 2 and 3
Asylum Seeker, Refugee or Humanitarian Protection*	Awards £3,000: £3,000 cash awarded over academic years 1, 2 and 3
Mature, male, BAME*	Awards £2,000: £2,000 cash awarded over academic years 1, 2 and 3
Carer*	Awards £2,000: £2,000 cash awarded over academic years 1, 2 and 3
Annual household income of £27,500 or less**	Awards £1,000: £1,000 cash awarded over years 1, 2 and 3
Annual household income of between £27,501 to £47,500**	Awards £500: £500 cash awarded over academic years 1,2 and 3

*Subject to receiving evidence see Appendix 1.

**As assessed and confirmed via the Student Loans Company application process.

***Bursaries will be awarded over the period of three academic years for programmes longer than one academic year. Top Up students will receive a one-year award. Direct entrant students will receive the award relevant to the year they start. Please see ‘Awarding Bursaries’ section below.

 

Who’s eligible?

1. You must be a 'Home', ‘Asylum Seeker or ‘Overseas Island’ student on an eligible course

The Government classes all students as 'Home' or 'International'. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which bursaries you are eligible to apply for.

We also categorise a student’s UK immigration status in terms of ‘Overseas Island’, ‘Asylum Seeker’, and ‘EU Students with UK settled status’.

In order to be eligible, a student must belong to one of the following eligible student groups and eligible study levels:

Eligible Student Groups:

• Home Students are eligible to apply for these bursaries.
• Overseas Island; Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible to apply for these bursaries.
• Asylum Seeker students are eligible to apply for these bursaries.
• EU students with UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible to apply for these bursaries.

 

Eligible Study Levels:

• Foundation students applying to commence your studies in the 2025/26 academic year
• First year students applying to commence your studies in the 2025/26 academic year
• Direct entrants students applying to commence your studies in the 2025/26 academic year
• Top-up students joining at Level 3 from a University of Sunderland in London Foundation Degree programme applying to commence your studies in the 2025/26 academic year.

 

Ineligible Student Groups:

• International students: are not eligible for these bursaries.
• Graduated Students: that is students who already hold an undergraduate degree are not eligible for these bursaries.
• We Care: Bursary Recipients are not eligible for these bursaries.

 

2. You must apply for and meet the conditions of your offer, then enrol onto and study a relevant course

Details of all full-time undergraduate programmes eligible for bursaries can be found here.

 

How to apply

If you are starting an undergraduate programme between August 2024 to June 2025, you can apply for this scholarship as soon as you have completed your online enrolment via your e:Vision account. The deadline for applications is 12 noon on the 31^st of July 2026. View the list of eligible courses below.

 

Payment dates for successful applicants:

• August, October, November intake: 5th working day of February 2026
• January, February intake: 5th working day of June 2026
• April, May intake: 5th working day of August 2026

Subject to the date of application, the payment will be the 5th working day of the next month (for successful applicants).

Please note that applying for a scholarship does not guarantee that you will be awarded it.

 

Awarding Bursaries

Successful applicants will be awarded only ONE of the under-represented groups criteria. Successful applicants will be notified via email to inform them of their provisional award.

Bursary awards will be confirmed following enrolment onto an eligible University of Sunderland in London course and confirmation of satisfactory evidence of belonging to the under-represented group. You MUST giveconsent to the Student Loans Company to share your financial information with the University of Sunderland.

If the number of bursary applications meeting the bursary criteria exceeds the total number of awards available, the University will use the awarding criteria at Appendix 2 to prioritise the applications.

Bursaries will be awarded over the period of three academic years for programmes longer than one academic year. Direct entrants will receive an award from year 2. Top Up students will receive a one-year award. See Appendix 3 for the payment schedules

The award will be paid directly to the student’s bank account. Students must ensure that their full bank account details are added to their e:Vision account to receive their award. If bank details have not been provided through e:Vison in time for the bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn.

The bursary award is intended to support you with any of the following:

• Travel costs – including public transport, petrol, vehicle costs such as insurance, maintenance, other costs such as parking, tolls.
• Digital – IT equipment including laptops, tablets, specialist software and digital connectivity such as broadband costs.
• Childcare costs – related to additional childcare needs for attending university and/or placement
• Other expenses - such as books, specialist equipment and essential course materials.

