Overview
The First Choice Scholarship is a £1,000 cash award in the first year of study. It is 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.
Who is eligible?
1. You must be a 'Home' student on an eligible 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.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible for this scholarship.
International students are not eligible.
2. You must successfully complete our First Choice Progression Scheme
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 three-day summer school.
To be considered for the award, you must also:
- Apply to the University of Sunderland by Wednesday, 14 January 2026
- Make the University of Sunderland your firm choice by Wednesday, 3 June 2026
- Enrol on your course by Monday, 6 October 2026
3. You must apply for and meet the conditions of your offer, then successfully enrol on an eligible course
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 must successfully enrol on an eligible course by Monday, 6 October 2026, three weeks after the start of your course.
How to apply
The First Choice Scholarship will be automatically awarded to ten eligible students following a randomised draw.
When and how will you receive your award?
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 will receive the following payments:
- A £500 cash award on Friday, 6 November 2026
- A £500 cash award on Frida,y 5 February 2027
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.
Additional information
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 have 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 are in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you will 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:
- Declared nationality
- Country of birth
- Area of permanent residence
- Date of entry into the UK (if applicable)
- Location of previous education provider
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, 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.
Published: 12 June 2025