We want everyone to be able to access higher education, no matter your background or circumstances. As the cost-of-living continues to increase, we understand how important it is to get financial support. Scholarships and bursaries are free financial awards that you don't need to pay back.
We award scholarships for excellence or achievement in a specific field. This may include good grades in a subject area, performing at a high level in sport, or demonstrating particular qualities.
A bursary is awarded based on your circumstances or background. This includes your postcode area, household income, if you're care-experienced, and more.
Read Victor Moss's storyPursuing higher education would've been unfeasible, as I would've struggled to manage my bills and meet my family's needs. My bursary allowed me to concentrate on my studies without the burden of financial stress.
Victor Moss
This is a guide to help you discover which scholarships and bursaries you could be eligible for. It's for new, Home (UK) students considering a full-time undergraduate course at the University.
You'll complete a series of questions about your background, where you live, and your household income. Based on the answers you provide, you'll gain an idea of the financial support that could be available to you. Please note that this isn't a confirmation or guarantee of funding, just a guide.
Our scholarship and bursary offer is subject to change, sometimes at short notice. To make sure you don't miss anything, we recommend exploring our full range of scholarships and bursaries.
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Our Student Financial Guidance team can help you with anything from budgeting to guidance on loans and grants, to helping you apply for funding support.
You can get expert help before you even apply for university. The service is free, confidential, impartial, and non-judgemental.
For support, contact the team at studentfinancialguidance@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab) or on 0191 515 2284.
The University of Sunderland Bursary provides financial support to students who are underrepresented in higher education and who may face additional financial challenges. Eligible students may receive between £500 and £2,000 in cash per academic year to help with essential costs, enabling them to focus on their studies and university experience. Bursary awards will be allocated according to the following criteria:
Bursary award £500 cash per year.
Students with an annual household income of £30,000 or less who live in a low participation neighbourhood (POLAR4 Quintile 1) (see appendix for details).
Or
Students who don't live on the mainland and have a home address within Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Isles of Scilly, Channel Islands or Islands of Scotland.
Bursary award £750 cash per year.
Students with caring responsibilities, those eligible for free school meals, refugees, Gypsies, Travellers, Roma, Showmen and Boaters (GTRSB).
Bursary award £2,000 cash per year.
Care-experienced students, or students irreconcilably estranged from both parents/carers.
The Government classifies all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible.
Students applying for an eligible top-up course are eligible.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible.
International students aren't eligible.
You aren't eligible for these bursaries if you've been funded by the Enhanced Learning Credits Administration Service (ELCAS).
You aren't eligible for these bursaries if you are in receipt of a Troops to Teaching bursary.
You must be applying for an eligible full-time undergraduate course starting in autumn 2026, based at City Campus, Sir Tom Cowie at St Peter’s Campus, the Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME), or delivered in partnership with an approved partner institution.
The following courses are not eligible for the University of Sunderland Bursary for students in Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3:
The following courses aren't eligible for the University of Sunderland Bursary for students in Tier 1 and Tier 2:
Students who meet the criteria for Tier 3 may still be eligible for the bursary if studying one of the courses listed above, subject to meeting all other eligibility criteria.
The University of Sunderland Bursary is automatically awarded to students who meet the eligibility criteria following a checking and verification process after enrolment.
Bursaries will be awarded based on one of the underrepresented groups listed in the Overview section.
Students will be notified of their provisional award shortly after they receive a course offer from us. Following enrolment on an eligible course and confirmation of suitable evidence, bursary awards will be confirmed.
Please note, if we need to verify your household income as part of your bursary application, you must have undertaken a means-tested Student Loans Company (SLC) assessment. You must also agree to share your data with the University via the SLC. The University will liaise with the SLC to verify household income.
Bursary awards will be made in the following instalments in each year of continuous study based on academic progression:
Tier 1: £250 on 6 November 2026 and 7 April 2027
Tier 2: £375 on 6 November 2026 and 7 April 2027
Tier 3: £500 on 6 November 2026, 8 January 2027, 7 April 2027 and 7 July 2027
Recipients of a scholarship or bursary will be expected to participate in surveys, feedback requests, and other market research activities to help the University evaluate and improve its scholarship and bursary provision. This may include sharing insights on your student experience and the impact of financial support.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship or bursary will be withdrawn.
If you don't supply us with the required information by Thursday, 10 December 2026, the scholarship or bursary provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship or bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a payment is made, the University may seek reimbursement; however, you'll not receive any further instalments.
The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards and payments that are due to you while you are on your course of study.
If you transfer to another course or you repeat a year of the same course, the award won't be made in the repeated year. Any payments due to you will continue once you progress onto the following level (s) of study on the course.
If you're on a placement year or studying for a year and not paying full fees, the award won't be paid during that year.
If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your payments will stop until you return and progress academically.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared. Awards will only be payable if all tuition fee payments are up to date and there are no monies owed to the University.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details via the e:Vision portal and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries and payments will be withdrawn.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
Use the information below to determine what evidence will be required as proof of priority group.
Your student record will evidence this following your application and enrolment.
Your refugee status can be verified using Home Office documents.
Your student record will evidence this following your application and enrolment. For mature applicants, a letter from your school could be used as evidence to verify you were in receipt of free school meals in secondary school.
This can be verified by one of the following:
This refers to geographic areas where the number of 18 and 19-year-olds participating in higher education is less than two-thirds of the UK average rate. Check your eligibility on the OfS website.
During the enrolment process, the University will verify this based on your postcode. This will be based on your address at the time of applying to the University.
If you're a ‘Home’ student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Student Loans Company (SLC), the University will liaise with the SLC to verify your household income.
We use the broader definition of ‘care-experienced’ as this term is inclusive of the range of care settings someone may have experienced.
Our definition of care-experienced is someone who, at any stage of their life, and for any length of time, has been in care in the UK, for example looked after by the local authority.
This includes the following:
For further information, please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.
The term ‘estranged student’ is used to refer to those who are studying without the support of a family network. This will apply to you if you’re:
By 'irreconcilably estranged' we mean that either:
For estrangement cases that can’t be confirmed by SFE, proof of evidence of ‘genuine estrangement’ would need to be supplied to the University. All applications of estrangement are assessed on an individual basis.
Please note, you’ll not be considered estranged simply on the basis that you live separately from your parents, have recently fallen out with your parents, or your parents are unwilling to complete income assessment forms or contribute towards your student finance.
For further information, please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.
Northern Ireland:
BT1, BT2, BT3, BT4, BT5, BT6, BT7, BT8, BT9, BT10, BT11, BT12, BT13, BT14, BT15, BT16, BT17, BT18, BT19, BT20, BT21, BT22, BT23, BT24, BT25, BT26, BT27, BT28, BT29, BT30, BT31, BT32, BT33, BT34, BT35, BT36, BT37, BT38, BT39, BT40, BT41, BT42, BT43, BT44, BT45, BT46, BT47, BT48, BT49, BT51, BT52, BT53, BT54, BT55, BT56, BT57, BT58, BT60, BT61, BT62, BT63, BT64, BT65, BT66, BT67, BT68, BT69, BT70, BT71, BT74, BT75, BT76, BT77, BT78, BT79, BT80, BT81, BT82, BT92, BT93, BT94.
Channel Islands:
GY1, GY2, GY3, GY4, GY5, GY6, GY7, GY8, GY9, GY10
JE1, JE2, JE3, JE4, JE5
Isle of Man:
IM1, IM2, IM3, IM4, IM5, IM6, IM7, IM8, IM9, IM86, IM87, IM99
Isle of Wight:
PO30, PO41, PO31, PO32, PO33, PO34, PO35, PO36, PO38, PO39, PO40, PO41
Isle of Scilly:
TR21, TR22, TR23, TR24, TR25
Scottish Islands (Outer Hebrides):
HS1, HS2, HS3, HS4, HS5, HS6, HS7, HS8, HS9
Scottish Islands (Inner Hebrides):
IV41, IV42, IV43, IV44, IV45, IV46, IV47, IV48, IV49, IV55, IV56, PA41, PA42, PA43, PA44, PA45, PA46, PA47, PA48, PA49, PA60, PA61, PA62, PA63, PA64, PA65, PA66, PA67, PA68, PA69, PA70, PA71, PA72, PA73, PA74, PA75, PA76, PA77, PA78, PH42, PH43, PH44
Scottish Islands (Islands of the Clyde):
KA27, KA28, PA20
Scottish Islands (Orkney Islands):
KW15, KW16, KW17
Scottish Islands (Shetland Islands):
ZE1, ZE2, ZE3
The University of Sunderland Bursary provides financial support to students who are underrepresented in higher education and who may face additional financial challenges. Eligible students may receive between £500 and £2,000 in cash each academic year to help with essential costs, enabling you to focus on your studies and university experience.