If you have not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided evidence of eligibility, the bursary will be withdrawn and offered to another eligible student.

The bursary award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress in your course of study in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team. If you withdraw from your course before receiving a bursary payment, the bursary offer will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a bursary payment is made, the University will not seek reimbursement, however you will not receive any further instalments.

If you transfer to another course and repeat a year, or if you repeat a year of the same course, the bursary willnot be awarded in the repeated year. However, the bursary award will continue once you progress onto the following year(s) of study.

If you take a Leave of Absence (LOAB) in academic year 2025/26, you will be eligible to receive the remainder of your award when you return, up until the end of academic year 2026/27.

If you have an outstanding university debt of £50 or more, you will not receive the bursary until the debt has been cleared.

If you do not enter your bank details onto e:Vision by the time of the bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn.

Bursaries can only be awarded if all tuition fees have been paid in full.

 

Income Assessed Bursaries

Income assessed bursaries will be based on the Student Loan Company’s definition and assessment ofhousehold income. Your declared household income will be checked and verified. Bursaries will only be offered to those students who have:

(1) a confirmed annual household income of £27,500 or less, or

(2) a confirmed annual household income of between £27,501 and £47,500.

As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application’s status to determine that applicants fit the criteria of ‘Home’, ‘Asylum Seeker’, ‘Overseas Island’ or ‘EU Settled Status’. The following criteria will be verified:

• Declared nationality
• Country of birth
• Area of permanent residence
• Date of entry into the UK (if applicable)
• Location of previous education

 

Disclaimer

Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these Guidance Notes are correct at the time of writing. They are intended to act as an information source only for potential scholarship applicants and in no way should they be considered to be legally binding or guarantee an award of a scholarship.

The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these Guidance Notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change from time to time sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.

 

Appendix 1

Evidencing Priority Criteria

Under-represented Cohort	Evidence
You are a Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showperson and Boaters.	Verified by a teacher or adviser Evidence of UK residency
You are currently seeking asylum in the UK, or you are a dependant, spouse or civil partner of someone currentlyseeking asylum in the UK. (You will need to have an active asylum case). or You hold Discretionary or Limited Leave to Remain as a result of seeking asylum in the UK, or you are a dependant,spouse or civil partner of someone who has been granted Limited Leave to Remain as a result of seeking asylum in the UK or another form of temporary status. and You are unable to access UK student finance (tuition fee loans and/or maintenance loans) by virtue of your immigration status.	Currently attending a school, college, community or voluntary group where a teacher or advisor can provide a reference in support of your application or a letter from an immigration solicitor/legal advisor. or Evidence of eligible immigration status. This is either your own right or as dependent of someone with the status: UK asylum seeker UK discretionary leave to remain (as a result of an asylum application) UK limited leave to remain (as a result of an asylum application) Recently granted humanitarian protection (as a result of an asylum application) and Evidence of UK residency
You are a mature, male student from an ethnic minority background	Declare during your application and enrolment: you are aged 21 or over on 30thSeptember of the academic year of study. and you are male, as opposed to thegender with which you identify. and your declared ethnicity is listed on appendix 4.
You have sole or shared responsibility for the care of a relative who has a chronic or terminal illness, disability, mental health problem, alcohol or drug addiction.	Verified by a teacher, adviser or GP that you are a Carer who has caring responsibilities for an average of 15 hours per week. Or You are a Carer who has caring responsibilities for average of 15 hours per week and you are able to provide proof of your current caring responsibilities. Or You receive Carer’s Allowance
You have an annual household income of £27,500 or less**	If you are a Home student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Students Loans Company, the University will liaise with the Student Loans Company to verify your household income levels.
You have an annual household income of between £27,5001 -£47,500	If you are a Home student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Students Loans Company, theUniversity will liaise with the Student Loans Company to verify your household income levels.

 

Appendix 2

Awarding criteria if bursary applications meeting the bursary criteria exceed the total amount of awards available.

