Introduced last year, the Sanctuary Scholarship Scheme offers support towards the cost of full or part-time undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
The aim of the scheme is to enhance opportunities for people from asylum seeking and refugee communities, and to aid integration, as well as breaking down the additional barriers that individuals from refugee backgrounds face in accessing higher education and employment.
A recent symposium, organised by Ben Hudson and Katie Bales from the University’s Law School, and with presentations from Sanctuary Scholars, Dr Jon Fox, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, and the Vice-Chancellor Professor Hugh Brady, concluded that the scheme had been effective in enabling access and providing sanctuary for migrant students.
With funding for a second year, applications are now open for the 2017/18 academic year.
Professor Hugh Brady, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol, said:
I'm delighted to see this scheme run for another year. I am sure we will again have applications from many excellent prospective students, and we look forward to welcoming them to study at our university.
The scholarships comprise two schemes - a full scholarship for students with no access to financial support from the UK Government; and a partial scholarship for students who can access UK Government support.
We know there are factors that make it difficult for people from refugee and asylum-seeking communities to apply to university. Their previous studies may have been interrupted, they might not have evidence of their previous qualifications or their qualifications are not transferable. Our scheme has been designed to accommodate these factors and encourage them to apply.
The deadline for applicants is Thursday 22nd June, 2017. Applications will be considered from students applying to the following courses:
- Full-time and part-time undergraduate degrees (3 year or 4 year degrees); and foundation programmes.
- Full-time and part-time postgraduate Master's programmes (MA, MSc or MRes).
Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Science, and Engineering Design courses are not eligible for Sanctuary Scholarship funding.
On 14th June 2017 there will be a Q&A session for potential applicants at the Malcolm X Community Centre where Katie Bales, Lecturer in Law, will be answering questions and providing information about the scheme alongside Jon Lightfoot from the student funding office, Bristol Refugee Rights and Bristol Institute for Migration and Mobility Studies.
Full information on the Sanctuary Scholarship Scheme, including eligibility and how to apply, can be found on the University of Bristol's website
The Sanctuary Scholarship Working Group were recently awarded a University of Bristol Professional Services Excellence Award in the category of Outstanding Partnership.