Terms and conditions for Postgraduate Access Scholarships

The Postgraduate Access Scholarship offers under-represented students a £4,000 tuition fee discount as well as wrap-around support for personal, academic and professional development.

Terms and Conditions

All Postgraduate Access Scholarship offers are bound by the below terms and conditions. You should familiarise yourself with all of the below terms and conditions before applying to the Postgraduate Access Scholarship.

If your application is successful, all offers are based upon the terms and conditions of the scholarship and further eligibility checks will be undertaken. All offers are made upon the assumption that any and all information submitted is truthful and accurate; the scholarship can and will be revoked if applicants are found to be in violation of the scholarship's terms and conditions at any point.

1. Eligibility

The Postgraduate Access Scholarship will only be available to students who meet all three of the following criterium:

Domiciled in the UK: Applicants must be recorded as Home for fee-status purposes.
Studying a postgraduate taught degree full-time or part-time in the 2024-2025 academic year: Only applicable courses weighted at 180 credits are eligible for the scholarship (see the 'eligible courses' tab below). Applicants must not already be studying a postgraduate taught degree at the University of Birmingham.
Self-identify as belonging to a group that is evidentially under-represented among the institution’s taught-Masters population: See the ‘Under-represented student criteria’ section below as well as the 'detailed under-represented student criteria and the corresponding evidence' tab.

Awards will be allocated on the basis of merit – simply meeting the criteria will not guarantee that an application is successful. Any applicant that does not meet all of the eligibility criteria will not be considered for the award.

Applications must be submitted before the deadline(s) cited on the Postgraduate Access Scholarship webpage; late applications will not be considered.

Under-represented student criteria

Applicants will need to demonstrate that they are categorised within at least one of the following criteria:

Completion of a University of Birmingham (Birmingham Scholar) or another university's Widening Participation Scheme: Applicants who have successfully completed an undergraduate University of Birmingham or another university's Widening Participation scheme will be considered.
Care Leaver: Applicants who have once been a care leaver which includes spending three months or more in local authority care.
Disability: Applicants who are in receipt of DSA (Disabled Students Allowance) as an undergraduate student and/or currently receive DLA (Disability Living Allowance) or PIP (Personal Independence payment).
Black and Ethnic Minority Background: Applicants from a black and minority ethnic group are encouraged to apply.
Bereaved of or Estranged from Both Parents: Applicants who are bereaved of or estranged from both parents and are under the age of 25 are eligible. Estrangement is defined as having no communication or functioning relationship with either parent and no physical or financial support from them for at least 12 months.
Caring Responsibilities: Applicants who have caring responsibilities for a family member or friend who could not cope without their support are eligible. This may be due to illness, disability, a mental health issue, or substance misuse.
Household Income: Applicants with an annual household income of £42,875 or less at their permanent residence.

All applicants will be expected to provide the appropriate evidence of their self-identified under-represented group at the point of being made an offer or before the commencing of their course's start date. Administrators of the scholarship will be in contact at the point such evidence is required; awardees must provide the evidence within any associated deadlines to verify their self-identification as the award offer may be revoked if no evidence is provided within the deadline.

Please see the below tab for the detailed under-represented criteria and the corresponding evidence required.

Due to the high volume of applications, the University reserves the right to close the scholarship scheme early, meaning that any successive round(s) after the first round of applications may not be executed, despite any initial plans of operating multiple rounds, if all scholarships are allocated to successful applicants.

Detailed under-represented student criteria and the corresponding evidence

Evidence is required to ensure that applicants meet the eligibility criteria for the Postgraduate Access Scholarship. If an applicant does not have evidence available at the point of applying, they can still submit an application but they will be required to provide evidence should they be successful in their application and made an awardee.

Under-represented student criteria	Evidence required
Completion of a University of Birmingham (Birmingham Scholar) or other University Widening Participation Scheme	If you have completed a University Widening Participation Scheme during your undergraduate studies, a letter or reference from your previous University confirming this.
Care Leaver	If you have been in Local Authority care for at least 13 weeks, a letter from the Local Authority confirming this. You need to be under the age of 25 on the course start date to be eligible.
Disability	If you received the Disabled Students' Allowance or support from your undergraduate institution's disability support office, a Student Finance notification of award letter, and/or a letter confirming the support you received from your undergraduate university’s disability support office.
Black and Ethnic Minority Background	Submit your completed Postgraduate course application, including ethnicity information.
Bereaved of or Estranged from Both Parents	If you are estranged from your family –either evidence of assessment of your status by Student Finance during your undergraduate studies, or a Word document with further information about this.
Caring Responsibilities	If you are a carer, a Word document giving further information about your caring responsibilities.
Low Household Income	Student Finance notification of award letter for the full amount of maintenance award received during your undergraduate studies.
Supporting Statement	A 'supporting statement' is included in the application form. Please tell us, in no more than 500 words, how being awarded the Birmingham Postgraduate Access Scholarship would make a difference to you.

