Teacher Education Scholarships and Bursaries

What you get

You get a tax-free bursary or scholarship to train as a teacher at Sheffield Hallam University. You get one or the other, never both, and you never repay it. The money comes in 10 equal monthly instalments from October to July.

Bursaries are funded by the UK Department for Education and paid out by the university. The higher scholarships come from professional bodies such as the Institute of Physics or the Royal Society of Chemistry.

How much you get depends on your course, subject and degree grade (2026/27 rates):

• PGCE Secondary chemistry, computing or physics: about EUR 34,300 (£29,000) as a bursary, or about EUR 36,600 (£31,000) as a scholarship.
• PGCE Secondary maths: about EUR 34,300 (£29,000).
• PGCE Secondary languages (French, German, Spanish): about EUR 23,600 (£20,000) bursary, or about EUR 26,000 (£22,000) scholarship. Other languages get the EUR 23,600 bursary.
• PGCE Secondary design and technology: about EUR 23,600 (£20,000).
• PGCE Secondary biology or geography: about EUR 5,900 (£5,000).
• PGCE Early Years (0-5, EYTS): about EUR 5,900 (£5,000) with a first-class or doctoral degree, EUR 4,700 (£4,000) with a 2:1 or master's, EUR 2,400 (£2,000) with a 2:2.
• Final-year undergraduate maths or physics with QTS: about EUR 10,600 (£9,000).

QTS means Qualified Teacher Status, the qualification you need to teach in state schools in England. There is no bursary for PGCE Primary Education.

Who can apply

• Course: You are on a teacher training course at Sheffield Hallam that leads to QTS or Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS, the equivalent for teaching children aged 0 to 5). Examples: a PGCE Secondary, a PGCE Early Years, or the final year of an undergraduate maths or physics degree with QTS.
• Degree grade: For a PGCE you need at least a 2:2 UK honours degree, a master's or a doctorate. An ordinary degree, PGCert or PGDip alone does not qualify. Scholarships usually want at least a 2:1.
• No existing qualification: You do not already hold QTS or cannot yet apply for it. If you are on the Early Years course, you do not already hold EYTS.
• Nationality: You need UK home student finance status. This covers UK students, EU nationals with pre-settled or settled status who lived in the UK before 1 January 2021, and students from the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey with home support. International students normally do not qualify.
• No paid teaching: You are not paid for teaching work that counts towards your training.

How to apply

For a bursary you do not apply separately. Once your course has started, the university invites eligible students to fill in an online claim form. Invitations go out by 11 September 2026.

For a scholarship you apply directly to the relevant professional body (chemistry, computing, physics or languages) by its own deadline. You then upload the award confirmation to your university claim form. If your scholarship application fails, you still get the standard bursary if you are eligible.

How realistic are your chances?

The bursaries are not a competition. If you get onto a qualifying course and meet the grade and eligibility rules, the money is essentially automatic, so your prospects are good once you are enrolled. The scholarships are more selective, since each professional body sets its own criteria and picks a limited number. They favour candidates with strong grades and subject knowledge.