Medicine students in receipt of the bursary will also receive £1,000 cash in their first year to purchase essential equipment and study materials to support their studies and help them settle into university life.
In addition, Medicine students who are awarded the bursary will receive an extra £1,000 in their fifth year to support their final year of study.
Bursary awards will be allocated according to the following criteria:
Bursary award £500 cash per year.
Students with an annual household income of £30,000 or less who live in a low-participation neighbourhood (POLAR4 Quintile 1) (see appendix for details).
Or
Students who don't live on the mainland and have a home address within Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Isles of Scilly, Channel Islands or Islands of Scotland.
Bursary award £750 cash per year.
Students with caring responsibilities, those eligible for free school meals in secondary school (Years 7–11), refugees, Gypsies, Travellers, Roma, Showmen and Boaters (GTRSB).
Bursary award £2,000 cash per year.
Care-experienced students, or students estranged from both parents or carers and aged under 25 at the start of the course.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible.
International students aren't eligible.
You must successfully enrol on Level 1 and study Medicine MBChB in the academic year 2026/27.
The University of Sunderland Bursary is automatically awarded to students who meet the eligibility criteria following a checking and verification process after enrolment.
Bursaries will be awarded based on one of the under-represented groups.
Students will be notified of their provisional award shortly after they receive a course offer from us. Following enrolment onto our Medicine MBChB course and confirmation of suitable evidence, bursary awards will be confirmed.
Please note, if we need to verify your household income as part of your bursary application, you must have undertaken a means-tested Student Loans Company (SLC) assessment. You must also agree to share your data with the University via the SLC. The University will liaise with the SLC to verify household income.
Bursary awards will be made in the following instalments in each year of continuous study based on academic progression:
Tier 1: £250 on 6 November 2026 and 7 April 2027
Tier 2: £375 on 6 November 2026 and 7 April 2027
Tier 3: £500 on 6 November 2026, 8 January 2027, 7 April 2027 and 7 July 2027
MBChB Medicine students eligible for the University of Sunderland Bursary will also receive:
These will be paid in two instalments on the fifth working day of November and April in year one of study and the fifth working day of November and April in year five.
Students receiving a scholarship or bursary will be expected to participate in surveys, feedback requests, and other market research activities to help the University evaluate and improve its scholarship and bursary provision. This may include sharing insights on your student experience and the impact of financial support.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship or bursary will be withdrawn.
If you don't supply us with the required information by Thursday 10 December 2026, the scholarship or bursary provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship or bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a payment is made, the University may seek reimbursement however, you'll not receive any further instalments.
The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards and payments that are due to you while you are on your course of study.
If you transfer to another course or you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be made in the repeated year. Any payments due to you will continue once you progress onto the following level (s) of study on the course.
If you are on a placement year or studying for a year and not paying full fees, the award will not be paid during that year.
If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your payments will stop until you return and progress academically.
If you are in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared. Awards will only be payable if all tuition fee payments are up to date and there are no monies owed to the University.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details via the e:Vision portal and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries and payments will be withdrawn.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
Use the information below to determine what evidence will be required as proof of priority group.
Your refugee status can be verified using Home Office documents.
Your student record will evidence this following your application and enrolment. For mature applicants, a letter from your school could be used as evidence to verify you were in receipt of free school meals in secondary school.
This can be verified by one of the following:
This refers to geographic areas where the number of 18 and 19-year-olds participating in higher education is less than two-thirds of the UK average rate. Check your eligibility on the OfS website.
During the enrolment process, the University will verify this based on your postcode. This will be based on your address at the time of applying to the University.
If you are a ‘Home’ student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Student Loans Company (SLC), the University will liaise with the SLC to verify your household income.
We use the broader definition of ‘care-experienced’ as this term is inclusive of the range of care settings someone may have experienced.
Our definition of care-experienced is someone who, at any stage of their life, and for any length of time, has been in care in the UK, for example looked after by the local authority.
This includes the following:
For further information, please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.
The term ‘estranged student’ is used to refer to those who are studying without the support of a family network. This will apply to you if you’re:
By 'irreconcilably estranged' we mean that either:
For estrangement cases that can’t be confirmed by SFE, proof of evidence of ‘genuine estrangement’ would need to be supplied to the University. All applications of estrangement are assessed on an individual basis.
Please note, you’ll not be considered estranged simply on the basis that you live separately from your parents, have recently fallen out with your parents, or your parents are unwilling to complete income assessment forms or contribute towards your student finance.
For further information, please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.
BT1, BT2, BT3, BT4, BT5, BT6, BT7, BT8, BT9, BT10, BT11, BT12, BT13, BT14, BT15, BT16, BT17, BT18, BT19, BT20, BT21, BT22, BT23, BT24, BT25, BT26, BT27, BT28, BT29, BT30, BT31, BT32, BT33, BT34, BT35, BT36, BT37, BT38, BT39, BT40, BT41, BT42, BT43, BT44, BT45, BT46, BT47, BT48, BT49, BT51, BT52, BT53, BT54, BT55, BT56, BT57, BT58, BT60, BT61, BT62, BT63, BT64, BT65, BT66, BT67, BT68, BT69, BT70, BT71, BT74, BT75, BT76, BT77, BT78, BT79, BT80, BT81, BT82, BT92, BT93, BT94.
GY1, GY2, GY3, GY4, GY5, GY6, GY7, GY8, GY9, GY10.
JE1, JE2, JE3, JE4, JE5.
IM1, IM2, IM3, IM4, IM5, IM6, IM7, IM8, IM9, IM86, IM87, IM99.
PO30, PO41, PO31, PO32, PO33, PO34, PO35, PO36, PO38, PO39, PO40, PO41.
TR21, TR22, TR23, TR24, TR25.
HS1, HS2, HS3, HS4, HS5, HS6, HS7, HS8, HS9.
IV41, IV42, IV43, IV44, IV45, IV46, IV47, IV48, IV49, IV55, IV56, PA41, PA42, PA43, PA44, PA45, PA46, PA47, PA48, PA49, PA60, PA61, PA62, PA63, PA64, PA65, PA66, PA67, PA68, PA69, PA70, PA71, PA72, PA73, PA74, PA75, PA76, PA77, PA78, PH42, PH43, PH44.
KA27, KA28, PA20.
KW15, KW16, KW17.
ZE1, ZE2, ZE3.
The Impact Scholarship offers £1,000 cash during the first year of study, helping to create new opportunities and enhance your university experience. Through the University of Sunderland Impact Scholarship, we aim to reward students who embody our core values: Inspiring, Excellence, Inclusive, Collaborative and Innovative.
We’re proud to support students who are passionate, driven and ready to make a difference. By recognising those who show that hard work matters, believe in building a better future, and understand that we're stronger together, we’re investing in individuals who are truly powering the future for themselves, their communities and beyond.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible.
International students are not eligible.
You must successfully enrol on an eligible full-time undergraduate course starting in autumn 2026.
To be considered for the award, you must also:
You don't need to apply for the University of Sunderland Impact Scholarship. All students who meet the eligibility criteria will be automatically assessed. Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee an award.
Students will be selected based on their ability to demonstrate alignment with our values, as evidenced in their UCAS personal statement. The University of Sunderland Impact Scholarship will be awarded to students following a checking and verification process after enrolment.
UCAS personal statements will be reviewed to identify applicants who best demonstrate alignment with our core values: Inspiring, Excellence, Inclusive, Collaborative and Innovative.
To ensure a consistent and efficient initial review, an AI-supported tool will assess all personal statements. The use of this technology will be carefully managed and reviewed to ensure fairness and accuracy.
As the number of scholarship awards is limited, a final decision on scholarship recipients will be made by a selection panel. This panel will carry out an assessment of the shortlisted personal statements to determine which students will receive an award.
