Where to search for bursaries, scholarships and grants:
The Arts Council
The Arts Council provides grants from £1,000 to £30,000 (average £5,000) for individuals or arts organisations involved in arts-related activities that benefit people in England, or that help artists and arts organisations in England to carry out their work. 0845 300 6200
Care to Learn
If you are under 20 and want to start or return to learning, Care to Learn may be able to pay for your childcare costs. 0800 121 8989
The Carpenter’s Company
Educational grants are awarded by The Carpenter’s Company for wood related courses undertaken in the UK. Awards are considered annually in July and no grants are awarded retrospectively. Currently the maximum grant per year awarded to a student is £2,400.
They also award grants for charitable causes which are considered annually in November. The closing date for the submission of completed forms is 1st October. Currently the maximum grant awarded is £5,000.
The Cherubim Music Trust
The Cherubim Music Trust helps young musicians take the vital step from talented student to a career in music by loaning professional quality instruments, which it purchases with the aid of public donations.
Children Today Charitable Trust
The Children Today Charitable Trust supports children and young people under 25 with disabilities. Grants are available for up to £1,000 to provide vital, life-changing specialist equipment. This includes wheelchairs, walking aids, trikes, educational toys, communication aids, lifting and posturepedic sleep equipment, and specially designed sensory equipment like fibre optic sprays. 01244 335 622
Dr Meena Sharma Memorial Foundation
The Dr Meena Sharma Memorial Foundation has a preference for disadvantaged women in India and UK, and collaborations helping women and children in India. Applications are invited from individuals, not organisations. Write to MSM Foundation, 14 Magdalene Road, Walsall, WS1 3TA
Educational Grants Advisory Service
The Educational Grants Advisory Service helps students who are over 16, “taking their first steps on the educational ladder”, primarily assisting students who cannot receive statutory funding. Priority to lone parents, disabled, refugees, people from underprivileged backgrounds. It gives advice on how and where to obtain funds. Send a SAE to Family Welfare Association 501 – 505 Kingsland Road, London, E8 4AU or call 0207 241 7459 for more information.
Family Action
Family Action provide small educational grants to students aged 14 and over who are already studying on a further education course at a college which is affiliated with Family Action. Grants may be given to pay for ‘additional costs’ such as books and/or equipment required for the course, never for fees or daily living expenses. For more information, visit their website or call 020 7254 6251.
Family Fund
Family Fund is the UK’s largest grant-making charity for families raising a disabled or seriously ill child (up to 24 years old) on a low income. We believe that families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people should have the same choices, quality of life, opportunities and aspirations as wider families. We try to make this happen every day by giving grants for essential items such as beds, bedding, clothing, washing machines, cookers and play and sensory equipment or for much-needed family breaks. Alongside giving grants, we offer families wider support, including information and resources on where to go for help with money and benefits, budget planning, children’s education or, mental health and wellbeing. info@familyfund.org.uk – 01904 550055
Feminist Review Trust
Feminist Review Trust is an organisation mostly for academic research but they have supported projects that benefit and provide support to women on issues such as abortion and domestic violence.
The Fishmongers’ Company Charitable Trust
The Fishmongers’ Company Charitable Trust provides financial support for charities that fit in with the FCCT’s revised criteria. 0207 626 3531
Futures for Women
Futures for Women offers interest free loans of around £1000 are available for women training for professional, commercial or technical work. Loans are repaid by monthly instalment at a level decided by the Committee.
Hilda Martindale Educational Trust
The Hilda Martindale Trust makes awards up to £3000 to support British women taking training or courses to follow a profession in areas where women are underrepresented. Applicants must be female British Citizens and be able to demonstrate that women are underrepresented in the field for which they are undertaking education or training. Awards are not made for short courses; access courses; courses attended abroad; elective studies; wholly academic courses; academic research; special projects in the UK or abroad.
Institute of Chartered Foresters Education and Science Trust
The Institute of Chartered Foresters Education and Science Trust offers grants to advance forestry education. Members of the institute or others may apply. Applications must be accompanied by a reference. Application should be by letter; either the person in need or a referral agency may apply. 0131 240 1425
Learner Support Funds
Learner Support Funds can give 16- to 19-year-olds in England financial support for the costs of books and equipment, visits and field trips, and emergencies affecting personal circumstances.
