Eligibility

To be eligible for the PGCE Scholarship, you must:

• have one of the following categories of ethnicity:
  • Black African
  • Black Caribbean
  • Black Other
  • Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
  • Mixed – White and Black African
  • Other mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or Black Other)
• hold an offer to study on a PGCE or GITEP programme in 2024/25 having been awarded a place following a successful interview;
• be resident in the United Kingdom;
• be a Home/UK student;
• be eligible for the financial support available from the UK Government (in the form of the tuition fee and living costs loans from the Student Loans Company);
• have applied for or intend to apply for means-tested support from your regional funding provider (e.g. Student Finance England) and have consented to share your household income details with the University.  

Applicants must apply for means tested support to enable the University to get confirmation of your household income from the Student Loans Company. However, you will not be required to take out any loans you are eligible to receive if you do not wish to take them.

Scholarships

The PGCE Scholarships are worth £5,000 per year each and will be paid directly to the students in two equal instalments. 

• £2,500 (October 2024)
• £2,500 (January 2025)

Award distribution

To ensure fair distribution of the available funding, consideration of your entitlement to other University and Government training support will be taken into account when selecting the successful Scholarship recipients.

Priority will be given to those applicants who are not awarded a teacher training bursary or scholarship and who meet the widest range of widening participation criteria.

The University's decision will take into account the needs of the entire student body and as such, will be final with no appeal process.

How to apply

Complete the online application form to apply for the Black Bristol PGCE Scholarship.

There are two application rounds, as below:

The online application form will be closed once the deadline has passed. There is no appeal process and requests to submit late applications will not be considered. 

Assessment process

Applications will be accepted from students who meet the eligibility criteria and have been given an offer to study a PGCE course following a successful interview.

Information provided in the application will be used to determine which applicants display the most demonstrable need.  

Priority will be given to applicants who:

• are from a low household income;
• are care leavers;
• have a disability.

If you are also applying for a teacher training bursary or scholarship, you will be asked to specify the amount you expect to receive from that scholarship on the Black Bristol PGCE Scholarships application form. This will be taken into consideration alongside the information which you provide in your supporting statement.

Successful applicants

The University will make offers of a Scholarship to successful candidates. Full details of the scheme being offered, including the terms and conditions, will be made available in the award notification.

Awardees will be expected to reply to the Scholarship offer notification and confirm their acceptance of the award, and the relevant terms and conditions, via email.

Reserve applicants

To ensure that all available funding is distributed, the University will select a number of students to be on a reserve list. Such applicants will be notified accordingly.

Students on the reserve list may be contacted at a later date to be informed that they have been offered an award should funding become available.

Being placed on the reserve list is not a guarantee of an award.

Changes in circumstances

Withdrawal from course

• If you withdraw from your chosen PGCE studies before any payment is made, your intended future Scholarship payments will be cancelled. Your Scholarship will be reallocated to one of the applicants on our reserve list of awardees.
• If you withdraw from your chosen PGCE studies after the first instalment has been paid, but before the second payment is due, we will cancel the second Scholarship instalment. Repayment of the first instalment will not be sought.
• If you withdraw from your chosen PGCE studies after all the scheduled instalments have been paid, we will not seek repayment of the Scholarship.
• It is the Scholarship recipients' responsibility to contact the Money Advice and Funding Team to notify them of any withdrawal.

Suspending studies

• If you need to suspend your studies, all scheduled payments not already paid will be put on hold.
• If your studies recommence in the same academic year, your Scholarship funding will restart once we have had confirmation that you have re-registered on your studies.
• If your studies are suspended until the following academic year, any remaining funding will only restart once it has been confirmed that you have re-registered on your studies.
• It is the Scholarship recipients' responsibility to contact the Money Advice and Funding Team to notify them of any suspension.

Other criteria

To receive a payment, you should:

• be registered at the University and engaged with your studies;
• be eligible for and have applied for the financial support available from the UK government (in the form of the tuition fee and living costs loans from the Student Loans Company);
• have provided your (and, as appropriate, your partner/parents’/guardians’) consent to the Student Loans Company, via their regional funding provider, to share your household income data with the University;
• The University reserves the right to allocate any payments of the award to any outstanding invoices if you have missed payments due to the University, e.g. for accommodation. This is in accordance with the University’s regulations.

Timetable

After the application closing date, you will be told whether your scholarship application was successful on the following dates, depending upon which application round you applied in:

• Round one: 22 March 2024
• Round two: 9 September 2024