Think Big scholarships terms and conditions

The terms & conditions for Think Big scholarships beginning in the 2026/27 academic year.

These terms and conditions apply to all scholarships and bursaries available under the Think Big scholarship scheme. The full list can be found on our international scholarships home page.

This webpage sets out the terms and conditions for all Think Big scholarships. This includes:

  • “Think Big”
  • “Think Big about [study area]”
  • “Think Big Career Accelerator”
  • “Think Big about Research”
  • associated scholarships and bursaries applied for through the Think Big programme. For example the R. Senathi Rajah Memorial Scholarship.

Eligibility

  1. To be eligible for the University's undergraduate scholarships, you must:
    1. have applied for a full-time in-person undergraduate bcourse at the University of Bristol
      1. courses in Bristol Dental School and Bristol Medical School are not eligible
    2. be an overseas student for fee-paying purposes
    3. have received an offer to study at the University of Bristol before Friday 24 April 2026
      1. if you have not, we will withdraw your scholarship application
    4. meet or exceed the entry requirements as stated in your formal UCAS offer before 31 August 2026
      1. you must also confirm the University of Bristol as your Firm choice offer in UCAS.
  2. To be eligible for the University's postgraduate scholarships, you must:
    1. have applied to any full-time, in-person master's programme at the University of Bristol
    2. be an overseas student for fee-paying purposes
    3. have received an offer to study at the University of Bristol before Friday 24 April 2026
      1. if you have not, we will withdraw your scholarship application
    4. meet or exceed the entry requirements as stated by the University of Bristol.
  3. If you have more than one study offer, you must choose one for your scholarship application. If you do not choose by the deadline, it may make your application ineligible.
  4. Scholarship awards are valid for entry in September 2026 only. You cannot defer them to a later year. If you choose to defer your place at the University, we cannot transfer your scholarship.

Awards

  1. We will apply your Think Big scholarship as a discount to your tuition fees. We will adjust your fees at the time of your enrolment at the University. We do not offer a cash alternative.
    1. For undergraduate awards, we apply the tuition fee discount each year you pay full fees. This is up to a maximum of four years. We will renew your scholarship each year. This is as long as you make satisfactory progress (an average mark above 50% each year).
    2. For postgraduate awards, we apply the discount up to a maximum of one year, the first year of your studies.
  2. We will not apply the tuition fee discount hduring any years not spent at the University.
    1. For example, a placement year in industry or study abroad.
  3. We will not apply funding of awards during periods of suspension of studies.
  4. We will review funding for repeat or supplementary study on a case-by-case basis.
  5. We offer scholarships and/or bursaries based on the course stated in your award letter. We try to accommodate scholarship/bursary amendment requests for students that change course. This is not a guarantee and we will consider requests on a case-by-case basis.
  6. If you receive another University of Bristol scholarship or tuition fee discount, let us know as soon as possible. You cannot combine Think Big scholarships with other University funded tuition fee discounts. We will apply either the award or discount of higher value only.
    1. The only exception is the Alumni Discount. We will apply this to your tuition fees after we have processed the Think Big scholarship.
    2. You can receive living stipends and bursaries alongside a Think Big scholarship.
  7. You may receive external tuition fee funding. For example, from a scholarship body, corporate sponsor, or government. The total amount of funding, including your Think Big award, must not exceed your tuition fees. If your external award covers full tuition fees, you are not eligible for a Think Big award.
  8. We pay bursary awards in the first year of study only and will not in any later years. You will need to open a UK bank account. This is the account into which we will pay your bursary funds once you have completed enrolment.

General terms

  1. We expect scholarship recipients to be ambassadors of the University. They must uphold our values and reputation.
  2. We invite scholarship recipients to take part in the Think Big Development Programme. We expect them to engage in full with this programme whenever possible.
  3. Scholars may take part in events or promotional activities other than the Think Big Development Programme. We limit involvement in these activities to a maximum of 10 hours per semester. Activities may include writing a testimonial, or joining a focus group.
  4. Scholarship allocations are final. We will not consider requests outside our standard allocation process.
  5. The University of Bristol considers the use of AI or translation tools to be cheating. When applying, we expect you to uphold our principles of academic integrity. Not doing so may result in your scholarship application being ineligible for funding. Exceptions include using AI to:
    1. generate the occasional short phrase within a sentence
    2. check basic grammar and spelling.