Local Libraries
Reference libraries have guides listing trusts and charitable foundations. Those to look out for are ‘The Educational Grants Directory’, ‘The Grants Register’, ‘A Guide to Grants for Individuals in Need’, ‘The Youth Funding Guide’ and the ‘Directory of Grant Making Trusts’.
The Marine Society
The Marine Society has grants and loans available to young people taking up a career at sea, university entrants who want to follow a career at sea and those wishing to study A-levels before taking up a career at sea. 0207 654 7050
Postgraduate Funding
Check out the Gov.uk website for information about postgraduate funding.
Postgraduate Studentship
Have a look at the Postgraduate Studentship website for information on postgraduate funding.
The Prisoner Funder directory
The Prisoner Funder directory is a resource created by the Hardman Trust which aims to support prisoners to prepare for their release back into the community, by signposting ways in which they can gain access to funding to support them to reach their development goals and achieve their resettlement aims
The directory is sent free of charge into every prison in the UK and is also available online
Information about the Enterprise programme and Development Awards are included in the directory under the grant giving and self-employment sections.
As well as promoting the support we can provide to young people, the directory is also a useful resource for identifying other organisations we can sign-post young people to who either don’t meet our eligibility or need additional support.
The Savoy Educational Trust
The Savoy Educational Trust gives grants to people entering or working in the hospitality industry, or to charities offering hospitality-related education projects. Young people can apply for scholarships of £5,500 to support their training or grants of up to £500 to purchase items such as books, uniform and kitchen equipment. The initial contact or request for funding should be made in writing. 0207 269 9692
Scholarship Search
Use Scholarship Search to find funding for graduate and postgraduate courses.
Turn 2 Us
Turn2us exists to help people access the money available to them – through benefits, grants and other financial help. 0808 802 2000
Their free, accessible website has been designed to help people find appropriate sources of financial support, quickly and easily, based on their particular needs and circumstances.
University Grants
University Grants have compiled a selection of organisations that offer funding of this nature.
The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers runs many charitable activities involving support and careers in the British furniture making industry. Please contact them for more information. 0207 256 5558
Youth Music
Youth Music runs an open grants programme which encourages music making for children and young people aged 5 to 18 (or up to 25 for those with special education needs, disabilities or in detention). 0207 902 1060
There are still some student grants available to UK students even though the maintenance grant is no longer offered. Student grants are offered by the government for students with specific circumstances or needs, as well as potential grants from charities and trusts. Remember that these grants are free money that you do not need to pay back. Make sure you know what’s out there and whether you are eligible to apply.
- Disabled Student Allowance
If you suffer from a long term illness, mental health problem or physical disability you may be able to get an additional student grant to help pay for some of the extra costs you have as a result of your condition. The amount you might get depends on your own personal needs and can cover medical equipment and personal care. You will need to have your needs assessed if you apply for this grant. - Childcare Grant
Available for full time higher education students with dependent children can apply for a grant of up to £174.22 a week for 1 child or up to £298.69 a week for two or more children. This grant helps with childcare costs for children under 15, or under 17 if they have special educational needs. - Parents’ Learning Allowance
Full-time students with children could get up to £1,766 a year to help with their learning costs. This is called Parents’ Learning Allowance. The money can help pay for books, study materials and travel. How much you get depends on your household income. - Adult Dependents Student Grant
Full-time students in higher education with an adult who depends on them financially can apply for an Adult Dependents’ Grant of up to £3.094. - NHS Bursary & Grant
If you’re studying medicine, dentistry or nursing you may be eligible for an annual bursary payment from the NHS to help with your tuition fees and living costs. - Social Work Bursary
The social work bursary is a grant that doesn’t depend on your household income and doesn’t have to be paid back. The amount you get depends on where you study, whether you study full or part time and the cost of your tuition. - Teacher Training Funding
You could get £30,000 tax-free while you train, either as a bursary or prestigious scholarship – or you could earn a salary of up to £25,000 while you train. Your eligibility for financial support, and the amount you can expect to receive, will depend on the subject you choose to teach and your degree classification. If your degree isn’t in the subject you wish to teach, you may be eligible for a funded course to increase your subject knowledge before starting your training. - Other grants from charities and trusts
There are literally thousands of charities and trusts in the UK which offer student grants for many different reasons. All charities have been set up with a specific purpose in mind, to help people from particular groups. If you meet their criteria, you might be eligible for a student grant. It is worth taking the time to do some research and see what is available. You can either look in the Guide to Educational Grants, a large book which you will find in the library or take a look at our member benefits, which gives you access to the information online.
