Sports Scholarships (Newcastle University)

What you get

Newcastle University in the UK supports strong student athletes through its Performance Sport team. The main sports scholarship gives you a full athlete support package: individual and small-group training with strength-and-conditioning coaches, physiotherapy and sports massage, professional coaching, mentoring (regular one-to-one guidance from an experienced advisor), lifestyle support, video analysis of your performance, and workshops on sports physiology, nutrition, psychology and injury prevention. One source mentions cash awards of up to about 5,800 EUR (GBP 5,000), but the university does not confirm a fixed sum. Treat the benefit as the support package, not a guaranteed cash payment. Two extra routes exist. If you win a national award during the year, you can apply for separate sports funding. If the team rates you a High Performance Athlete, you may get an academic offer up to two grades below the standard entry requirement.

Who can apply

• Level of study: Open to all students at Newcastle University. The North American route is only for master's students.
• Field of study: Open to all subjects.
• Your sport: Any sport can apply. Priority goes to the six performance sports: basketball, men's football, hockey, rowing, rugby union and volleyball.
• Your level: You compete at national level. That means one of these: you are in your national governing body's performance squad or development pathway (U21 or equivalent), you have held senior or age-group representative status nationally or internationally in the last 12 months, or you are at a recognised pro club or academy.
• Nationality: All nationalities can apply for the main scholarship.
• North American master's route: If you are from the USA or Canada and start a master's degree at Newcastle, you get a tuition-fee reduction of up to 60% plus the full support package, including free gym membership and unlimited strength-and-conditioning support. Most master's courses take one year, so this cuts both your time and cost.

How to apply

You apply online through the Performance Sport team's application form. It is open all year with no fixed deadline, and the team decides who is selected. For the separate national-award funding, apply once your competition dates are confirmed.