Eligibility

To be eligible for the Bristol Standalone Bursary you must be:

• a Home/UK undergraduate student;
• aged under 25 on 1 September of the year you start your course;
• registered on a full-time course at the University of Bristol;
• studying your first degree;
• eligible for and have applied for full government support.

You must also be one of the following:

• leaving care of a Local Authority, or have been in foster care for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and still in this care on your 16th birthday; 
• or estranged from your parents;
• or have no living parents.

For clarity, the following groups of students are not eligible for a bursary: international students, EU students, students studying a second degree or an equal or lower qualification, students who are studying in years where the course attracts NHS funding, and postgraduate students (including PGCE students).

The University operates many bursaries and scholarships and to ensure a fair distribution of funding there are some restrictions on who can receive multiple awards. Recipients of the following bursaries/scholarships are not eligible to receive the Bristol Standalone Bursary:

• The Unite Foundation Scholarship
• Sanctuary Scholarship

Receipt of the Bristol Standalone Bursary in conjunction with any other award not listed above will be at the discretion of the University and may be dependent on the availability of funding.

The University reserves the right to withdraw the Bristol Standalone Bursary from anyone who is found to have misled the University about any aspect of their eligibility and to seek repayment of any monies already paid by appropriate means.

Award

Awards are valued at £1,500 for each year of study (not including NHS-funded years).

Awards cannot be claimed retrospectively for previous academic years.

The Bristol Standalone Bursary is funded by the University of Bristol. This bursary is not affiliated in any way with the Stand Alone Charity or any similar organisations.

Payments

Awards will be paid in two instalments: £750 shortly after registration in October and £750 in January. To receive a payment, you must be registered and engaged with your studies and have a good attendance record. You must provide your bank account details to ensure timely award payments.

The University reserves the right to allocate any payments of the award to any outstanding invoices you may have from missing a payment due to the University. This is in accordance with the University’s regulations.

How to apply

Current students who meet the eligibility criteria above and who have not previously applied should complete the Bristol Standalone Bursary online application form.

The closing date for applications for a Bristol Standalone Bursary for the 2023/24 academic year is 31 July 2024.

Bursary renewal

Care leavers and students with no living parents will only need to apply once and will not be required to re-apply in subsequent academic years. Your Bristol Standalone bursary entitlement will be generated automatically in subsequent years provided you remain registered and engaged with your studies.

For students who have been awarded a Bristol Standalone Bursary based on estrangement in a previous academic year, we will check the records we receive from the Student Loans Company to confirm that you continue to have no sponsors, before generating any future entitlement. If necessary, we will contact you prior to generating any award to clarify whether the estrangement is ongoing or if you have been reconciled with your parents/sponsors.

Changes of circumstance

You will continue to be eligible for the bursary if you:

• study a year in industry;
• study a year abroad;
• are on a medicine, dental or veterinary science course and intercalate (including intercalating into Bristol);
• transfer to a new course that is longer than your original course (eg from a BSc to an MSci);
• transfer to a new course, providing other eligibility criteria are met;
• are permitted by your faculty to temporarily change from full-time study to part-time study due to extenuating circumstances;
• suspend your studies part-way through your academic year (you will continue to be eligible during your suspension);
• repeat a year of study.

If you withdraw from your studies you will not have to repay any bursary payment, so long as you are still in attendance on the date that bursary payments are made. If you withdraw before the next bursary payment date, you will not receive further payments, but you will not be required to repay any previously paid instalments.