This two-stage process is designed to ensure that every eligible applicant has a fair opportunity to be considered.
The University of Sunderland Impact Scholarship will be awarded following a checking and verification process after enrolment. Students will be notified of their provisional award in February 2026.
You'll receive payment in two instalments:
If you're provisionally awarded more than one University of Sunderland scholarship, please note you can only receive one. You’ll automatically receive the highest-value award, or if they're of equal value, you’ll be asked to choose which one you’d prefer.
Students receiving a scholarship/bursary will be expected to participate in surveys, feedback requests, and other market research activities to help the University evaluate and improve its scholarship and bursary provision. This may include sharing insights on their student experience and the impact of financial support.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship or bursary will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship or bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a payment is made, the University may seek reimbursement; however, you'll not receive any further instalments.
The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team.
The University reserves the right to withdraw the award if you engage in any behaviour, conduct, or academic practice that, in the University’s reasonable opinion, is inconsistent with its institutional values or breaches relevant University policies, including but not limited to the Student Conduct Policy.
The Impact Scholarship aims to reward students who embody the University’s core values and so we want to see how you demonstrate your alignment with those values. Your personal statement must therefore be your own original work. Personal statements must not contain plagiarised material, nor may they be generated or substantially assisted by artificial intelligence tools or automated writing software. The University reserves the right to withdraw the award if, in the University’s reasonable opinion, your application is not considered to be your own original work.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards and payments that are due to you while you are on your course of study.
If you transfer to another course or you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be made in the repeated year. Any payments due to you will continue once you progress onto the following level(s) of study on the course.
If you are on a placement year or studying for a year and not paying full fees, the award will not be paid during that year.
If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your payments will stop until you return and progress academically.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared. Awards will only be payable if all tuition fee payments are up to date and there are no monies owed to the University.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It is your responsibility to enter your bank details via the e:Vision portal and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries and payments will be withdrawn.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They are intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
The First Choice Scholarship is a £1,000 cash award in the first year of study. It's for students who complete our First Choice Progression Scheme. Ten scholarships are available, and this is a financial award to support dedicated students to take the next step in their academic journey.
Designed to reward commitment and support progression into higher education, the scholarship recognises those who fully engage with the scheme.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible for this scholarship.
International students aren't eligible.
Eligible students must successfully complete our First Choice Progression Scheme to be considered for the First Choice Scholarship.
Students must attend i) the welcome session, ii) the compulsory workshop and iii) the summer school.
To be considered for the award, you must also:
You must be applying to start an eligible full-time undergraduate course in autumn 2026 based at City Campus, Sir Tom Cowie at St Peter’s Campus, or the Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME).
The First Choice Scholarship will be automatically awarded to ten eligible students following a randomised draw.
The First Choice Scholarship will be awarded following a checking and verification process after enrolment.
Successful applicants will be notified via email to inform them of their provisional award in July 2026 once we have verified attendance at the First Choice Summer School.
The First Choice Scholarship awards eligible students with £1,000 cash. You'll receive the following payments:
All cash payments will be made into your UK bank account. It is your responsibility to enter your bank details onto your e:Vision account to enable these payments to be made.
Due to the limited number of scholarships available, recipients will be chosen at random using a digital generator. All students who successfully complete the First Choice Progression Scheme will be entered into the draw. This process will select ten students to be provisionally awarded the scholarship, along with a further ten students who will be placed on a reserve list, in the order they are drawn.
Once the draw has taken place, we will contact each student individually to confirm whether they have been provisionally awarded the scholarship or placed on the reserve list. A recording of the draw will be kept for one year following confirmation of awards. This is to ensure a fair and consistent approach should we require to refer to the reserve list following enrolment.
General administration of the scholarship will be retained for six years in line with the University’s Records Retention Schedule.
Students receiving a scholarship/bursary will be expected to participate in surveys, feedback requests, and other market research activities to help the University evaluate and improve its scholarship and bursary provision. This may include sharing insights on their student experience and the impact of financial support.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship or bursary will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship or bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a payment is made, the University may seek reimbursement.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards and payments that are due to you while you're on your course of study. If a scholarship or bursary payment is made to you in error, the University reserves the right to recover any awards or overpayments from you, the student. This may result in you being asked to repay an award if it was paid to you in error. It's also your responsibility to ensure all awards and payments you receive are accurate. Any payment discrepancies will be rectified by the University or the student.
If you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you transfer to another course and repeat a year, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared. Awards will only be payable if all tuition fee payments are up to date and there are no monies owed to the University.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details via the e:Vision portal and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries and payments will be withdrawn.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
The First Choice Travel Award is £500 in cash and is available exclusively to students who successfully complete our First Choice Progression Scheme. This recognises commitment to engaging with the University and preparing for higher education. This travel award is intended to help with travel costs and associated expenses, ensuring you can focus on making the most of your university experience.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible.
International students aren't eligible.
You must successfully complete our First Choice Progression Scheme to be considered for the First Choice Travel Award.
Students must attend i) the welcome session, ii) the compulsory workshop and iii) the summer school.
To be considered for the award, you must also:
Applicants who do not meet the application and firm acceptance deadlines may still be eligible for the award if they subsequently enrol at the University through Clearing or if the University becomes their confirmed firm choice during the Confirmation process.
You must be applying to start an eligible full-time undergraduate course in autumn 2026 based at City Campus, Sir Tom Cowie at St Peter’s Campus, or the Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME).
You don't need to make an application for the First Choice Travel Award. All students who meet the eligibility criteria will be automatically assessed based on verified information provided during their application or enrolment. The First Choice Travel Award will be awarded following a checking and verification process after enrolment. Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee an award.
Successful applicants will be notified via email to inform them of their provisional award in early June 2026. Awards will be made to eligible students who make the University their firm choice. As the number of awards is limited, if multiple students meet this condition at the same time, priority will be given based on the earliest recorded UCAS timestamp confirming the firm choice.
The First Choice Travel Award awards eligible students with £500 in cash. You will receive payment on Friday 6 November 2026.
All cash payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details onto your e:Vision account to enable these payments to be made.
If you're eligible for and provisionally awarded more than one University of Sunderland Travel Award, you'll only receive the award of the highest value.
Students receiving a scholarship/bursary will be expected to participate in surveys, feedback requests, and other market research activities to help the University evaluate and improve its scholarship and bursary provision. This may include sharing insights on their student experience and the impact of financial support.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship or bursary will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship or bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a payment is made, the University may seek reimbursement.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards and payments that are due to you while you are on your course of study. If a scholarship or bursary payment is made to you in error, the University reserves the right to recover any awards or overpayments from you, the student. This may result in you being asked to repay an award if it was paid to you in error. It is also your responsibility to ensure all awards and payments you receive are accurate. Any payment discrepancies will be rectified by the University or the student.
If you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you transfer to another course and repeat a year, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared. Awards will only be payable if all tuition fee payments are up to date and there are no monies owed to the University.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details via the e:Vision portal and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries and payments will be withdrawn.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
Our Sunderland College Award provides £1,500 plus a £250 voucher, in each year of continuous study, to support you financially throughout your time at university. For more details about the voucher, see the section on When and how will you receive your payments and voucher.
This award is designed to support you with your transition from further education into higher education and to enhance your overall student experience. The funding can be used flexibly to support essential study-related expenses such as course materials, academic resources, equipment, learning tools, or other costs that help you engage fully with your course and university life.
This award forms part of the University’s commitment to supporting local students as they move into higher education and succeed in their studies.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible for this award.
Students applying for an eligible top-up course are eligible.
International students are not eligible.
You must be applying to start an eligible full-time undergraduate course in autumn 2026 based at City Campus, Sir Tom Cowie at St Peter’s Campus, or the Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME).
To be considered for the award, you must:
The Sunderland College Award is automatically awarded to eligible students following a checking and verification process after enrolment.
Successful applicants will be notified via email to inform them of their provisional award.
The Sunderland College Award provides eligible students with:
Students may choose one of the following £250 options:
The £250 voucher will be issued on the fifth working day of October in each year of study. You'll receive one cash payment of £1,500 on the fifth working day of November in each year of study.
All cash payments will be made into your bank account. It is your responsibility to enter your bank details into your myApplication account to enable these payments to be made.
