Gold Scholarship Programme

Gold Scholarship Programme (University of Bath)

You get up to about EUR 5,900 (£5,000) per year of study, for every year of your undergraduate degree, including your placement year. In your first year on campus this comes as £3,250 cash, £1,000 campus credit (money you can spend on university services), plus a £750 rent reduction if you live in university accommodation. In later years in Bath it is £4,000 cash and £1,000 campus credit. During a placement year the split changes depending on whether the placement is paid or unpaid. You also join a compulsory enrichment programme: 50 hours of volunteering a year, mentoring (regular one-to-one guidance from an experienced person), skills and networking training, and support with placements. Bath alumni and donors pay for the programme, and up to 50 students are chosen each year.

Who can apply

• Study level: You are a new first-year undergraduate starting a full-time degree on the University of Bath campus in 2026/27.
• Status: You count as a Home UK student.
• Household income: Your assessed household income is £30,000 or below. You must have asked your UK student loans agency (for example Student Finance England) to assess it and to share the result with the university.
• Field of study: Open to all subjects, though some awards may be tied to specific departments.
• Background: You meet at least one of these: you got Free School Meals at secondary school; your home postcode is in an area of relative deprivation (and if you went to a private school, for no more than two of the last four years); you are a care leaver; you are estranged from your family; you are a young adult carer; or you are a refugee.
• Other awards: You cannot hold this and the Bath Bursary at the same time. If your Gold application is turned down, you are automatically offered a Bath Bursary instead.

How to apply

Name Bath as your firm or insurance choice through UCAS. You then get an email invitation to apply from mid-to-late May 2026 via the University of Bath Application Tracker. You answer three support questions (up to 250 words each), and selection is based only on these answers. The deadline is midday on Wednesday 27 August 2026, with no exceptions. Results follow from 4 September 2026.

How realistic are your chances?

This award is tightly targeted: you need a low household income, Home UK status, a place at Bath, and at least one specific background criterion, so the eligible group is limited. Awards are discretionary, meaning meeting every rule does not guarantee one, and only up to 50 are given each year. If you clearly fit the criteria and write strong, specific answers to the three support questions, your prospects are realistic.