91̽»¨

Definition of student carer

You are a student carer if you are responsible for providing unpaid care to a relative who has, for example:

• A long-term illness
• A physical or learning disability
• A mental health condition
• An addiction
• Temporary care needs, for example, following an accident or operation

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Eligibility

You must meet the relevant criteria below to be eligible to apply:

• You are registered or are due to register on a full-time or part-time undergraduate or postgraduate course at the University of 91̽»¨. 
• You will be attending in person: where you are studying by distance learning, you will not be eligible for a bursary or the Enhanced Financial Support Award.
• You are a home fee-paying student.
• If you are studying or are due to study at undergraduate level, you are eligible for and have applied to Student Finance England (or equivalent regional funding body) to receive a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan via the undergraduate funding system. If you do not wish to take out a loan, you can still apply for a household income assessment to be carried out by Student Finance England (or equivalent regional funding body) and request a £0 loan - this allows us to assess you for the bursary without you receiving any loan.

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Awards

Undergraduate students 

If you’re a home fee-paying student on a course that attracts undergraduate funding and are a student with caring responsibilities as per our definition, you can apply for an enhanced bursary. The enhanced bursary is instead of the University of 91̽»¨ Bursary Scheme.

A bursary is money from the University and it doesn’t have to be paid back (unless your circumstances change). It is in addition to government funding.

The year you start your course determines which scheme you are eligible for. 

For students who start their course in the 2025-2026 academic year, the bursary award per level of study is:

• Up to £2,250 for part-time students studying a Lifelong Learning course in the School of Education
• Up to £4,500 for full-time students. 

For information about schemes for previous years, click on your year of entry below for more information.

2024 entry

For students who start their course from September 2024, the bursary award, per level of study, is 

• Up to £4,500 for full-time students
• Up to £2,250 for Department of Lifelong Learning part-time students

2015–2023 entry

For students who start their course between September 2015 and September 2023, the bursary award, per level of study, is 

• £4,500 for full-time students
• £2,250 for Department of Lifelong Learning part-time students

Postgraduate students

If you’re a home fee-paying student on a course that attracts postgraduate funding and are a student with caring responsibilities as per our definition, you can apply for an Enhanced Financial Support Award.

This award is from the University and it doesn’t have to be paid back (unless your circumstances change). It is in addition to government funding.

For students who start their course in the 2025-2026 academic year, the bursary award per level of study is £3,000 for full-time study (£1,500 for part-time study). This will be paid in two instalments over the course of the academic year.

For information about schemes for previous years, click on your year of entry below for more information.

2020-2024

For students who started their course between September 2020 and September 2023 the bursary award, per level of study, is £3,000 for full-time study (£1,500 for part-time study).

2016-2019

For students who started their course between September 2016 and September 2019 the bursary award, per level of full-time study, is £2,000.

2015

For students who started their course from September 2015 the bursary award, per level of full-time study, is £1,600.

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How to apply

You will need to complete an application form to provide some details about your personal circumstances and relevant evidence to support your application. 

• You will need to provide a supporting letter or statement on headed notepaper from a professional who is involved with your relative's care and is aware of your caring responsibilities. The documentation needs to confirm: the name of the person you care for and your relation, what your role is as a carer, how long you have been a carer, and an overview of your responsibilities. Your evidence could be from:
  • A carer support group
  • Social services
  • Your local authority
  • Your relative's NHS or private support worker
• Or you can provide your Carer's Allowance statement if you have recently been in receipt of this prior to starting your studies.

You may be asked to provide additional evidence to confirm your circumstances during your course.  

If you do not provide the relevant documentation, we will not be able to progress your application. 

You will need to use your applicant login details (once you have received an offer) or student login (if a current student) to access the application form.

If you have applied previously and are already in receipt of an enhanced award, you are not required to reapply each year of your course (unless you have been specifically requested to do so by our team).

You will receive a response within 20 working days of submitting your completed application.

Along with enhanced financial support, there may be additional support that you are able to access. We will not share your personal circumstances or a copy of any of the evidence that you submit as part of your application. However, if we feel that you may benefit from support offered by other University services, then we may ask them to contact you directly.

Refer to our information about advice and support if you need help with an application.

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Terms and conditions 

• The enhanced bursary and the Enhanced Financial Support Award is money from the University for students and it doesn’t have to be paid back (unless your circumstances change). It is in addition to government funding.
• The enhanced bursary and the Enhanced Financial Support Award are assessed and paid each year of your course and they cannot be backdated for previous years.
• Awards will not be assessed and paid until after the registration start date and when you are fully registered.
• If you have applied prior to the start of the academic year, bursary assessments will take place during October and we will email you by the end of October to confirm whether you are eligible and include details of your payment dates. If you have applied after this point, we will process your application within 20 working days and then confirm to you when you will be paid.
• If you withdraw from your course, you may need to repay a percentage of your bursary that you received in that academic year. Contact the Student Funding Team for guidance.
• If you take a leave of absence during the year, you won’t have to repay the bursary you have already received; however, you won’t be eligible to receive any further instalments due to be paid.
• If you are an undergraduate student and eligible to receive the award for full-time study and repeat part of your course part time, we may be able to consider you for a pro-rata award. Please refer to the full terms and conditions for more information.
• If you receive an enhanced bursary or the Enhanced Financial Support Award from the University, we will contact you on each year of your course, if applicable, to confirm that you still meet the eligibility criteria. You may also need to provide evidence to confirm this.

For full terms and conditions, please refer to our web pages.

Read the full bursary terms and conditions (undergraduates)
Read the full Enhanced Financial Support Award terms and conditions (postgraduates)

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Advice and support

Student Advice Centre

If you have concerns about your finances or anything else, as an undergraduate or postgraduate student, then you can contact the Student Advice Centre as a professional, impartial, confidential and non-judgemental service, providing advice, support and representation to help you resolve your problems whilst studying at the University of 91̽»¨.

The Student Funding Team

Other resources

As a prospective student, you can find out more information about the support available to students who are carers at the University of 91̽»¨ on the Access web pages.

Access 91̽»¨ -  Support for students who are carers

As a current student, you can find more advice and support on the University web pages.

(student login required)

In addition, the Student Experience, Diversity and Inclusion team organises events and provides tailored support activities that aim to build a sense of community and belonging for students with a variety of lived experiences. Current students can find out more about these events online.

(student login required)