Scholarships | personal circumstances

Applications for 2025 entry will open in March 2025.

Worth £3,000 a year for three years (paid in cash instalments), our UK undergraduate means-tested scholarships are of higher value than the University’s funding package Leeds Bursary (funding which is automatically awarded based on a student’s household income level).

The scholarships do not have to be paid back and are in addition to the financial support you can receive from the government (such as the tuition fee loan or maintenance loan).

Students who are able to evidence that they are care experienced and/or estranged from their parents during the application process will be eligible for an additional £2,000 annually.

Alongside the funding, you'll have access to one-to-one support and advice sessions, group workshops, mentoring opportunities, social events and monthly newsletters updating you on relevant activity on and off campus through the Plus Programme.

There are a limited number of scholarships available. We will award the UK undergraduate means-tested scholarships to selected UK students from low income households who also meet the eligibility criteria and are entering Leeds as full-time, level one undergraduates in the following September.

The scholarships are available thanks to the generous support from alumni and other organisations.

Please remember the scholarships are limited. Meeting the eligibility criteria and being able to apply does not guarantee that you will receive an award. However, if you do not receive a scholarship, you may be eligible for the Leeds Bursary instead.

Eligibility criteria

You must: 

• apply by the deadline
• have no prior experience of higher education (this includes existing students studying at undergraduate level one or above)
• be a UK student applying for entry in 2024 into level one on a full-time funded undergraduate degree course at the University of Leeds (you must subsequently take up a place and remain on an eligible degree programme)
• be liable for the full UK undergraduate fees without receiving a subsidy from outside the University (for example, a government grant to cover all or part of the tuition fees or a scholarship directly from business)
• be eligible to receive a UK student maintenance loan from Student Finance England, Student Awards Agency for Scotland, Student Finance NI or Student Finance Wales (please note, those assessed as an EU migrant worker are ineligible to apply) – you can apply for a means-tested scholarship before your eligibility assessment has been finalised by the relevant awarding body
• come from a household with an annual income which has been assessed as being £42,875 per year or below (note that you can apply for this scholarship before your household income assessment has been finalised by Student Finance England)
• not be in receipt of any other scholarship or bursary (for example, scholarship holders will not receive Leeds Bursary alongside a scholarship based on household income).

Even if you do not wish to receive a maintenance or tuition fees loan from the Student Loans Company, you will still need to create a student finance application and choose to be assessed for finance based on household income in order for us to consider your financial eligibility for a scholarship. You will have the opportunity, during the application process for student finance, to indicate that you wish to apply for a £0 tuition fees loan and a £0 maintenance loan instead of the maximum loans available to you.

Selection criteria

When selecting scholarship recipients our short-listing takes into account a range of indicators which may show that an applicant is from a less-advantaged background; these indicators include, but are not limited to:

• students who have progressed to Leeds after successfully completing access routes (such as Access to Leeds, Reach for Excellence, Realising Opportunities or a Foundation Year)
• students who are part of the first generation in their family to enter higher education
• students whose studies have been disrupted by circumstances in their personal, social or domestic lives
• students who live in a geographical area with low levels of progression onto higher education
• students who have experienced time in local authority care or kinship care or who are estranged from both of their parents
• students with caring responsibilities
• students who have been recognised as a refugee by the UK government, or have been granted humanitarian protection status, or students who are the partner or child of someone who has been granted refugee or humanitarian protection status.

If you have questions which are not answered in the scholarship FAQ, please email the Undergraduate Scholarships team on ugscholarships@leeds.ac.uk.

Scholarships for specific Faculties and Schools

A number of scholarships are exclusively available from the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and the Faculty of Environment for offer holders who are from a low participation neighbourhood to Higher Education.

There is also a similar opportunity from the School of Design, called The Clothworkers’ Affordability Scholarship:

BA Sustainable Fashion & BA Fashion Design Innovation: Successful applicants will receive £3,000 for 3 years, plus an additional £2,000 in their first year for the purchase of a laptop.

BSc Textile Innovation and Sustainability: Successful applicants will receive £6,625 per year for 3 years (£3,000 per year as a maintenance grant, plus an annual tuition fee discount of £3,625)

For these scholarships, you apply using the standard application form in the first section of this page. If you are eligible, you will automatically be selected from your application, so you do not need to do anything extra.