Sunderland National Scholarship Programme 2012/13
£2,000 fee waiver in your first year, plus £1,000 cash scholarship in your first year.
If you are awarded this scholarship your tuition fees will be automatically reduced before the start of your first year.
Who's eligible?
The National Scholarship Programme is for people who are new to higher education.
To apply for this scholarship you must have a household income of £25,000 or less.
This scholarship is for all new home (from England) full-time and part-time undergraduate students starting in 2012.
Students applying for some Foundation degrees at partner colleges can also apply for this scholarship.
Part-time students must be studying at a minimum of 25% of the full-time equivalent of the course. Part-time students will receive this scholarship on a pro-rata basis of the full-time rate.
Who is not eligible
The following applicants are not eligible for the National Scholarship Programme:
- Applicants from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Applicants for TDA funded programmes such as Initial Teacher Training and PGCE programmes
- Applicants for top-up courses
National Scholarship Programme FAQs
Click on the question marks to see the answers to frequently asked questions about the National Scholarships Programme.
1. What is the National Scholarship Programme (NSP)?
The NSP is a Government programme designed to benefit individual students from disadvantaged backgrounds as they enter Higher Education from autumn 2012. The Deputy Prime Minister first announced it as a 'student premium' on 15 October 2010.
2. What can the NSP be used for?
Unlike many widening participation programmes which focus on outreach, the NSP is designed to provide direct benefit to individual students. The Government has provided a 'menu' of options from which institutions may choose how to offer their scholarships.
The University of Sunderland has chosen the following options:
- A fee waiver
- A financial scholarship or bursary, capped as a cash lump sum of £1,000
- Care leavers
- Students with disabilities
- New entrants to Higher Education who qualify for different elements of student support
3. Why are cash awards limited to £1,000?
This is the limit that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has specified. Any scholarship identified as a ‘cash award’ will be in the form of a lump sum of money given as a one-off payment.
4. What is the minimum benefit to the student?
Each eligible full-time student will receive a benefit of no less than £3,000 in total awarded in Year 1, with a pro rata amount offered to part-time students. The £3,000 support will include a £2,000 reduction in tuition fees in the first year of study and £1,000 cash, given as a lump sum in the first year of study.
5. How will University of Sunderland decide who is eligible?
The Government has set very broad-based national eligibility criteria for the NSP based on household income. Students are eligible to apply for a scholarship if they are classed as a Home (England) student and their declared household residual income is £25,000 or less. Both full-time and part-time students are eligible to apply for the NSP.
Please refer to our terms and conditions for full details of the eligibility criteria.
6. Are there any groups or nationalities of students who are not eligible?
Yes, and details are set out in the guidance. In summary, NSP awards should usually only be used to assist people who qualify for different elements of student support under the current Education (Student Support) Regulations. This means that NSP awards will not be available to individuals who are ordinarily resident in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Please be aware that the maintenance element of an NSP award will not be available to all part-time or EU students.
The following groups of students are also not eligible:
- NHS-funded students
- Students funded by the Training and Development Agency (TDA) for Schools
- Students directly continuing from one course to another (for example, from Foundation Degree or HND on to the final year of an honours degree)
- Students transferring in from another institution
- Students undertaking a postgraduate qualification
- Part-time students studying at less than 25 per cent intensity of the full-time equivalent
- Any other students whose fees are paid or part-paid through a sponsorship arrangement
7. How do I apply for the NSP?
You can apply for the NSP through our online application form. You will need to log in to the VIP page with your username and password.
8. What if I apply late or through Clearing?
There are 157 NSP Scholarships available, the majority of which will be offered to applicants who apply by the UCAS deadline of 15 January 2012. The University of Sunderland will determine how many NSP scholarships are held back for those students who have applied through Clearing.
9. Do I need to tell the Student Loans Company (SLC) if I receive a fee waiver?
No. The University will inform the SLC directly to ensure that the full- or part-fee loan is not paid. We are in discussion with the SLC, and will issue guidance in due course.
These Frequently Asked Questions relate specifically to the National Scholarship Programme. For general questions and answers about any of our scholarships, please see the page Scholarships FAQs.
How to apply
Before you apply, download and read the Scholarships Terms and Conditions University of Sunderland 2012-13 (.pdf).
To apply, fill in the online application form by 16 May 2012. There is one application form for all the University of Sunderland’s scholarships.
The personal statement submitted on the UCAS application will also be used to assess eligibility for this scholarship. If you have not applied through UCAS you will be able to submit a personal statement on the online application form.
Please note that the Government has awarded the University of Sunderland a limited number of scholarships as part of the National Scholarship Programme, therefore meeting the eligibility criteria and applying for the scholarship does not guarantee the award of the scholarship.