Eligible students must complete the University’s voucher selection form by the stated deadline. Students who do not submit a selection by the deadline may have an option allocated on their behalf.
Where vouchers are issued through a third-party provider, separate provider terms and expiry dates may apply.
Where vouchers are administered by an external provider, the University may share relevant personal data with approved third parties for the purpose of administering the award. See our privacy policy.
Students receiving this award will be expected to participate in surveys, feedback requests, and other market research activities to help the University evaluate and improve its scholarship and bursary provision. This may include sharing insights on their student experience and the impact of financial support.
If you haven't registered on your course by Tuesday, 6 October, the award will be withdrawn.
If you don't supply us with the required information to verify your eligibility, the provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a payment is made, the University may seek reimbursement; however, you won't receive any further instalments.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards and payments that are due to you while you are on your course of study. If a payment is made to you in error, the University reserves the right to recover any awards or overpayments from you, the student. This may result in you being asked to repay an award if it was paid to you in error. It's also your responsibility to ensure all awards and payments you receive are accurate. Any payment discrepancies will be rectified by the University or the student.
If you repeat a year of the same course, the award won't be paid in the repeated year.
If you're on a placement year or studying for a year and not paying full fees, the award won't be paid during that year.
If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your payments will stop until you return and progress academically.
If you transfer to another course and repeat a year, the award won't be paid in the repeated year.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you won't receive payment until the debt has been cleared. Awards will only be payable if all tuition fee payments are up to date and there are no monies owed to the University.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details via the e:Vision portal and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries and payments will be withdrawn.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They are intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
Our East Durham College Partnership Award provides £1,500 in each year of continuous study to support you financially throughout your time at university.
This award is designed to help with the costs associated with studying at university, enabling you to focus on your academic success and make the most of your university experience. The funding can be used flexibly to support essential study-related expenses such as course materials, academic resources, travel to and from campus, equipment, or other costs that help you engage fully with your course.
East Durham College is the University of Sunderland’s partner college, and this award forms part of the University’s ongoing commitment to supporting progression from partner institutions into higher education and helping students succeed once they arrive.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible for this award.
Students applying for an eligible top-up course are eligible.
International students are not eligible.
You must be applying to start an eligible full-time undergraduate course in autumn 2026 based at City Campus, Sir Tom Cowie at St Peter’s Campus, or the Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME).
To be considered for the award, you must:
The East Durham College Partnership Award is automatically awarded to eligible students following a checking and verification process after enrolment.
Successful applicants will be notified via email to inform them of their provisional award. Applicants who apply to the University by 14 January 2026 will be notified in February 2026. Applicants who apply after this date will be notified once their eligibility has been assessed.
The East Durham College Partnership Award provides eligible students with £1,500 in cash for each year of continuous study (based on academic progression).
You'll receive one payment of £1,500 on the fifth working day of November in each year of study.
All cash payments will be made into your bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details onto your myApplication account to enable these payments to be made.
Students receiving this award will be expected to participate in surveys, feedback requests, and other market research activities to help the University evaluate and improve its scholarship and bursary provision. This may include sharing insights on their student experience and the impact of financial support.
If you haven't registered on your course by Tuesday 6 October, the award will be withdrawn.
If you don't supply us with the required information to verify your eligibility, the provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a payment is made, the University may seek reimbursement and you won't receive any further instalments.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards and payments that are due to you while you're on your course of study. If a payment is made to you in error, the University reserves the right to recover any awards or overpayments from you, the student. This may result in you being asked to repay an award if it was paid to you in error. It's also your responsibility to ensure all awards and payments you receive are accurate. Any payment discrepancies will be rectified by the University or the student.
If you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you're on a placement year or studying for a year and not paying full fees, the award will not be paid during that year.
If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your payments will stop until you return and progress academically.
If you transfer to another course and repeat a year, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you won't receive payment until the debt has been cleared. Awards will only be payable if all tuition fee payments are up to date and there are no monies owed to the University.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details via your myApplication account and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries, and payments will be withdrawn.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
Our Tees Valley Travel Award provides £1,500 cash in each year of continuous study to assist with travel expenses. This award has been established to support the cost of travel to and from university, including public transport and fuel costs, ensuring you can focus on making the most of your university experience. The travel award can also be used as a contribution towards an annual rail ticket from the Tees Valley area to Sunderland.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible.
Students applying for an eligible top-up course are eligible.
International students aren't eligible.
You must be applying to start an eligible full-time undergraduate course in autumn 2026 based at City Campus, Sir Tom Cowie at St Peter’s Campus, or the Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME).
To be considered for the travel award, you must:
This includes applicants progressing from Year 13, as well as those completing an eligible Foundation Degree (FdA) or Higher National Diploma (HND), provided you're progressing directly from an eligible school or college in 2025/26.
You don't need to apply for the Tees Valley Travel Award. All students who meet the eligibility criteria will be automatically assessed based on verified information provided during their application or enrolment. The Tees Valley Travel Award will be awarded following a checking and verification process after enrolment. Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee an award.
Successful applicants will be notified via email to inform them of their provisional award. Applicants who apply to the University by 14 January 2026 will be notified in February 2026. Applicants who apply after this date will be notified once their eligibility has been assessed.
The Tees Valley Travel Award provides eligible students with £1,500 in cash for each year of continuous study (based on academic progression).
You'll receive one payment of £1,500 on the fifth working day of November in each year of study.
All cash payments will be made into your bank account. It is your responsibility to enter your bank details into your myApplication account to enable these payments to be made.
If you're eligible for and provisionally awarded more than one University of Sunderland Travel Award, you'll only receive the award of the highest value.
Students receiving a scholarship/bursary will be expected to participate in surveys, feedback requests, and other market research activities to help the University evaluate and improve its scholarship and bursary provision. This may include sharing insights on their student experience and the impact of financial support.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship or bursary will be withdrawn.
If you don't supply us with the required information to verify your eligibility, the provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship or bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a payment is made, the University may seek reimbursement; however, you'll not receive any further instalments.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards and payments that are due to you while you are on your course of study.
If a scholarship or bursary payment is made to you in error, the University reserves the right to recover any awards or overpayments from you, the student. This may result in you being asked to repay an award if it was paid to you in error. It's also your responsibility to ensure all awards and payments you receive are accurate. Any payment discrepancies will be rectified by the University or the student.
If you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you are on a placement year or studying for a year and not paying full fees, the award will not be paid during that year.
If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your payments will stop until you return and progress academically.
If you transfer to another course and repeat a year, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared. Awards will only be payable if all tuition fee payments are up to date and there are no monies owed to the University.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It is your responsibility to enter your bank details via the e:Vision portal and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries and payments will be withdrawn.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
Funded from a philanthropic donation, the Robson Art and Design Scholarship awards £1,000 in cash for undergraduate students who study an eligible course and meet at least one of the widening participation priority criteria detailed below in section four.
The scholarship will support eligible undergraduate students who show passion and promise in their artistic field.
There are five scholarships available.
By applying for this scholarship, you agree to participate in PR/marketing activities if awarded.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible.
International students aren't eligible.
You must be a first-year student applying to start your studies in autumn 2026, or entering level one in academic year 2026/27, having completed an eligible Integrated Foundation Year course.
You must successfully enrol on one of the following eligible full-time courses in academic year 2026/27:
Alternatively, you must be entering level one in academic year 2026/27, having completed one of the following Integrated Foundation Year courses:
As part of the application process, you must submit:
Your submissions will be assessed by the Awarding Committee, and selection will be based on the following criteria:
When awarding this scholarship, priority will be given to applicants from the following groups:
Please note, if we need to verify your household income as part of your bursary application, you must have undertaken a means-tested Student Loans Company (SLC) assessment. You must also agree to share your data with the University via the SLC. The University will liaise with the SLC to verify household income.
Applications open in February 2026. The deadline for applications is Monday 31 August 2026. Once the deadline has passed, we're not permitted to accept any further applications.
Log in to the e:Vision portal. Your username is your student number, which can be found on all correspondence you have received from the University. If you're unsure of your student number, please contact funding.awards@sunderland.ac.uk.
Once logged in, click on the e:Vision homepage and select ‘Search the scholarships and funding catalogue’.
