Postgraduate Access Scholarship 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.

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

1. Domiciled in the UK: Applicants must be recorded as Home for fee-status purposes.
2. 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.
3. 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.

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.

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:

1. 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);
2. If you leave the University voluntarily for reasons other than illness;
3. If you are required to withdraw from the University due to disciplinary or fitness to practise proceedings;
4. 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.

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.

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