Eligibility

To be eligible for the Access to Bristol support package, you must:

• have completed the Access to Bristol/Pathways to Health Sciences scheme
• be a new student in 2024/25
• be studying your first degree
• be a Home/UK student who is resident in England or Wales
• pay Home tuition fees
• apply for means-tested support through Student Finance England or Student Finance Wales
• have been assessed by Student Finance England or Student Finance Wales to have a household income of £25,000 or less
• select Bristol as your firm choice in UCAS.

You are not eligible for a bursary if you are a part-time student or in any year of your course where you are entitled to NHS funding.

Students receiving the Access to Bristol Bursary cannot be considered for the University of Bristol Bursary in the same academic year.

Access to Bristol scheme

Only students who complete the Access to Bristol scheme (i.e. attended the majority of sessions in one academic year) are eligible.

By joining and completing the Access to Bristol scheme you must satisfy the range of widening participation criteria stated in the application form, including:

• parental occupation,
• parental experience of higher education,
• domicile progression data,
• and school performance.

The Access to Bristol Bursary is available to students who start their studies at the University of Bristol:

• in the academic year following the completion of their A-levels or equivalent course,
• or one year later.

We understand that exceptional circumstances may prevent students from starting their University studies during this timeframe. Therefore, if you expect to start your studies more than a year after completing the Access to Bristol scheme, you must contact schools-colleges-liaison@bristol.ac.uk before applying to the University of Bristol, to discuss your eligibility.

EU students

EU students will only be considered for this bursary if they meet the eligibility criteria to receive a means-tested living costs loan from their regional funding provider, not a tuition fee loan only.

Award

You will receive a bursary for living costs of £3,855 per year for the duration of your programme. As part of this bursary, you are also eligible for a discounted Active Plus Sports Pass. 

If you plan on undertaking a work placement overseas, contact Student Money Advice and Funding for advice about whether you are still eligible to apply for means-tested government student funding, which is a condition of this bursary.

The University will review the value of the Access to Bristol Bursary from time to time.

How to apply

All students who have completed the Access to Bristol scheme and select Bristol as their firm choice in UCAS are automatically considered for this bursary. Eligible students must firmly accept their conditional or unconditional offer for consideration for the Access to Bristol Bursary.

Any students confirming a place at the University are automatically eligible for consideration for the Access to Bristol Bursary.

You will need to have:

• applied for means-tested support from Student Finance England or Student Finance Wales,
• consented to share your household income details with the University.

Award process

1. You are notified when you complete the Access to Bristol scheme and invited to a graduation ceremony to receive your certificate.
2. You receive confirmation of your place at university from UCAS, on or after A-level results day.
3. We can generate the bursary payment once you are fully registered at the University.
4. We would expect to do this by mid-October and contact you at that point.
5. The Access to Bristol Bursary will be paid directly into your bank account in three termly instalments.
6. You must provide the University with the correct bank details to ensure timely bursary payments. Follow these instructions to enter or update your bank details‌.

Changes in circumstance

Withdrawal from a course

• If you withdraw from your course before your next bursary payment date, you will not receive any further payments.
• You will not need to repay any previously paid instalments.
• As long as you are in attendance on the date that bursary payments are made, you will receive your bursary instalment.

Repeating studies

• If you repeat a year, you may be entitled to the Access to Bristol financial package of support during your repeat year, provided you continue to meet the household income eligibility criteria. If this applies to you, contact Student Money and Funding.
• The bursary is only paid for the terms when you are in attendance.

Changing from studying full-time to part-time

• If your faculty allows you to temporarily change from full-time study to part-time study due to medical circumstances, you will normally continue to be eligible for financial support through the Access to Bristol scheme.
• As long as you continue to have a household income of £25,000 or less, the Access to Bristol bursary will be paid for those terms when you are in attendance on your course.
• Support will be limited to one full-time equivalent year. For example, if you study at 50% full-time equivalent for one academic year, and another 50% during the following academic year, you will be eligible for support in both years, subject to the above conditions.

Change of course or course length

• If you intercalate on a medicine, dental, or veterinary science course, you will not be eligible for the Access to Bristol Bursary in your intercalation year.
• If you transfer to a course that is longer than your original course (e.g. from a BSc to an MSci) after you are notified of your bursary, you continue to be eligible.
• If you transfer to the first year of a new course from the first year of your original course, you'll receive the bursary for the duration of the new course. However, your bursary may be affected if you repeat your studies. If this applies to you, contact Student Money and Funding. 
• If you transfer to the first year of a new course from the second or third year of your original course, you'll only receive the bursary in some years of the new course. If this applies to you, contact Student Money and Funding. 

Change in household income

• If you are initially assessed as eligible to receive the Access to Bristol support package, but your household income increases above £25,000 during the academic year, you stop being entitled to the Access to Bristol Bursary.
• You are not expected to repay any instalment of the bursary already paid before your household income increased above £25,000, but any future Access to Bristol Bursary instalments would be cancelled.
• Students who have graduated from the Access to Bristol scheme but do not qualify for the Access to Bristol support package based on their household income will have their entitlement reassessed if their household income falls below the qualifying threshold during the academic year.
• Entitlement to the Access to Bristol package of support will be reassessed annually. Therefore graduates of the scheme who may not have been eligible in one year, due to their household income being too high, could become eligible in future academic years if they meet the qualifying household income threshold.