Please note that applying does not guarantee you'll be awarded this scholarship.
All applications that meet the criteria will be shortlisted for consideration by the Awarding Committee.
Once scholarships have been allocated, you'll be notified via email of your provisional award.
You'll receive one payment of £1,000 on Friday 5 February 2027. The scholarship payment will be paid via bank transfer into your UK bank account via the University’s Development Trust.
You'll be expected to produce an illustrated report on successful completion of your course for publicity and stewardship purposes.
If you're provisionally awarded more than one University of Sunderland scholarship, please note you can only receive one. You’ll automatically receive the highest-value award, or if they're of equal value, you’ll be asked to choose which one you’d prefer.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship will be withdrawn and offered to another eligible student.
Once provisional awards are made, you'll be contacted via your registered contact details. If you don't respond or do not supply us with the required information by February 2027, the scholarship provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship payment, the award will be withdrawn.
If you transfer to a course not listed above, you'll not be eligible for this scholarship.
If you repeat year one of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team.
If you withdraw or transfer to a non-eligible course in the same academic year after receiving your scholarship payment, you'll be required to return the funding to the donor.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details and ensure these are kept up to date.
Income assessed applications will be based on the Student Loans Company’s definition and assessment of household income. Your declared household income will be checked and verified.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Funding is provided by the University’s Development Trust, registered charity 1041658.
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
Use the information below to determine what evidence will be required as proof of priority group.
Your student record will evidence this following your application and enrolment.
Your refugee status can be verified using Home Office documents.
Your student record will evidence this following your application and enrolment. For mature applicants that a letter from your school could also be used.
This can be verified by one of the following:
This refers to geographic areas where the number of 18 and 19-year-olds participating in higher education is less than two-thirds of the UK average rate. Check your eligibility on the OfS website.
During the enrolment process, the University will verify this based on your postcode. This will be based on your address at the time of applying to the University.
If you are a ‘Home’ student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Student Loans Company (SLC), the University will liaise with the SLC to verify your household income.
We use the broader definition of ‘care-experienced’ as this term is inclusive of the range of care settings someone may have experienced.
Our definition of care-experienced is someone who, at any stage of their life, and for any length of time, has been in care in the UK, for example looked after by the local authority.
This includes the following:
For further information, please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.
The term ‘estranged student’ is used to refer to those who are studying without the support of a family network. This will apply to you if you’re:
By 'irreconcilably estranged' we mean that either:
For estrangement cases that can’t be confirmed by SFE, proof of evidence of ‘genuine estrangement’ would need to be supplied to the University. All applications of estrangement are assessed on an individual basis.
Please note, you’ll not be considered estranged simply on the basis that you live separately from your parents, have recently fallen out with your parents, or your parents are unwilling to complete income assessment forms or contribute towards your student finance.
For further information, please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.
Northern Ireland:
BT1, BT2, BT3, BT4, BT5, BT6, BT7, BT8, BT9, BT10, BT11, BT12, BT13, BT14, BT15, BT16, BT17, BT18, BT19, BT20, BT21, BT22, BT23, BT24, BT25, BT26, BT27, BT28, BT29, BT30, BT31, BT32, BT33, BT34, BT35, BT36, BT37, BT38, BT39, BT40, BT41, BT42, BT43, BT44, BT45, BT46, BT47, BT48, BT49, BT51, BT52, BT53, BT54, BT55, BT56, BT57, BT58, BT60, BT61, BT62, BT63, BT64, BT65, BT66, BT67, BT68, BT69, BT70, BT71, BT74, BT75, BT76, BT77, BT78, BT79, BT80, BT81, BT82, BT92, BT93, BT94.
Channel Islands:
GY1, GY2, GY3, GY4, GY5, GY6, GY7, GY8, GY9, GY10
JE1, JE2, JE3, JE4, JE5
Isle of Man:
IM1, IM2, IM3, IM4, IM5, IM6, IM7, IM8, IM9, IM86, IM87, IM99
Isle of Wight:
PO30, PO41, PO31, PO32, PO33, PO34, PO35, PO36, PO38, PO39, PO40, PO41
Isle of Scilly:
TR21, TR22, TR23, TR24, TR25
Scottish Islands (Outer Hebrides):
HS1, HS2, HS3, HS4, HS5, HS6, HS7, HS8, HS9
Scottish Islands (Inner Hebrides):
IV41, IV42, IV43, IV44, IV45, IV46, IV47, IV48, IV49, IV55, IV56, PA41, PA42, PA43, PA44, PA45, PA46, PA47, PA48, PA49, PA60, PA61, PA62, PA63, PA64, PA65, PA66, PA67, PA68, PA69, PA70, PA71, PA72, PA73, PA74, PA75, PA76, PA77, PA78, PH42, PH43, PH44
Scottish Islands (Islands of the Clyde):
KA27, KA28, PA20
Scottish Islands (Orkney Islands):
KW15, KW16, KW17
Scottish Islands (Shetland Islands):
ZE1, ZE2, ZE3
Funded from a philanthropic donation, the Helen McArdle Scholarship aims to support undergraduate students studying an eligible nursing course. Each scholarship offers £1,200 in cash for each year of continuous study.
There are five scholarships available.
By applying for this scholarship, you agree to participate in PR/marketing activities if awarded.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible.
International students aren't eligible.
You must be a first-year student applying to start your studies in autumn 2026.
You must successfully enrol on one of the following eligible full-time nursing courses in academic year 2026/27:
Some nursing courses aren't eligible. These include:
The Helen McArdle Nursing Scholarship Trustees will verify applicants’ or their family members’ previous employment with Helen McArdle Care.
During the enrolment process, we will verify ‘first generation’ evidence.
Mature students (aged 21 and above) with family commitments will be verified through an application for the NHS Learning Support Fund. For the scholarship, we define family commitments as having parental responsibility for a child who is under 15 years of age at the start of the academic year, or under 17 years of age if the child is registered with special educational needs.
When awarding this scholarship, priority will be given to applicants from the following underrepresented groups:
Please note, if we need to verify your household income as part of your bursary application, you must have undertaken a means-tested Student Loans Company (SLC) assessment. You must also agree to share your data with the University via the SLC. The University will liaise with the SLC to verify household income.
Applications open in February 2026. The deadline for applications is Monday 31 August 2026. Once the deadline has passed, we are not permitted to accept any further applications.
Log in to the e:Vision portal. Your username is your student number, which can be found on all correspondence you have received from the University. If you're unsure of your student number, please contact funding.awards@sunderland.ac.uk.
Once logged in, click on the e:Vision homepage and select ‘Search the scholarships and funding catalogue’.
Please note that applying does not guarantee you'll be awarded this scholarship.
All applications that meet the criteria will be shortlisted for consideration by the Awarding Committee.
The Helen McArdle Nursing Scholarship will be awarded following an application and ranking process based on the priority awarding criteria above.
Once scholarships have been allocated, you'll be notified via email of your provisional award.
You'll receive the following cash payments:
The scholarship cash payments will be paid via bank transfer into your UK bank account via the University’s Development Trust.
If you're provisionally awarded more than one University of Sunderland scholarship, please note you can only receive one. You’ll automatically receive the highest-value award, or if they're of equal value, you’ll be asked to choose which one you’d prefer.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship will be withdrawn and offered to another eligible student.
If you don't supply us with the required information by February 2027, the scholarship provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship payment, the award will be withdrawn.
If you transfer to a course not listed above, you'll not be eligible for this scholarship.
If you withdraw transfer to a non-eligible course in the same academic year after receiving your scholarship payment, you'll be required to return the funding to the donor.
The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team.
If you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year. Any payments due to you'll continue once you progress onto the following level(s) of study on the course.
If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your payments will stop until you return to full-time study and progress academically.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details and ensure these are kept up to date.
Income assessed applications will be based on the Student Loans Company’s definition and assessment of household income. Your declared household income will be checked and verified.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Funding is provided by the University’s Development Trust, registered charity 1041658.
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
Use the information below to determine what evidence will be required as proof of priority group.
Your refugee status can be verified using Home Office documents.
Your student record will evidence this following your application and enrolment. For mature applicants that a letter from your school could also be used.