• Active Wandsworth Grant Fund : funding for clubs, coaches, community groups and individuals including travel and accommodation costs for attending competitions.
• BMA Charities: grants for second degree medical students and medical students in need.
• The British Division of the International Academy of Pathology (BDIAP): Elective grants available for medical students studying pathology in a laboratory during their elective period.
• Daiwa Scholarships: 19-month programmes of work placement, language study and homestay in Japan for graduates aged between 21 and 35 years.
• The Foulkes Foundation: fellowships for recently qualified scientists or PhD students wishing to undertake a medical degree, or medical graduates undertaking research for a PhD.
• Gilchrist Educational Trust: funding for students facing unexpected financial difficulties that may prevent them from finishing their degree or higher education, as well as travel grants for students required to spend time studying in another country as part of their degree.
• Institute of Medical Ethics: conference grants, medical student elective bursaries and medical student intercalated scholarships.
• Kidderminster Medical Society: Up to £1,000 bursary to help support an elective placement during study towards an MBChB (or equivalent) and up to £3,000 bursary to help support the first year of a Graduate Entry MBChB (or equivalent). All applicants must demonstrate some connection with the Wyre Forest Area of North Worcestershire.
• The Leathersellers’ Company Charitable Fund: up to £5,000 to support undergraduate students who are care leavers.
• The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust: Undergraduate bursaries of up to £3,000 and postgraduate bursaries of up to £5,000 for anyone whose parent or spouse is employed as a commercial traveller, pharmacist or grocer.
• The Pathological Society: funding to support research projects in pathology, to cover conference travel costs, or for students to gain experience in diagnostic departments during elective/vacation periods. They also provide an annual grant for medical students completing an intercalated degree (either BSc or MRes/MSc), which includes up to £9,000 towards tuition fees, £4,500 for consumables and a £1,500 stipend.
• Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust: small grants between £500 and £1200 for both UK and non UK national graduates pursuing a second degree in medicine, dentistry and veterinary studies and students studying for certain postgraduate qaulifications..
• Royal Air Force (RAF): bursaries or sponsorships for university students looking for a full-time medical role in the RAF.
• The Royal College of Surgeons in England: grants for medical students looking to undertake an intercalated bachelor of a science degree related to surgery. They also offer prizes for clinical students undertaking an elective in surgery in a developing country.
• Royal Medical Benevolent Fund: grants to assist students in their penultimate or final year facing exceptional hardship.
• Royal Navy: offer the Medical Officer Cadet programme, which covers tuition fees for the last three years of study, as well as providing an annual starting salary of £18,000.
• The Sidney Perry Foundation: grants of up to £1,000 for students doing their first degree.
• Student Health Association Assistance Fund: funds of up to £500 to help students with disabilities to keep up with their studies.
• The Valerie Carr Award: payment of tuition fees for three-year degree in Radiotherapy/Therapeutic Radiography for students for who the course will be a second degree.
• The Victoria Foundation: grants for students facing financial hardship to help purchase books, equipment, medical instruments and fund transport costs to hospital or elective placements.
Further information
The Scholarship Hub
Search for UK scholarships, grants or bursaries using a comprehensive database of funding available for UK/EU students. There are scholarships available based on a wide range of eligibility criteria. Some are based purely on academic merit, others on financial need, personal circumstances, or on special skills and abilities, and more. You can also register with The Scholarship Hub to receive updates about new scholarships as they are announced.
UPDATE: REGARDING FAMILY MEMBERS
Starting January 1, 2024, the rules for bringing family members to the UK on a Student Visa have changed. Here’s a simple breakdown of these changes:
- When did the changes happen?
- The changes started on January 1, 2024.
- Who is affected?
- Students who applied for their visa after 3pm on July 17, 2023.
- Students starting their courses on or after January 1, 2024.
- Who can still bring dependents?
- PhD or Doctorate students: Full-time students in these programs can bring their dependents.
- Research-based Higher Degree students: If the course lasts 9 months or longer, students can bring dependents.
- Government-sponsored students: If the course lasts more than 6 months, students can bring dependents.
- Who cannot bring dependents?
- Non-research based Master’s students: Can no longer bring dependents.
- Most Undergraduate students: Only those on government-sponsored programs lasting at least 6 months can bring dependents.
This means a lot of students will no longer be able to have their family members join them in the UK unless they meet specific criteria.
We tried to summarise the subject. We hope it was helpful. You can forward the article to your friends who are looking for student grants.
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