Scholarships and funding

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships and bursaries are sources of funding for students across all degrees and disciplines.

Scholarships

The University has a range of scholarships and bursaries to support talented students, ensuring that we remain accessible to all with the potential to succeed, regardless of financial circumstances.

• See all undergraduate scholarships
• See all postgraduate taught scholarships
• See all postgraduate research scholarships

Some scholarships span different levels of degrees, for example, our Care Experienced Bursary is open to any undergraduate or postgraduate student who meet the criteria.  Search our scholarship finder to see the funding we have for you.

Bursaries

There are charities, trusts and other organisations that offer financial support and support-in-kind to students on both Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught courses. These may change on a regular basis, so we recommend going directly to their websites.

If you are interested in training as a nurse, midwife or healthcare assistant, or are already working in one of these roles, you may be eligible for support through the RCN Foundation.

NHS Learning Support Fund

Students undertaking eligible health courses are able to apply for the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF).  Students can apply within six months of the start of the academic year.  LSF is independent from all other student funding you may receive and needs to be applied for separately.

Learning Support Fund FAQ’s

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for this funding you must:

• Be applying for an eligible course in England
  
  
• Be able to prove your identity (photo ID) and residency status.
  
  
• You need to apply within 6 months of the start of the academic year
  

The Essex courses that meet the current eligibility criteria include Adult Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Oral Health Science Occupational therapy, Speech and language therapy and Physiotherapy.

How much will I get?

The minimum amount you will receive is £5000 each academic year and you do not need to pay this back unless you withdraw from the course or have received an over payment. An additional payment of up to £2000 may be awarded to students who need assistance for childcare costs.  If you intend on applying for support with childcare costs you must do this separately after you have completed your initial funding application.

When will I get paid?

Payments are broken down into three instalments. The first instalment will be paid in November 2025 after LSF have confirmation that you are still in attendance on 1 November 2025. All further payment schedules can be accessed on your online account.

How do I apply?

You can’t apply until the start of your academic year but there are a few things you can do to prepare for your application to help things run as smoothly as possible. If you are intending to apply for a student loan and have not yet done so, do this immediately as you can use your award notice as evidence of your identity and residency status. If you are not intending on applying for a student loan, you will need to provide photo ID and proof of your residency status so it’s a good idea to start getting those documents together. You will not need to post your documents as the new LSF system allows you to upload your documents as images from your phone. 

At the start of your academic year, you should visit the LSF web page to create an account. You will be issued with an activation code that is valid for 72 hours. If you do not activate your account in this time, your account will be suspended. 

Once you have created an account, you will be asked to create an ‘academic year’ where you will enter your course and university details. It is essential that you input the correct information as this will be used to verify your attendance. Incorrect information may result in delayed payments. 

To avoid delays in processing your application and payment it is important that:

• Your personal details in the application EXACTLY MATCH the details you have written on your application to the University of Essex
• You write the correct name of your course and the University of Essex eg. BSc Occupational Therapy University of Essex.
• You state the correct start date.  This information will be in your offer letter.

Once you have submitted your application, you can track the progress and respond to any requests from LSF from your online account. 

Most questions can be answered by looking on the LSF web page, but LSF advisers are typically available for live chat on Facebook and Twitter between 10am-4pm Monday-Friday to assist you.

Social Work Bursaries

The answers to most undergraduate and postgraduate social work bursary questions can be found in the NHSBSA guidance document (.PDF). If you require further assistance you can email hscadmis@essex.ac.uk and one of our administrators will be able to help.  Please note that the information here is for 2025 entry, as the details for 2026 have not yet been confirmed by NHSBSA.

 Undergraduate Students

Social Work students entering the second year of their undergraduate programme may be eligible for either the Social Work bursary or the Placement Travel Allowance. 

The Social Work Bursary

Every year we are allocated a number of Social Work bursaries from the NHSBSA.  As there is a cap on the number of bursaries available we cannot guarantee that you will be nominated for, or awarded one of these bursaries, so it is important that you make additional plans to cover the cost of your tuition fees and living expenses. We nominate students based on their overall attendance and engagement with online resources at the end of the academic year.  The bursary is an excellent source of funding for nominated students, as it is non-repayable. 