This can be verified by one of the following:
This refers to geographic areas where the number of 18 and 19-year-olds participating in higher education is less than two-thirds of the UK average rate. Check your eligibility on the OfS website.
During the enrolment process, the University will verify this based on your postcode. This will be based on your address at the time of applying to the University.
If you're a ‘Home’ student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Student Loans Company (SLC), the University will liaise with the SLC to verify your household income.
We use the broader definition of ‘care-experienced’ as this term is inclusive of the range of care settings someone may have experienced.
Our definition of care-experienced is someone who, at any stage of their life, and for any length of time, has been in care in the UK, for example looked after by the local authority.
This includes the following:
For further information, please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.
The term ‘estranged student’ is used to refer to those who are studying without the support of a family network. This will apply to you if you’re:
By 'irreconcilably estranged' we mean that either:
For estrangement cases that can’t be confirmed by SFE, proof of evidence of ‘genuine estrangement’ would need to be supplied to the University. All applications of estrangement are assessed on an individual basis.
Please note, you’ll not be considered estranged simply on the basis that you live separately from your parents, have recently fallen out with your parents, or your parents are unwilling to complete income assessment forms or contribute towards your student finance.
For further information, please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.
Northern Ireland:
BT1, BT2, BT3, BT4, BT5, BT6, BT7, BT8, BT9, BT10, BT11, BT12, BT13, BT14, BT15, BT16, BT17, BT18, BT19, BT20, BT21, BT22, BT23, BT24, BT25, BT26, BT27, BT28, BT29, BT30, BT31, BT32, BT33, BT34, BT35, BT36, BT37, BT38, BT39, BT40, BT41, BT42, BT43, BT44, BT45, BT46, BT47, BT48, BT49, BT51, BT52, BT53, BT54, BT55, BT56, BT57, BT58, BT60, BT61, BT62, BT63, BT64, BT65, BT66, BT67, BT68, BT69, BT70, BT71, BT74, BT75, BT76, BT77, BT78, BT79, BT80, BT81, BT82, BT92, BT93, BT94.
Channel Islands:
GY1, GY2, GY3, GY4, GY5, GY6, GY7, GY8, GY9, GY10
JE1, JE2, JE3, JE4, JE5
Isle of Man:
IM1, IM2, IM3, IM4, IM5, IM6, IM7, IM8, IM9, IM86, IM87, IM99
Isle of Wight:
PO30, PO41, PO31, PO32, PO33, PO34, PO35, PO36, PO38, PO39, PO40, PO41
Isle of Scilly:
TR21, TR22, TR23, TR24, TR25
Scottish Islands (Outer Hebrides):
HS1, HS2, HS3, HS4, HS5, HS6, HS7, HS8, HS9
Scottish Islands (Inner Hebrides):
IV41, IV42, IV43, IV44, IV45, IV46, IV47, IV48, IV49, IV55, IV56, PA41, PA42, PA43, PA44, PA45, PA46, PA47, PA48, PA49, PA60, PA61, PA62, PA63, PA64, PA65, PA66, PA67, PA68, PA69, PA70, PA71, PA72, PA73, PA74, PA75, PA76, PA77, PA78, PH42, PH43, PH44
Scottish Islands (Islands of the Clyde):
KA27, KA28, PA20
Scottish Islands (Orkney Islands):
KW15, KW16, KW17
Scottish Islands (Shetland Islands):
ZE1, ZE2, ZE3
Funded from a philanthropic donation, the Sir Bob Murray Health Scholarship awards £1,000 in cash to support first-year undergraduate psychology students who meet at least one of the widening participation priority awarding criteria outlined in section three.
There are five scholarships available.
By applying for this scholarship, you agree to participate in PR/marketing activities if awarded.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible.
International students aren't eligible.
You must be a first-year student applying to start your studies in autumn 2026.
You must successfully enrol on one of the following eligible full-time courses in autumn 2026:
When awarding this scholarship, priority will be given to applicants from the following groups:
Please note, if we need to verify your household income as part of your bursary application, you must have undertaken a means-tested Student Loans Company (SLC) assessment. You must also agree to share your data with the University via the SLC. The University will liaise with the SLC to verify household income.
Applications open in February 2026. The deadline for applications is Monday 31 August 2026. Once the deadline has passed, we're not permitted to accept any further applications.
Log in to the e:Vision portal. Your username is your student number, which can be found on all correspondence you've received from the University. If you're unsure of your student number, please contact funding.awards@sunderland.ac.uk.
Once logged in, click on the e:Vision homepage and select ‘Search the scholarships and funding catalogue’.
Please note that applying does not guarantee you'll be awarded this scholarship.
All applications that meet the criteria will be shortlisted for consideration by the Awarding Committee.
Once scholarships have been allocated, you'll be notified via email of your provisional award.
You'll receive one payment of £1,000 cash on Friday 5 February 2027.
The scholarship payment will be paid via bank transfer into your UK bank account via the University’s Development Trust.
If you're provisionally awarded more than one University of Sunderland scholarship, please note you can only receive one. You’ll automatically receive the highest-value award, or if they're of equal value, you’ll be asked to choose which one you’d prefer.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship will be withdrawn and offered to another eligible student.
Once provisional awards are made, you'll be contacted via your registered contact details. If you don't respond or do not supply us with the required information by February 2027, the scholarship provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship payment, the award will be withdrawn.
If you transfer to a course not listed above, you will not be eligible for this scholarship.
The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards and payments that are due to you whilst you are on your course of study.
If you repeat year one of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you withdraw or transfer to a non-eligible course in the same academic year after receiving your scholarship payment, you'll be required to return the funding to the donor.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details and ensure these are kept up to date.
Income assessed applications will be based on the Student Loans Company’s definition and assessment of household income. Your declared household income will be checked and verified.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Funding is provided by the University’s Development Trust, registered charity 1041658.
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
Use the information below to determine what evidence will be required as proof of priority group.
During the enrolment process, the University will verify ‘first generation’ evidence.
If you are a ‘Home’ student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Student Loans Company (SLC), the University will liaise with the SLC to verify your household income.
This refers to geographic areas where the number of 18 and 19-year-olds participating in higher education is less than two-thirds of the UK average rate. Check your eligibility on the OfS website.
During the enrolment process, the University will verify this based on your postcode. This will be based on your address at the time of applying to the University.
The term ‘estranged student’ is used to refer to those who are studying without the support of a family network. This will apply to you if you’re:
By 'irreconcilably estranged' we mean that either:
For estrangement cases that can’t be confirmed by SFE, proof of evidence of ‘genuine estrangement’ would need to be supplied to the University. All applications of estrangement are assessed on an individual basis.
Please note, you’ll not be considered estranged simply on the basis that you live separately from your parents, have recently fallen out with your parents, or your parents are unwilling to complete income assessment forms or contribute towards your student finance.
For further information, please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.
Funded from a philanthropic donation, the Douglas Clasper Elite Sports Scholarship aims to support an eligible undergraduate student to fulfil their athletic potential while studying at the University.
This scholarship offers the following generous support package for each year of continuous study:
The Douglas Clasper Elite Sports Scholarship 2026/27 is for students who:
By applying for this scholarship, you agree to participate in PR/marketing activities if awarded.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible.
International students aren't eligible.
You must be a first-year student applying to start your studies in autumn 2026 based at City Campus, Sir Tom Cowie at St Peter’s Campus, or the Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME).
Integrated Foundation Year students are eligible to apply.
Top-up students aren't eligible to apply.
You're required to always display the highest standards of sporting behaviours as expected in sport generally and abide by the Team Sunderland Code of Conduct (.pdf).
Applications open in February 2026. The deadline for applications is Monday 31 August 2026. Once the deadline has passed, we're not permitted to accept any further applications.
Log in to the e:Vision portal. Your username is your student number, which can be found on all correspondence you've received from the University. If you're unsure of your student number, please contact funding.awards@sunderland.ac.uk.
Once logged in, click on the e:Vision homepage and select ‘Search the scholarships and funding catalogue’.
As part of the application process, you must submit:
There is one scholarship available.
Please note that applying for this scholarship does not guarantee that you will receive it. All applications that meet the criteria will be shortlisted for consideration. An award will be made following a checking and verification process.
The Douglas Clasper Elite Sports Scholarship will be awarded following an application process.
Once the scholarship award has been allocated, you'll be notified via email of your provisional award.
