Â鶹ÊÓƵ Bursary

A cash award for eligible undergraduate students.

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The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Bursary is a cash award for eligible undergraduate students in full-time attendance. The amount is determined by your year of entry to the University and your household income. The amount will be split into two payments, usually distributed in December and March.

This bursary is not available to students on their Professional Training Year or in repeat periods of study. Furthermore, if you change your programme or your commencing year of study is amended via Student Finance England, the criteria against which you are assessed may be changed as a result.

Eligibility criteria

Eligibility for this bursary will be reassessed each academic year using the data you have provided to Student Finance England. The criteria against which you are assessed each academic year is the same criteria as your year of entry to the University, not the criteria of the current academic year.

Note that the criteria detailed here is subject to OfS (Office for Students) approval and therefore our bursary schemes may change in order to meet regulations. If your year of entry is not listed below, please contact the Scholarships and Bursaries Team.

EU students may only be eligible for this award if they are ordinarily resident in the UK and meet all the criteria.

POLAR/IMD eligibility is based on the data the University has received from UCAS prior to commencing your university programme. This data will be used to assess eligibility for the duration of your programme.

You must meet ALL the criteria listed against your year of entry to be eligible for the bursary.

Year of entry to the UniversityBursary amountEligibility criteria
2025/26£3,000
  • Your household income must be less than £10,000 per year
  • You must be normally resident in IMD postcode quintiles 1 or 2**
  • You must be a UK or eligible EU student
  • You must be paying full tuition fees*** (therefore NHS-funded students and students who are being funded are not eligible)
  • You must have opted to be means-tested
  • You must also have correctly filled out and submitted your application to Student Finance England for a loan and must also make sure that you and your parent/guardian have given your consent to share the information with the University.
£1,200
  • Your household income must be between £10,000 and £25,000 per year
  • You must be normally resident in IMD postcode quintiles 1 or 2**
  • You must be a UK or eligible EU student
  • You must be paying full tuition fees*** (therefore NHS-funded students and students who are being funded are not eligible)
  • You must have opted to be means-tested
  • You must also have correctly filled out and submitted your application to Student Finance England for a loan and must also make sure that you and your parent/guardian have given your consent to share the information with the University.
2024/25£2,500
  • Your household income must be less than £25,000 per year
  • You must be normally resident in POLAR4 postcodes quintile 1* or IMD postcode quintile 1**
  • You must be a UK or eligible EU student
  • You must be paying full tuition fees (therefore NHS-funded students and students who are being funded are not eligible)
  • You must have opted to be means-tested
  • You must also have correctly filled out and submitted your application to Student Finance England for a loan and must also make sure that you and your parent/guardian have given your consent to share the information with the University.
2023/24£2,500
  • Your household income must be less than £25,000 per year
  • You must be normally resident in POLAR4 postcodes quintile 1* or IMD postcode quintile 1**
  • You must be a UK or eligible EU student
  • You must be paying full tuition fees (therefore NHS-funded students and students who are being funded are not eligible)
  • You must have opted to be means-tested
  • You must also have correctly filled out and submitted your application to Student Finance England for a loan and must also make sure that you and your parent/guardian have given your consent to share the information with the University.
2022/23£2,500
  • Your household income must be less than £20,000 per year
  • You must be normally resident in POLAR4 postcodes quintile 1,2 or 3*
  • You must be a UK or eligible EU student
  • You must be paying full tuition fees (therefore NHS-funded students and students who are being funded are not eligible)
  • You must have opted to be means-tested
  • You must also have correctly filled out and submitted your application to Student Finance England for a loan and must also make sure that you and your parent/guardian have given your consent to share the information with the University.
2021/22£2,500
  • Your household income must be less than £20,000 per year
  • You must be normally resident in POLAR4 postcodes quintile 1,2 or 3*
  • You must be a UK or eligible EU student
  • You must be paying full tuition fees (therefore NHS-funded students and students who are being funded are not eligible)
  • You must have opted to be means-tested
  • You must also have correctly filled out and submitted your application to Student Finance England for a loan and must also make sure that you and your parent/guardian have given your consent to share the information with the University.
2020/21£2,500
  • Your household income must be less than £20,000 per year
  • You must be normally resident in POLAR4 postcodes quintile 1,2 or 3*
  • You must be a UK or eligible EU student
  • You must be paying full tuition fees (therefore NHS-funded students and students who are being funded are not eligible)
  • You must have opted to be means-tested
  • You must also have correctly filled out and submitted your application to Student Finance England for a loan and must also make sure that you and your parent/guardian have given your consent to share the information with the University.
2019/20£3,000
  • Your household income must be less than £25,000 per year
  • You must be normally resident in POLAR4 postcodes quintile 1 or 2*
  • You must be a UK or eligible EU student
  • You must be paying full tuition fees (therefore NHS-funded students and students who are being funded are not eligible)
  • You must have opted to be means-tested
  • You must also have correctly filled out and submitted your application to Student Finance England for a loan and must also make sure that you and your parent/guardian have given your consent to share the information with the University.

* POLAR (Participation of Local Areas) is an Office for Students (OfS) classification for the participation in higher education by young people by geographical area in the UK. It is used to measure the widening participation performance of universities. .

**The Index of Multiple Deprivation is the official measure of relative deprivation for small neighbourhoods in England. . The IMD Postcode checker provides an IMD value in deciles rather than quintiles, Please see the conversion below:

  • IMD Quintile 1 = Decile 1 or 2
  • IMD Quintile 2 = Decile 3 or 4
  • IMD Quintile 3 = Decile 5 or 6
  • IMD Quintile 4 = Decile 7 or 8
  • IMD Quintile 5 = Decile 9 or 10.

*** £9,535 for the academic year 2025/26 (or £5,760 if applicable to certain Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences course).

When will I know I am eligible?

Eligible students will be contacted directly by Student Loan Company via the email address registered with SLC by approximately mid-November to confirm they will be in receipt of the bursary. We encourage students to check their eligibility criteria listed above including using the POLAR and IMD websites before contacting the Scholarships and Bursaries team. Assessments for the bursary are conducted throughout the academic year as and when students are identified to us by SLC (for example, should a change of household income or address affect your eligibility for the bursary). 

How to apply

You do not need to make an application to the University for this bursary. All undergraduate students that meet the criteria for the UoS Bursary will be identified automatically by Student Finance England (also known as Student Loan Company, SLC).

  • You must have opted to be means-tested
  • You must have given consent for information to be shared with the Â鶹ÊÓƵ
  • You must be in receipt of support from Student Finance England for the current academic year. Please note you must be paying full UK tuition fees equalling £9,535 for the academic year (or £5,760 if applicable to certain Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences course).

Contact details

For enquiries regarding this bursary, please contact the Bursaries and Scholarships team at bursariesandscholarships@surrey.ac.uk.

Scholarships and bursaries

There is a range of support available to help finance your studies.