As we are based outside of London, the full amount is £4862.50 and includes the Placement Travel Allowance. Whilst we cannot guarantee that you will be nominated for this bursary, we recommend that you make an application to the NHSBSA before the end of your first year to ensure that there is no delay in payment should you be nominated. Further guidance about making an application via MyFunding is available here.

Placement Travel Allowance

Social Work students entering their second year who are not nominated for the Social Work bursary may be able to apply to NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) for help with costs related to travelling to placement. This allowance is called the Placement Travel Allowance, which is paid into your account during the first term of your second year. There is strict eligibility criteria, so it is important that you check that you are eligible before applying.

Travel during placement

If you are required to travel during placement hours to do the work required, many placement providers will refund your travel expenses.

Postgraduate Students

The Social Work Bursary

Every year, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) provides us with a limited number of Social Work bursaries for us to allocate.  We cannot guarantee that you will be nominated for, or awarded one of these bursaries, so it is important that you make alternative plans to cover the cost of your tuition fees and living expenses.

Eligible to be nominated for the Bursary?

There are strict criteria set by the NHSBSA around who is eligible for the bursary.  Further information is available in the NHSBSA's guide (.PDF), and it is your responsibility to check your eligibility.

If you meet the eligibility criteria, we will consider you when deciding who to nominate for the bursary.  We will take into account your interview performance when making nominations.

The bursary is an excellent source of funding for nominated students as it is non-repayable.  It is made up of two parts: a contribution of £4052 towards your tuition fee, and a grant towards your living costs.  The bursary will only cover part of your tuition fees, so you will be required to pay the remaining part of your tuition fees either in instalments, or in full.  Your fees for term one should be paid at the earliest opportunity, as until you have done this, you will not be able to access any online resources, or attend timetabled teaching sessions.  When making your application for the bursary, you can choose between applying for income assessed or a non-income assessed grant for your living costs. Further information about how much you may be able to receive towards your living costs are available in the NHSBSA guide (.PDF).

As your learning provider, we are required to submit a list of registered students for the course in December which triggers the first bursary payment to the nominated students in the Spring.  It therefore may not be possible to use this first payment for your tuition fees for the first term, and you may need to have alternative funding in place.

Whilst we cannot guarantee that you will be nominated for this bursary, we recommend that you make an application to the NHSBSA in advance to ensure that there is no delay in payment should you be nominated.  Further guidance about making an application via MyFunding is available here.

Please note that is is not possible to have the Postgraduate Student Loan as well as the bursary, and you cannot opt out of the bursary in favour of the loan, should you meet the eligibility criteria.

Not for you?

If you are not eligible for the bursary or have been unsuccessful in applying for it, you may be eligible for the Postgraduate Student Loan instead.  This loan has separate eligibility requirements and a separate application process  - more information is available on Gov.uk.

For some students, the Postgraduate Student Loan is an excellent option to fund the course as it covers the full cost of the tuition fees.  However, unlike the Bursary, the Postgraduate Loan does have to be repaid once you are in employment after the course.  Further information about repayment of this loan is available on Gov.uk.

You should apply for the Postgraduate Student Loan as early as possible, as it can take some time to be processed.  In order to register for the course, if you are not paying your fees in full,  you will need to have proof of how you will fund the course (i.e. confirmation of the loan).  Once you have registered, you will be able to access online resources and attend timetabled teaching sessions.  There is a limited window of time for registration in October.

If you do not meet the eligibility criteria for the bursary and will be using either a the Postgraduate Student Loan or alternative funding, we would appreciate you letting us know, so we can can discount you from the bursary allocation process.

Placement Travel Allowance and other allowances

Social Work students entering the first year of their postgraduate programme may be eligible to apply to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) for help with costs related to travelling to placement. This allowance is called the Placement Travel Allowance, and is a one-off payment that is paid into your account during the first term of each year of your course. There are strict eligibility criteria, so it is important that you check that you are eligible before applying.  The Placement Travel Allowance is available to students who meet the eligibility criteria but who were not nominated for a bursary.  In order to receive the Placement Travel Allowance, you will need to submit an application to NHSBSA for this.

If you are required to travel during placement hours to do the work required, many placement providers will refund your travel expenses.

Other additional allowances may be available depending on your personal circumstances, these include an Adult Dependants Allowance, Childcare Allowance, Parent's Learning Allowance and Disabled Student Allowance. These additional grants are means-tested, and do not impact upon your eligibility for the Social Work bursary.