You'll receive the following cash payments in each year of study, subject to validation checks and academic progression:
£1,000 on Friday 6 November 2026
£1,000 on Friday 5 February 2027
£1,000 on Friday 5 November 2027
£1,000 on Monday 7 February 2028
£1,000 on Tuesday 7 November 2028
£1,000 on Wednesday 7 February 2029
The scholarship cash payments will be paid via bank transfer into your UK bank account via the University’s Development Trust.
If you're provisionally awarded more than one University of Sunderland scholarship, please note you can only receive one. You’ll automatically receive the highest-value award, or if they're of equal value, you’ll be asked to choose which one you’d prefer.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship will be withdrawn and offered to another eligible student.
Once provisional awards are made, you'll be contacted via your registered contact details. If you don't respond or provide us with the required information by Friday, 28 November 2026, the scholarship provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship payment, the award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw in the same academic year after receiving your scholarship payment, you will be required to return the funding to the donor.
The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team.
If you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you transfer to another course and repeat a year, the award will not be paid in the repeated year. However, the award will continue once you progress onto the following level(s) of study.
If you're on a placement year or studying for a year and not paying full fees, the award will not be paid during that year.
If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your payments will stop until you return to full-time study and progress academically.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details and ensure these are kept up to date.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Funding is provided by the University’s Development Trust, registered charity 1041658.
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
In addition to the bespoke support offered by the We Care team, we offer the We Care Postgraduate Bursary which awards £2,500 cash to eligible postgraduate students. This award is typically made for one academic year and is valued at a total of £2,500. The bursary is paid in four instalments of £625 and is intended to financially support eligible students while they study at postgraduate level.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive. Overseas Island; Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible. International students are not eligible.
If your course is funded by the Enhanced Learning Credits Administration Service (ELCAS), you are not eligible.
You must be a full-time postgraduate student on a taught course, paying full tuition fees. The bursary is for eligible students based at City Campus, Sir Tom Cowie at St Peter’s Campus, or the Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME).
You must be studying a full-time taught postgraduate course which starts in academic year 2026/27.
The following University of Sunderland courses aren't eligible for this bursary:
Care-experienced students
You must have been care-experienced in the UK at some stage in your life, and for any length of time, or been in care, for example, looked after by the local authority. This includes the following:
If you're care-experienced but your personal circumstances do not match any of the criteria outlined above, please contact the We Care team at care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk or call 0191 515 2216 for further guidance.
Estranged students
The term ‘estranged student’ is used to refer to students who are studying without the support of a family network. You must be irreconcilably estranged from both parents/carers. This means:
You must be under the age of 25 on 1 September 2026.
Should your circumstances change during your studies, you'll be required to advise the We Care team.
For estrangement cases that cannot be confirmed by SFE, proof of evidence of ‘genuine estrangement’ would need to be provided from another professional body or person. All applications from estranged students are assessed on an individual basis.
You'll not be considered estranged on the basis that you (i) live separately from your parents/carers, (ii) have recently fallen out with your parents/carers, or (iii) you parents/carers are unwilling to complete income assessment forms or support you financially.
If you're unsure if you meet any of the criteria outlined above, please contact the We Care team at estranged.contact@sunderland.ac.uk or call 0191 515 2216 for further guidance.
If you choose not to disclose your care-experienced or estranged status at application or enrolment stage, you can inform the We Care team directly using the information above. All correspondence is treated as strictly confidential. The information you give will only be used within this team to assess your eligibility for the bursary and associated support.
If you've applied for an eligible course in autumn 2026 and shared that you are care experienced or estranged as part of your application, you don't need to apply for this bursary. You'll be contacted by the We Care team with details of the support on offer, including the We Care Postgraduate Bursary. You'll be asked to provide evidence of your care experience or estrangement. Once this is received, a provisional award offer can be made.
Payments will only be made when your evidence has been supplied and verified. Payments cannot be backdated. The deadline for evidence to be sent to, and verified by, the We Care team is 10 December 2026. We're unable to process any evidence received after this date but instead can provide details of the Student Support Fund.
You may apply for this bursary at any point throughout your course; however, payments will only be made once an application has been received, and your evidence has been supplied and verified. Please note, payments will not be backdated.
If you're eligible for the We Care Bursary, you'll also be offered an additional pastoral support package.
After you have applied for your course, the We Care team will contact you with details of the We Care Postgraduate Bursary. We'll request evidence to verify your status so that a provisional bursary offer can be made. You'll need to provide confirmation from your Local Authority or Student Finance England of your eligibility for this bursary.
Once your care-experienced or estranged status has been verified, you'll be provisionally awarded the bursary and invited to a welcome meeting at the start of the academic year. The We Care team will finalise bursary payments and outline the additional support package at the welcome meeting.
Students applying to study a subsequent postgraduate course, after the completion of their first, will not be eligible for this bursary.
The We Care Postgraduate Bursary awards £2,500 cash to eligible students for each year of full-time study, based on academic progression. This bursary is typically received for one year of postgraduate study. The bursary is paid in four instalments of £625 on the fifth working day of November 2026, January 2027, April 2027 and July 2027.
The award of this bursary is subject to the following:
Students who are paying their tuition fees through a university-approved payment plan will only receive the We Care Postgraduate Bursary if the total amount they have paid in tuition fees is equal to or greater than the total amount of bursary received. Bursary payments will be paused if a student owes more in tuition fees than the value of the bursary instalment due. Payments may resume once tuition fee payments have reached the required level.
If you're paying your tuition fees through a University-approved payment plan, you will only receive We Care Bursary instalments if the total amount you have paid in tuition fees is equal to or greater than the total amount of bursary received. Bursary payments will be paused if you owe more in tuition fees than the value of the bursary instalment due. Payments may resume once tuition fee payments have reached the required level.
If you've not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date, the bursary offer will be withdrawn.
If you don't supply us with the required information to verify your eligibility by 10 December 2026, the scholarship or bursary provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a payment is made, the University will not seek reimbursement however, you'll not receive any further instalments.
The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards, and payments that are due to you whilst you are on your course of study. If a bursary payment is made to you in error, the University reserves the right to recover any awards or overpayments from you. This may result in you being asked to repay an award if it was paid to you in error. It's also your responsibility to ensure all awards and payments you receive are accurate. Any payment discrepancies will be rectified by the University of the student.
If you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you transfer to another course and repeat a year, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you're on a placement year or studying for a year and not paying full fees, the award will not be paid during that year.
If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your bursary payments will be paused until you return and progress academically.
If you're in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you'll not receive payment until the debt has been cleared.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It's your responsibility to enter your bank details and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries, and payments will be withdrawn.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
The Postgraduate Alumni Loyalty Discount Scheme is for University of Sunderland alumni (graduates) who:
All full-time and part-time students will receive a 20% fee waiver on the cost of their course fees after any other scholarships, bursaries or fee-waiver deductions have been applied (net fee).
The discount scheme is available to self-funding graduates (alumni) of the University of Sunderland.
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships, bursaries and discounts you are eligible to receive.
The discount is available to ‘Home’, ‘Overseas Island’ and ‘International students’.
To be eligible you must have been awarded a relevant undergraduate (Level 6) or postgraduate (Level 7) qualification either:
For clarification on qualification levels, please see the Government’s website.
Eligible courses must have a course start date between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027.
Eligible University of Sunderland postgraduate taught courses resulting in the following awards are eligible for the Postgraduate Alumni Loyalty Discount Scheme:
Or any postgraduate research course resulting in the following awards:
Current University of Sunderland employees who have their fees funded by the University aren't eligible for this discount.
MA Social Work students in receipt of the Social Work Bursary aren't eligible for this discount. The University will identify those students in receipt of the Social Work Bursary in November 2026. Any MA Social Work student not in receipt of the Social Work Bursary will then be eligible to receive the discount.
Independent Learners and Transnational Education (TNE) Independent Learners who study off-campus are not eligible for the discount.
Aziz Foundation scholars are not eligible to receive any other University of Sunderland scholarships, bursaries or discounts.
The following University of Sunderland courses aren't eligible for the Postgraduate Alumni Loyalty Discount Scheme:
Courses bearing less than 180 credits aren't eligible for the Postgraduate Alumni Loyalty Discount.