Eligible courses for the Postgraduate Progression Award

The Postgraduate Access Scholarship is only applicable to students that are studying a postgraduate taught Masters degree, including part-time and full-time courses.

Eligible courses include the following, delivered at our Edgbaston Campus, Stratford-upon-Avon, partnered institutions or by distance learning:

LLM
MA (Taught)
MSc (Pre-reg)
MSc (Taught)
MPH
MEd
MBA

As the scholarship is only applicable to full postgraduate taught Masters degrees weighted at 180 credits, ineligible courses include but are not limited to:

MA/MSc by Research
MRes (combined taught and research)
Integrated Masters degrees (such as MSci/MEng)
Postgraduate Diplomas (PGDip)
Postgraduate Certificates (PGCert)
Postgraduate Certificates of Education (PGCEs)
Postgraduate research programmes (such as PhDs)
All top-up programmes (e.g. MSc Physician Associate Studies)

2. Payment

The value of the Postgraduate Access Scholarship is £4,000. This will be paid as a discount on your tuition fee and no part of the award can be made as a cash payment. Only once the awardee has completed Online Registration and is classified as 'Normally Registered' will the discount be applied.

If your tuition fees are charged modularly then the £4,000 will be spread evenly across the first year of study.

The Postgraduate Access Scholarship is tenable for 12 months at the University of Birmingham and cannot be deferred.

3. Termination

In any of the circumstances set out below the Postgraduate Access Scholarship will be withdrawn and you will receive no (or no further) payments from the University:

If you permanently leave the University due to illness (whether or not following a Leave of Absence under the University’s Code of Practice on Leave of Absence procedures);
If you leave the University voluntarily for reasons other than illness;
If you are required to withdraw from the University due to disciplinary or fitness to practise proceedings;
If you fail to complete satisfactorily the requirements of your programme.

The University reserves the right to demand the repayment of any instalment or instalments (or part thereof) of the Postgraduate Access Scholarship paid to you in circumstances 2 or 3 set out above.

4. Leave of Absence

In the event that you take, or are required to take, a Leave of Absence during the academic year any Postgraduate Access Scholarship payments still due will be suspended until you return from your Leave of Absence and re-register as a normally registered student with the University.

Upon re-registering you will be paid the balance of any instalments due from the academic year when the Leave of Absence was taken.

If you fail to return to the University after a Leave of Absence then the Postgraduate Access Scholarship will be terminated and you will receive no (or no further) payments from the University, as outlined above.

Apply now for your Postgraduate Access Scholarship

You can find out more about the scholarship and begin your application by following the guidance on the webpage linked in the below button.

Apply now

FAQs

Do I need to submit a study application for my course?

Yes, students must submit an application to study one of the above eligible courses before applying to the scholarship. If you only apply to the scholarship and don't submit a course application, the University will not be able to award you the scholarship; scholarship offers are entirely contingent upon you having an offer to study on a taught Masters course.

I am an international student. Am I eligible for scholarship funding?

No. Funding for this scholarship aims to address the under-representation of students from widening participation backgrounds progressing onto a postgraduate taught degree in the UK. Therefore, to be eligible for the scholarship funding students must meet the nationality or residency status criteria to qualify for the UK government's postgraduate masters’ loan.

When will I hear the outcome of my application?

Applications will be reviewed and marked after their respective deadlines. Successful applicants will be contacted typically within 3-4 weeks after the respective scholarship application deadline has passed. A scholarship offer email will be sent to awardees to accept or decline the scholarship offer; a deadline to respond will be included in this email. Students who are made a reserve will be contacted in due course as soon as any reallocated scholarships become available.

Due to the volume of applications for the scholarship, we are unable to offer individual responses to each application. Although we endeavour to keep you informed of scholarship updates, if you have not been contacted by the timeframes outlined in the above paragraph or by your course's start date, it may be the unfortunate case that your application has unsuccessful.

I have received an email offering me the scholarship. How do I accept the award?

If you have been successfully offered the scholarship, you will need to complete the acceptance form in your awarding email. Only once you have responded and accepted the scholarship will you receive the award; if you decline or do not respond by the deadline specified in your offer email, your scholarship will be reallocated.

The scholarship will only be processed once you have fully completed online registration; delays in completing online registration will result in the delaying of the scholarship being applied.

If I defer my course entry to the next year, can I still receive the scholarship?

No. The scholarship cannot be deferred and it is only tenable for the duration of the applicant's intended course beginning in 2024 (at a maximum of two years in duration). If you choose to defer your studies, you will need to re-apply for the scholarship in the next cycle if available.

Find out more

For more information about the scholarship programme, including announcements relating to the application process, please register your interest using the form below.

Postgraduate Access Scholarship terms and conditions