Overview
The University of Sunderland offers generous bursaries to full-time, Home, undergraduate students studying Medicine MBChB. EU students with UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible for these bursaries. Bursary awards will be allocated according to the following criteria, prioritising students currently under-represented in higher education.
Eligible students will receive a cash award in each year of study and will also be offered the opportunity to stay in university-managed accommodation, either rent-free or at a discounted rate in academic year 2024/25, and for some students, academic year 2025/26.
All Medicine MBChB students will receive a StudyPlus book bundle worth £260 in their first year of study.
| Underrepresented groups | Bursary award |
|---|---|
|
Annual household income of £25,000 or less* |
Year 1: Rent-free University-managed accommodation and £1,500 cash Year 2: 50% discount on university-managed accommodation and £1,500 cash Year 3: £1,500 cash Year 4: £1,500 cash Year 5: £3,000 cash |
|
Annual household income of between £25,001 - £42,875* |
Year 1: 75% discount on university-managed accommodation and £1,000 cash Year 2: 25% discount on university-managed accommodation and £1,000 cash Year 3: £1,000 cash Year 4: £1,000 cash Year 5: £1,500 cash |
|
Students who live in low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR 4: Quintiles 1 and 2) |
Year 1: 50% discount on university-managed accommodation and £500 cash Year 2: £500 cash Year 3: £500 cash Year 4: £500 cash Year 5: £1,000 cash |
*As assessed and confirmed via the Student Loans Company application process.
Who's eligible?
1. You must be a 'Home', 'Refugee', or 'Overseas Island' student on an eligible course
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which bursaries you are eligible to receive.
All students who apply must have undertaken a means-tested Student Loans Company assessment.
Overseas Island; Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible for these bursaries.
Refugee students are eligible for these bursaries.
EU students with UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible for these bursaries.
If you are an ‘International’ student, you are not eligible for these bursaries.
You must be a first-year student applying to commence your studies in autumn 2024.
Students who already hold an undergraduate degree are eligible for these bursaries.
You must have undergone a means tested Student Loans Company assessment.
2. You must apply for and meet the conditions of your offer, then successfully enrol onto and study Medicine MBChB
You must successfully enrol onto and study Medicine MBChB (UCAS code A100) in academic year 2024/25. Any students studying another University course are not eligible for these bursaries.
You are not eligible for these bursaries if you have been funded by the Enhanced Learning Credits Administration Service (ELCAS).
How to apply
If you are starting an undergraduate course in autumn 2024, you can apply for this bursary from February 2024. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 31 July 2024 at 12 noon.
You can apply for this bursary via your myApplication account. We will provide information to eligible course applicants detailing how to apply for these bursaries when the application window opens at the end of February 2024.
Awarding the bursaries
Eligible students will be awarded based on only ONE of the under-represented groups criteria.
Following enrolment onto the University of Sunderland Medicine MBChB course and confirmation of satisfactory evidence of priority, bursary awards will be confirmed. You MUST give consent to the Student Loans Company to share your financial information with the University of Sunderland. We will assess your annual household income each year to consider your eligibility for the award. POLAR4, Quintiles 1 and 2 will be assessed based on your home address at the time of your university application.
The University of Sunderland Accommodation Team will allocate places in university-managed accommodation. This offer is not transferable.
The cash element of your bursary award is intended to support you with any of the following:
- Travel costs – including public transport, petrol, vehicle costs such as insurance, maintenance, other costs such as parking, tolls.
- Digital – IT equipment including laptops, tablets, specialist software and digital connectivity such as broadband costs.
- Childcare costs – related to additional childcare needs for attending university and/or placement.
- Other expenses - such as books, specialist equipment and essential course materials.
If you have not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the bursary will be withdrawn and offered to another eligible student.
If you have not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the bursary will be withdrawn and offered to another eligible student.
Cash awards will be made on the fifth working day of February in each year of study, subject to progression to each subsequent academic year.
The bursary award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress in your course of study in the reasonable opinion of the Programme Team. If you withdraw from your course before receiving a bursary payment, the bursary offer will be withdrawn. If you withdraw after a bursary payment is made, the University will not seek reimbursement however you will not receive any further instalments.
If you do not supply us with the required information and the bursary is not awarded by November 2024, the bursary offer will be withdrawn.
If you transfer to another course, you will no longer be eligible for this bursary. If you repeat a year of your Medicine MBChB course, the bursary will not be awarded in the repeated year. However, the bursary award will continue once you progress onto the following level(s) of study on the Medicine MBChB course.
If you have an outstanding university debt of £50 or more, you will not receive the bursary until the debt has been cleared.
The University agrees to pay to you, the student, all bursaries, and payments that are awarded and due to you whilst 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.
These payments will be made into a UK bank account of your choice. It is your responsibility to enter your bank details onto your myApplication account so that these payments can then be made to you.
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 course of study if earlier), these bursaries and payments will be withdrawn and will no longer be due.
Income assessed bursaries
Income assessed bursaries will be based on the Student Loans Company’s definition and assessment of household income. Your declared household income will be checked and verified. Bursaries will only be offered to those students who have a confirmed annual household income of £25,000 or less, or a confirmed annual household income of between £25,501 and £42,875.
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’, ‘Overseas Island’ or ‘EU Settled Status’. 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 for potential bursary applicants and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award of a bursary.
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.
Appendix 1 – Evidencing priority criteria
| Underrepresented group | Evidence |
|---|---|
|
You have an annual household income of £25,000 or less |
If you are a Home student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Student Loans Company, the University will liaise with the Student Loans Company to verify your household income levels on an annual basis. |
|
You have an annual household income of between £25,501 and £42,875 |
If you are a Home student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Student Loans Company, the University will liaise with the Student Loans Company to verify your household income levels on an annual basis. |
|
POLAR 4, Quintiles 1 and 2 |
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. We will be able to identify whether you are from a low participation neighbourhood based on your postcode. This will be based on your address at the time of applying to the University of Sunderland. See the Office for Students (OfS) website for further information. |
Published: 27 November 2023