Student Support Fund

How to apply

The Student Support Fund for undergraduate and taught postgraduate students opens for applications on Monday 7 October 2024. 

For postgraduate researchers, applications are open all year round except during the first month of your studies.

More information on how to apply and what you are eligible for, can be found on the assistance funding web page.

Before you apply

Before applying to the Student Support Fund, please consider the following:

• Are you studying on a visa? We recommend that you make an appointment with a trained International Student Adviser. This appointment will not affect your visa or your application for support.
• Have you taken out your full entitlement to financial student support for this academic year? This includes taking out the maximum amounts of Tuition Fee Loan, Maintenance Loan, or US federal loans that you are entitled to.
• Have you any other areas of income available to you? This includes parental contributions and part-time work.
• Have you made use of any interest/charge-free overdraft facilities available to you? Please read your bank's terms and conditions carefully before deciding to take out an overdraft.
• Have you taken into consideration any savings as part of your expendable income? All of your savings will be taken into account as part of your assessment, regardless of whether they have been earmarked for a specific purpose.
• Students are expected to have made reasonable adjustments to their lifestyles to ensure appropriate budgeting measures are in place.
• Please check you have made adequate provision for tuition fees and living costs prior to starting your studies. If you are unsure and would like advice, please contact the Student Support and Advice Team. You can self-refer using the online form which can be found on the Student Hub web page. The Student Support Fund cannot be used to make up a shortfall in funding.

Additional information to assist students manage their money, is available on the managing your money web page. 

If you would like support in managing your money, you can discuss your personal circumstances with the Student Support and Advice Team. You can contact the team using the online self-referral form which can be found on the Student Hub web page.

Application timeline

It can take up to four weeks for an assessment to be completed from when we receive your application and all required supporting evidence. The Student Support Fund is a discretionary fund and awards are not guaranteed.

If you are experiencing urgent financial hardship, you can still submit an application to the Student Support Fund, however please speak to a Student Adviser at the Student Hub as soon as possible. You can contact the Student Support and Advice team via their online self-referral form, which can be found on the Student Hub web page. The Support and Advice team are the first point of contact for advice on a range of issues including financial support and money management and housing advice.

Awards/Repayments

You may be offered a non-repayable grant, an interest-free loan, or a combination of the two. It depends on your financial situation. If you are offered an award as a loan, this will be confirmed within your outcome letter.

Supporting evidence

You will be asked to upload evidence to support your application form which will include the following:

• Evidence of your rent/mortgage, for example your tenancy agreement, which must include your name, the address of the property, the rental period, and the monthly charge
• Evidence for all funding you receive to cover your tuition fees and living costs for the academic year
• Bank statements for the most recent 3 months, with explanations for the following:
• all spending over £100, ie what the payment was for
• all transfers between accounts; we need to know what the transfer was for, and who it went to (even if this seems obvious)
• all credits, no matter how small or how obvious; we need to know who the payment was from/to and what it was for
• If you have a partner who lives with you, we will ask you to submit supporting documentation relating to them. There may be reasons you are unable to do this, if this is the case, please mention this in your application

We may need to contact you after your application has been submitted if we require further evidence. If you do not respond to a request for further evidence within 14 days, this may result in your application being closed. If your application is closed, you are welcome to reapply.

If you have difficulty in providing the required information as outlined above, please don’t hesitate to contact the team, as students with exceptional circumstances may be able to provide other supporting information in support of their application.