Esports Scholarship

Overview

The University of Sunderland Esports Scholarship 2024/25 provides a generous support package for eligible students with a passion for Esports. This scholarship aims to support eligible undergraduate students to fulfil their potential while studying an eligible Faculty of Business, Law and Tourism course.

There are five scholarships available.

These scholarships offer eligible students the following support for every year of continuous study (excluding placement and study abroad year):

• £1,000 cash payment for each year of study (maximum three years)
• Up to £750 to attend esports-related tournaments and competitions (limited to UK events)
• Specialist support including mentoring, sports massage and physiotherapy, gym access, strength and conditioning, nutritional advice, and lifestyle management

By applying for this scholarship, and if awarded, you agree to promote the University of Sunderland and broaden the University’s reach by streaming, and creating content for YouTube or any other preferred social media platform. Such promotions are to be in accordance with guidelines provided by the University. 

Who's eligible?

Eligible students

1. You must be a ‘Home’ or ‘Overseas Island’ student on an eligible full-time course.

The Government classes all students as 'Home', or 'International'. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which bursaries, scholarships, and awards you are eligible to receive.

Overseas Island: Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible for this scholarship. 

International students are not eligible for this scholarship.

2. You must apply for and meet the conditions of your offer, then successfully enrol on an eligible course.

You must enrol on one of the following full-time undergraduate University of Sunderland courses at our Sunderland campus in academic year 2024/25:

Eligible courses

Alternatively, you must be entering level one in academic year 2024/25 having completed one of the following Integrated Foundation Year courses:

How do I apply?

If you are starting an eligible full-time undergraduate course in autumn 2024 you can apply for this scholarship from March 2024.

You can apply for this scholarship via your myApplication account. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 31 July 2024. As part of the application process, you must submit:

• A statement of up to 2,000 characters demonstrating your passion and commitment to Esports as a competitive industry, and your aspirations for the future. Please also detail any recent esports-related achievements. 

There are five scholarships available. Please note that applying for this scholarship does not guarantee that you will receive it.

Awarding the Scholarship

All scholarship applications will be assessed by the faculty panel and selection for interview will be based on the following criteria:

• Demonstrates passion, commitment, and enthusiasm to learn
• Evidence of creative skills

The University of Sunderland Esports Scholarship 2024/25 will be awarded following an application process. All applications that meet the criteria will be shortlisted for an interview with the faculty panel. 

Interviews will take place in September 2024. 

An Awarding Committee will make awards following a checking and verification process. Where scholarship applications meeting the criteria exceed the number of awards available, then we will prioritise students currently under-represented in higher education.

Receiving the Scholarship

The scholarship recipients will receive the following cash payments on the fifth working day in February in each year of study, subject to validation checks and academic progression: 

Year 1:
£1,000 in February 2025

Year 2:
£1,000 in February 2026 

Year 3:
£1,000 in February 2027 

The University of Sunderland Esports Scholarship also offers eligible students up to £750 to attend an esports tournament or competition (limited to UK only). This can cover travel, hotel, or entry costs incurred as a result of attending the event. The University will reimburse you, the student, up to the value of £750 upon receipt of evidence of payment. 

The scholarship cash payments will be paid via bank transfer into your UK bank account.

It is your responsibility to enter your bank details into your e:Vision account so that this payment can then be processed for you. 

The University agrees to pay you, the student, all scholarships, and payments that are awarded and due to you while you are on your programme 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 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. 

If you fail to enter your bank details to enable the payment to be made to you before your course end date (or your date of leaving your programme of study if earlier), this scholarship and payment will be withdrawn and will no longer be due.

The scholarship award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course of study in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team. 

If you transfer to another course and repeat a year, or if you repeat a year of the same course, the scholarship will not be awarded in the repeated year. However, the scholarship award will continue once you progress onto the following level(s) of study. If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship payment, the scholarship offer will be withdrawn.

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), you will be eligible to receive the remainder of your award when you return.

This scholarship will only be payable if all tuition fee payments are up to date and there are no monies owed to the University.

If you have an outstanding university debt of £50 or more, you will not receive the scholarship until the debt has been cleared.

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:

• Declared nationality
• Country of birth
• Area of permanent residence
• Date of entry into the UK (if applicable)
• Location of previous education

Disclaimer

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 for potential scholarship, bursary, or award applicants, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award of a scholarship, bursary, or 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 from time to time sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.

Published: 2 April 2024