University of East Anglia - Care Leavers Bursary

Benefit

You will receive £3,000 per year (about 3,450 EUR) as a cash payment, spread over the duration of your degree, for up to four years of your Bachelor’s degree. This is a grant, not a loan, so you will never have to repay it. The University of East Anglia (UEA) awards this funding to students who have grown up in foster care or have little or no contact with their parents. A Foundation Year (a preparatory year before the main degree programme) counts as one of your four funded years. The funding lasts for a maximum of four years, even if your degree programme takes longer. If you pay half the tuition fees or less, the amount is reduced proportionally. In addition to financial support, UEA offers further assistance: social events, a welcome pack, one-to-one counselling, a hardship fund and a contribution towards the costs of the graduation ceremony.

Eligibility

• University: You are enrolled at the University of East Anglia.
• Level: You are studying full-time to obtain a Bachelor’s degree.
• Your situation: You are a former child in care (you spent part of your childhood in a foster family, a children’s home or with relatives) or have no contact with your parents (you have no contact, or only very limited contact, with your biological or adoptive parents).
• Where you're from: As you are a student from the UK, your household income can be verified by Student Finance England, Wales, Northern Ireland or the Student Awards Agency Scotland.
• Field of study: All compartments are open.
• One bursary only: This grant cannot be combined with any other grant, but may be taken alongside a university scholarship.

How to apply

No formal application is required. All students from the UK will be automatically considered once UEA has received your details from your national student finance organisation. Please indicate your status as a former resident of a hall of residence or as a student with a break in family contact via UCAS or on the university’s enrolment questionnaire. Eligible students will be contacted from September of the year in which their course begins.

How realistic are your chances?

This is not an award presented as part of a competition. It is awarded to everyone who meets the criteria; there is therefore no selection panel and no set number of places. If you are a British undergraduate studying full-time at UEA and are recognised as a former resident in a children’s home or as a student with disrupted family ties, you will receive this funding. The most important thing is to ensure that your status is correctly recorded with your student finance organisation and at UEA.