Under-represented Cohorts	Awarding Priority Band	Awarding Priorities
Gypsies, Travellers, Roma, Showpeople and Boaters	Priority One	Awards will be made as a high priority.
Asylum Seeker or Refugee	Priority One	Awards will be made as a high priority.
Mature, male, BAME	Priority Two	Awards will be made as a medium priority.
Carer	Priority Two	Awards will be made as a medium priority.
Annual household income of £27,500 or less	Priority Three	Awards will be made as a medium priority.
Annual household       income of between £27,501 and £47,500	Priority Four	Awards will be made only when there is an ability to do so. Awards will be made on a sliding scale based on confirmed annual household income. Households with lower incomes will be prioritised over higher household incomes. In the event of any duplicated annual household income values, Polar4, Quintile 1 and 2 data will be used to rank recipients.

  

Appendix 3

Bursary Payment Schedule

Under-represented cohort	Total Value of Award	Value of award Year 1	Value of award Year 2	Value of award Year 3
Gypsies, Travellers, Roma, Showpeople and Boaters Asylum Seeker, Refugee or Humanitarian Protection	£3,000	£1,500	£750	£750
Mature, male, BAME student	£2,000	£1000	£500	£500
Carer	£2,000	£1000	£500	£500
Annual household income of £27,500 or less	£1,000:	£500	£250	£250
Annual household income of between £27,501 to £47,500	£500:	£250	£125	£125

 

Appendix 4 Ethnicity

• Black or Black British - Caribbean
• Black or Black British – African
• Other Black background
• Asian or Asian British – Indian
• Asian or Asian British – Pakistani
• Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi
• Chinese
• Other Asian background
• Mixed - White and Black Caribbean
• Mixed - White and Black African
• Mixed - White and Asian
• Other mixed background
• Arab

Overview

In addition to the bespoke support offered by the We Care team, we offer the We Care Postgraduate Bursary which awards £2,500 cash to eligible postgraduate students. This award is typically made for one academic year and is valued at a total of £2,500. The bursary is paid in four instalments of £625 and is intended to financially support eligible students while they study at postgraduate level.

Who is eligible?

1. You must be a ‘Home’ or 'Overseas Island' student on an eligible course.

The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive. Overseas Island; Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible. International students are not eligible.

If your course is funded by the Enhanced Learning Credits Administration Service (ELCAS), you are not eligible.

2. You must apply for and meet the conditions of your offer, then successfully enrol onto an eligible course.

You must be a full-time postgraduate student on a taught course, paying full tuition fees. The bursary is for eligible students based at City Campus, Sir Tom Cowie at St Peter’s Campus, or the Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME).

You must be studying a full-time taught postgraduate course which starts in academic year 2026/27.

The following University of Sunderland courses aren't eligible for this bursary:

• Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses
• Apprenticeship courses
• English for Academic Purposes (EAP) language courses
• PhD Doctor of Philosophy courses
• Sunderland Online courses (except for BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing (Blended))
• Corporate and Professional Education Team (CaPE) courses

3. You must meet the University’s definition of being care-experienced or estrangement

Care-experienced students

You must have been care-experienced in the UK at some stage in your life, and for any length of time, or been in care, for example, looked after by the local authority. This includes the following:

• Spent time in the care of the local authority (e.g. foster care or children’s home)
• Privately fostered
• ‘Looked after at home’ under a supervision order
• In kinship foster care (where a friend or family member becomes the foster carer). Kinship care through a formal arrangement, recognised by a Local Authority, and could be prior to a Special Guardianship Order

If you are care-experienced but your personal circumstances do not match any of the criteria outlined above, please contact the We Care team, Pamela Afra-Dicko, Student Wellbeing Advisor at  londonhealth@sunderland.ac.uk for further guidance.

Estranged students

The term ‘estranged student’ is used to refer to students who are studying without the support of a family network. You must be irreconcilably estranged from both parents/carers. This means:

• You've had no contact with your parents/carers for at least 12 months and this is unlikely to change or;
• You can demonstrate on other grounds that you are irreconcilably estranged from your parents/carers (e.g. exceptional circumstances or assessed as independent by Student Finance England (SFE) or by a Local Authority because you are estranged from both parents/carers).

You must be under the age of 25 on 1 September 2026.

Should your circumstances change during your studies, you'll be required to advise the We Care team.

For estrangement cases that cannot be confirmed by SFE, proof of evidence of ‘genuine estrangement’ would need to be provided from another professional body or person. All applications from estranged students are assessed on an individual basis.

