1. Apply to study at the University of Bristol

An application for the Sanctuary Scholarship will only be accepted if you have an academic offer (or are awaiting a decision) to study at the University of Bristol.

Asylum seekers are not eligible for government funding and therefore do not need to make an application to their regional government.

If there is any doubt about an applicant's eligibility for government funding, they may be asked to apply to their regional government who will determine their eligibility or otherwise for student funding.

Find out more about the courses we offer or apply for your chosen course of study:

• Foundation in Arts and Social Sciences (Cert HE)
• International Foundation Programme
• Undergraduate course
• Postgraduate master's course

You may not have met all the conditions of your offer at the time of your application for the Sanctuary Scholarship, but you must hold an academic offer (or be awaiting a decision) to study, before you apply. For example, it may be that you are currently studying an IELTS course to meet the English language requirements of the course, or you might be asked to undertake and pass a maths test as an academic condition for your particular course.

Applicants studying a PGT programme may qualify for an application fee waiver. If eligible, you will not have to pay the £60 application fee.

2. Apply for government student financial support

International Foundation Programme offer holders

If you have applied to the International Foundation Programme and have an offer, or are waiting for a decision, you do not need to apply for student financial support from the UK government; you are not eligible for student funding.

Undergraduate and postgraduate offer holders

If you have an offer or are waiting for a decision, to study an undergraduate or postgraduate course, you must apply to your regional government so they can assess whether you are eligible for government student funding.

Contact the relevant office, depending on where you normally live in the UK:

• Student Finance England
• Student Finance Wales
  
• Student Finance Northern Ireland
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)

Applications open at different times depending on the region and whether you are applying for undergraduate or postgraduate funding.

The government will determine whether you are eligible for student funding (loans and grants) for tuition fees and living costs while you study. The University of Bristol will not determine your eligibility for government support. You must accept any government funding you are eligible to receive.

If you are awarded a scholarship, information on your government student funding entitlement will be used in deciding the value of the Sanctuary Scholarship you are awarded.

3. Apply for the Sanctuary Scholarship 

The application form will ask you about:

• your residency status in the UK;
• any previous study you may have undertaken at degree level;
• any barriers you may have faced in starting or completing at higher education previously;
• your motivations for the chosen course and your ambitions for the future.

You will also be asked for:

• an applicant ID number as evidence that you have applied to study at the University (see section 1 above).
• a Student Support Number provided by the regional funder, as evidence you have made an application for student funding (see section 2 above). This will not be required if you have applied to the International Foundation Programme or are an asylum seeker.

4. Assessing your application

In 2022/23, to determine who will receive a Sanctuary Scholarship, the panel will consider each of the following:

1. whether applicants meet the eligibility criteria for the scholarship;
2. which eligible applicants would benefit most from receiving the Sanctuary Scholarship, taking into account:

• residency status;
• any barriers applicants have faced to access and complete higher education;
• access to government funding;
• applicants' future ambition;
• applicants' support networks.

The scheme aims to make sure that our scholarship student body is diverse in terms of the protected characteristics contained in the Equality Act 2010. When two candidates are equally matched through our selection criteria, we will give priority to minorities.