Care Leaver Bursary 2023/24

Award details Undergraduate: The bursary will only be paid once for each eligible level of study, for a maximum of four years; or five years if taking a foundation year or an integrated Master’s year, subject to meeting progression requirements (additional payments will not be made during a repeating year, regardless of the reason for repetition).

The bursary is not payable in the Placement year.

PGCE: The bursary will only be paid once for one year (additional payments will not be made during a repeating year, regardless of the reason for repetition).

Value: £2000 cash payment.

How many: Awarded to all Care Leavers who meet the eligibility criteria.

Application process: There is no separate application, all students will be considered for the bursary automatically based on the information supplied in their course application and registration task. However, applicants will be required to submit evidence of Care Leaver status before their awards are confirmed.

Awards will be made by the Scholarship Allocation Panel in early October.

Bursary holders may be requested to represent Brunel at various promotional activities throughout their time at the University. Participation is not mandatory and bursary holders may be contacted with invitations to participate in activities such as surveys, focus groups, and interviews in order to evaluate the University’s financial support package. Bursary holders will be contacted as and when participation is required. If a student chooses not to participate, their bursary award will not be affected.

Data pertaining to bursary holders such as: progression rates, degree attainment, degree completion, and graduate outcomes may also be analysed in order to understand the effectiveness of bursaries and scholarships. This data may also be linked to other data already held by the University for the purpose of better understanding the impact of bursaries and scholarships on under-represented groups. To learn more about how the University uses data to support its commitment to delivering positive outcomes to students from under-represented groups please visit our webpage.

The bursary will be awarded to those applicants who meet all the following eligibility criteria:

• Must be a Care Leaver
• Must be under the age of 25
• Must hold an offer of a place on either:
• a full time Undergraduate course (including placement routes and undergraduate integrated Masters programmes) OR
• a full time Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course.

This includes offers made through UCAS Clearing and Adjustment.

• Offer must be for either the foundation year, FHEQ Level 4 (Year 1) or FHEQ Level 5 (Year 2) of the course, or PGCE starting in September.
• Offer must be ‘Unconditional Firm’ (UF) by the date the Scholarship Allocation Panel make their awards (i.e. applicant must have met all offer conditions and firmly accepted the place).
• Must commence the course in the upcoming academic year (applicants for deferred entry will be considered for a bursary in the year they start their course and not in the year of their course application).
• Must be classed as Home for fees purposes based on the UK government regulations. Applicants who are unsure of their fee status should note Brunel uses the information they have provided in their application form to assess fee status against regulations set by the UK government. For information on these regulations please visit the independent organisation UKCISA’s website.

Bursaries will be awarded to those who meet the eligibility criteria at the time of allocation.