This scheme will be reviewed in December 2026 when we seek to publish updated terms and conditions for courses starting after 31 July 2027.
The discount is applicable for the standard period of the course. Where a student enters into an abeyance or intercalates (i.e. a period of absence or withdrawal), necessitating a delay to the course end date, the Director of Student Journey will review ongoing eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
Please note, alumni are required to meet any specific entry criteria for each course. These can be found on the relevant course pages on the University website.
If a scholarship or bursary payment is made to you in error, the University reserves the right to recover any awards or overpayments from you, the student. This may result in you being asked to repay an award if it was paid to you in error. It's also the responsibility of you, the student, to ensure that all awards and payments received are accurate. Any payment discrepancies will be rectified by the University or the student.
You don't need to apply for this scheme; if you're eligible, you'll automatically receive the discount.
The University of Sunderland will verify the alumni status of students continuing or returning to study.
Upon enrolment, eligible students will have the 20% discount applied automatically to their account once any other scholarships, bursaries or fee-waiver deductions have been applied (net fee). Fees due for payment should reflect this discount.
For further information, please contact the Student Helpline on 0191 515 3000 or student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk.
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They're intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
The Sunderland Online Alumni Loyalty Discount Scheme is for University of Sunderland Alumni (graduates) who stay on or return to study with the University of Sunderland and enrol on a full or part-time postgraduate course on our Sunderland Online provision.
All full-time and part-time students will receive a 10% fee waiver on the full cost of their module fees.
The scheme is open to self-funding graduates (Alumni) of the University of Sunderland.
To be eligible for this scheme, you'll have received a relevant undergraduate (Level 6) or postgraduate (Level 7) qualification either:
For clarification on qualification levels, please see the Government’s website.
Eligible courses include any Sunderland Online postgraduate taught programme of study resulting in the following awards:
Eligible courses must have a course start date between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027.
Current University of Sunderland employees who have their fees funded by the University aren't eligible for this discount.
This scheme will be reviewed in December 2026 when we seek to publish updated terms and conditions for courses commencing 1 August 2027.
The discount is applicable for all modules registered on between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027.
Please note: Alumni are required to meet any specific entry criteria for each course. These can be found on the course pages on the Sunderland Online website.
If a scholarship or bursary payment is made to you in error, the University reserves the right to recover any awards or overpayments from you, the student. This may result in you being asked to repay an award if it was paid to you in error. It's also the responsibility of you, the student, to ensure that all awards and payments received are accurate. Any payment discrepancies will be rectified by the University or the student.
You don’t need to apply for this scheme; if you're eligible, then you'll automatically receive the discount.
The University of Sunderland will verify the Alumni status of students returning to study.
Prior to enrolment, eligible students will have the 10% discount applied automatically to their account. Fees due for payment should reflect this discount.
For further information please contact the Enrolment Advisors on by telephone: 0191 300 4580 or email: enrolments@online.sunderland.ac.uk
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change from time to time sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
These Terms and Conditions apply to the University of Sunderland Offer Holder Events, including Meet and Greets, Late Applicant Events and Future Student Social. Travel Reimbursement is available to applicants who have applied for a UG FT course at Sunderland Campus starting in September 2026.
The University of Sunderland’s Offer Holder Event Reimbursement aims to provide a financial contribution towards travel costs incurred by applicants. The reimbursement is offered as part of our commitment to ensure that applicants who wish to attend an on campus Offer Holder Events are able to do so, therefore enabling them to make an informed decision on where they wish to study.
To receive the travel reimbursement:
The following groups aren't eligible:
Please note forms can be filled in and submitted in advance, however these will not be processed until attendance has been confirmed at the Offer Holder Event that the submission is for.
If you have any questions about the form, you can email us at travel.bursary@sunderland.ac.uk.
Value of award – up to £100.
Number of awards – unlimited (Limited to 1 per person).
Composition of award:
Every effort has been made to ensure that all details about the Offer Holder Event Travel Reimbursement are correct at the time of writing. The University of Sunderland has the right to withdraw or amend the Offer Holder Event Travel Reimbursement at any time.
The University won't be deemed to be in breach of any Terms and Conditions due to changes to eligibility criteria, or other circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these conditions are regularly reviewed and are subject to change from time to time. The University’s decision in relation to the payment of the Travel Reimbursement is final.
These Terms and Conditions apply to the University of Sunderland Interview Travel Reimbursement, which is available to applicants who attend an on-campus interview from 1 September 2025 to 31 July 2026 for entry to 2025/26 (April/May 2026 intake only) and September 2026/27 intake.
The Travel Interview Reimbursement aims to provide a financial contribution towards travel costs incurred by applicants who reside more than 20 miles away from the University of Sunderland (SR1 3SD, SR6 0DD or SR6 0AN). The reimbursement is offered as part of our commitment to ensure that applicants who wish to attend an on-campus interview can do so, therefore enabling them to make an informed decision on where they wish to study.
To receive the travel reimbursement, applicants must be attending an on-campus interview for one of the following courses:
It's also essential that:
The following groups aren't eligible:
If you have any questions about the form, you can email us at travel.bursary@sunderland.ac.uk.
Up to £100.
Unlimited (Limited to 1 per person).
Every effort has been made to ensure that all details about the Interview Travel Reimbursement are correct at the time of writing. The University of Sunderland has the right to withdraw or amend the Interview Travel Reimbursement at any time.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any Terms and Conditions due to changes to eligibility criteria, or other circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these conditions are regularly reviewed and are subject to change from time to time. The University’s decision in relation to the payment of the Travel Reimbursement is final.
These Terms and Conditions apply to the University of Sunderland Open Day Travel Reimbursement which is available to students who attend an on-campus Open Day event on 15 August 2026, 26 September 2026, 11 November 2026, 24 February 2027, and 5 June 2027.
The University of Sunderland’s Open Day Travel Reimbursement aims to provide a financial contribution towards travel costs incurred by students who reside 20 miles or more away from the University of Sunderland (SR1 3SD or SR6 0DD or SR6 0AN). The reimbursement is offered as part of our commitment to ensure that students who wish to attend Open Day events can do so, therefore enabling them to make an informed decision on where they wish to study.
To receive the travel reimbursement:
The following groups are not eligible:
To claim the University of Sunderland Open Day Travel Reimbursement, students must complete the online Travel Reimbursement Form after attending the event.
The amount received will be the amount paid for standard class coach or rail fare, or mileage at the applicable rate up to the maximum amount in the relevant band, dependent on the distance travelled. Mileage will be calculated at 45p per mile for journeys below 149 miles (return) and 25p per mile for journeys in excess of 149 miles return. Travel is calculated using the fastest route
Students must provide ID on the day of the Event or email it through afterwards to travel.bursary@sunderland.ac.uk. Acceptable forms of ID include a bank card, student card, driving license, or passport
Students must send or bring a copy of their bus/rail/coach/air/ferry tickets if applicable, displaying the price
If claiming for bus/rail/coach/air/ferry travel the location start point will be matched against the student’s registered address on our CRM system
Prospective students can only claim for either a travel ticket or mileage to the open day, they cannot claim for both
For those students who have stayed overnight, we will consider this as part of their claim, given the value is within their eligibility bracket
For students who have incurred parking costs off-site as a result of being unable to park on campus, you can claim for these charges, as long as you have photographic evidence of payment and the reimbursement is within the eligibility bracket
The claim will only be processed once attendance at the event has been verified by Home Student Recruitment
The student must enter their own bank details onto the form. If the bank details do not match the student’s name on the form, the payment cannot be processed
Claims can be submitted up to two weeks after the event has passed. Any claims submitted after this date will not be processed
Please note forms can be filled in and submitted in advance however these will not be processed until attendance has been confirmed at the event that the submission is for.
Up to £100.
Unlimited (Limited to 1 per person).
If you have any questions, please email us at travel.bursary@sunderland.ac.uk.
Every effort has been made to ensure that all details about the Open Day Travel Reimbursement are correct at the time of writing. The University of Sunderland has the right to withdraw or amend the Open Day Travel Reimbursement at any time.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any Terms and Conditions due to changes to eligibility criteria, or other circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these conditions are regularly reviewed and are subject to change from time to time. The University’s decision in relation to the payment of the Travel Reimbursement is final.