BP Widening Participation Scholarships (Imperial College London)

What you get

You get a cash bursary of about 11,000 EUR per year (£9,500) to cover your living costs while you study engineering at Imperial College London. The money runs for the length of your degree, up to 4 years. Only 7 of these scholarships are awarded each year. They are funded by BP together with Imperial College London for students from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds. If you also receive the Imperial Bursary, this scholarship is reduced so that your total support does not exceed the average of Imperial's upper living-cost band.

Who can apply

• Degree level: You are a new first-year student. If you are already enrolled on the course, you cannot apply.
• Field of study: You have an offer for a 3- or 4-year full-time bachelor's course in one of four engineering departments: Chemical Engineering, Earth Science & Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering.
• Where you study: Imperial College London.
• Fee status: You count as a UK domestic student for fees ("Home" fee status).
• Background: You qualify for Imperial's contextual admissions route for students from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds. This covers, for example, care leavers, students from the most deprived areas, and those who received free school meals in the last six years.

How to apply

First submit a UCAS application for one of the four engineering courses and get an offer from Imperial. Then fill in the online scholarship form, which includes a personal statement. Your department ranks applicants by academic merit, using your predicted A-level grades and UCAS application. The Faculty of Engineering then makes the final choice from the shortlist.

How realistic are your chances?

This award is narrow: only students with Home fee status, an offer for one of four specific engineering courses and a disadvantaged background qualify, and just 7 places exist. That keeps the eligible pool small. If you clearly meet all the criteria and have strong predicted grades, your prospects are real. Since departments rank on academic merit, good A-level predictions matter most.