You'll not be considered estranged on the basis that you (i) live separately from your parents/carers, (ii) have recently fallen out with your parents/carers, or (iii) you parents/carers are unwilling to complete income assessment forms or support you financially.

If you are care-experienced but your personal circumstances do not match any of the criteria outlined above, please contact the We Care team, Pamela Afra-Dicko, Student Wellbeing Advisor at  londonhealth@sunderland.ac.uk for further guidance.

If you choose not to disclose your care-experienced or estranged status at application or enrolment stage, you can inform the We Care team directly using the information above. All correspondence is treated as strictly confidential. The information you give will only be used within this team to assess your eligibility for the bursary and associated support.

How to apply

If you've applied for an eligible course in autumn 2026 and shared that you are care experienced or estranged as part of your application, you don't need to apply for this bursary. You'll be contacted by the We Care team with details of the support on offer, including the We Care Postgraduate Bursary. You'll be asked to provide evidence of your care experience or estrangement. Once this is received, a provisional award offer can be made.

Payments will only be made when your evidence has been supplied and verified. Payments cannot be backdated. The deadline for evidence to be sent to, and verified by, the We Care team is 10 December 2026. We're unable to process any evidence received after this date but instead can provide details of the Student Support Fund.

You may apply for this bursary at any point throughout your course; however, payments will only be made once an application has been received, and your evidence has been supplied and verified. Please note, payments will not be backdated.

If you're eligible for the We Care Bursary, you'll also be offered an additional pastoral support package.

Assessment and awarding process

After you have applied for your course, the We Care team will contact you with details of the We Care Postgraduate Bursary. We'll request evidence to verify your status so that a provisional bursary offer can be made. You'll need to provide confirmation from your Local Authority or Student Finance England of your eligibility for this bursary.

Once your care-experienced or estranged status has been verified, you'll be provisionally awarded the bursary and invited to a welcome meeting at the start of the academic year. The We Care team will finalise bursary payments and outline the additional support package at the welcome meeting.

Students applying to study a subsequent postgraduate course, after the completion of their first, will not be eligible for this bursary.

Receiving the bursary

The We Care Postgraduate Bursary awards £2,500 cash to eligible students for each year of full-time study, based on academic progression. This bursary is typically received for one year of postgraduate study. The bursary is paid in four instalments of £625 on the fifth working day of November 2026, January 2027, April 2027 and July 2027.

The award of this bursary is subject to the following:

• You commence your course in academic year 2026/27
• You enrol as a full-time taught postgraduate student
• You attend a welcome meeting with the We Care team
• Your academic progression i.e. attendance and engagement with your course

Students who are paying their tuition fees through a university-approved payment plan will only receive the We Care Postgraduate Bursary if the total amount they have paid in tuition fees is equal to or greater than the total amount of bursary received. Bursary payments will be paused if a student owes more in tuition fees than the value of the bursary instalment due. Payments may resume once tuition fee payments have reached the required level.

Students with a Tuition Fee Payment Plan

If you're paying your tuition fees through a University-approved payment plan, you will only receive We Care Bursary instalments if the total amount you have paid in tuition fees is equal to or greater than the total amount of bursary received. Bursary payments will be paused if you owe more in tuition fees than the value of the bursary instalment due. Payments may resume once tuition fee payments have reached the required level.

Additional information

If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date, the bursary offer will be withdrawn.

If you don't supply us with the required information to verify your eligibility by 10 December 2026, the scholarship or bursary provisional award will be withdrawn.

If you withdraw from your course before receiving a bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a payment is made, the University will not seek reimbursement however, you'll not receive any further instalments.

The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team.

The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards, and payments that are due to you whilst you are on your course of study. If a bursary payment is made to you in error, the University reserves the right to recover any awards or overpayments from you. This may result in you being asked to repay an award if it was paid to you in error. It's also your responsibility to ensure all awards and payments you receive are accurate. Any payment discrepancies will be rectified by the University of the student.

If you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.

If you transfer to another course and repeat a year, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.

If you're on a placement year or studying for a year and not paying full fees, the award will not be paid during that year.

If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your bursary payments will be paused until you return and progress academically.

If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared.

All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries, and payments will be withdrawn.

As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:

• Declared nationality
• Country of birth
• Area of permanent residence
• Date of entry into the UK (if applicable)
• Location of previous education provider

Disclaimer

Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.

The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.