Sanctuary scholarships
Sanctuary scholarships are awarded to postgraduate, access and undergraduate students who are in the UK and have applied for asylum or are staying in the UK as refugees or on humanitarian grounds.
Key facts
Fee status
Your country/region
Level
Undergraduate, Postgraduate (taught)
Number of awards
Multiple
Value of awards
Deadline
These scholarships will be awarded to undergraduate, access and postgraduate students who are seeking asylum or staying in the UK on humanitarian grounds.
Sanctuary scholarships for undergraduate courses
For undergraduate scholarships, this year's scholarships will open in June 2024. Please apply via the Carnegie Trust - we will post further information here nearer the time.
If you have any questions about applying for support, please do contact the Carnegie Trust, who can help you through the application process. Students who receive a fee scholarship from the Carnegie Trust can also apply for study cost grants from the Trust up to three times a year.
Sanctuary scholarships for access courses and postgraduate courses
Deadlines for applications for access and postgraduate scholarships for September 2024 start dates is 31 May 2024. For programmes starting in January 2025, keep an eye out here for further information later in the year.
The scholarship includes a fee waiver (until such time as the student is eligible to receive support from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) or an equivalent body). It also includes support, generally in the form of in-kind contributions, to help students meet travel and other essential study costs, up to a value of:
• £2,000 for access programmes
• £3,000 for postgraduate programmes
Please note that there are only a limited number of scholarships available each year – usually 2 or 3 for access programmes and 2 or 3 for postgraduate programmes. The scholarships are allocated depending on the number and relative quality of applications received. This means that meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee you will be awarded a scholarship. We usually receive a much higher number of applications than the number of scholarships available, especially for postgraduate programmes.
Eligibility and availability
Applications will be considered from potential students who:
- are already in the UK; and
- have applied for a place on an undergraduate, postgraduate taught or access programme at the University of Stirling for 2023-2024; and
- have an official Home Office status that is one of the following:
- asylum seeker;
- refugee;
- humanitarian protection with forced migration background;
- limited leave to remain with forced migration background;
- discretionary leave to remain with forced migration.
Housing costs are not covered by the scholarship, and applicants must live within a commutable distance of the university at the point of application.
Ukrainian students who are resident in Scotland under Homes for Ukraine, the Ukraine Family Scheme, or the Ukraine Extension Scheme may be eligible for funding from Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) as Home students.
How to apply
For access sanctuary scholarship or postgraduate sanctuary scholarship, please complete and return the Sanctuary Scholarships Application Form.
For undergraduate sanctuary scholarship, please apply via the Carnegie Trust.
Contact us
Potential applicants should contact the Student Recruitment Team (Scotland Widening Participation). If you call 01786 467046, please ask to speak to Student Recruitment Team for Scotland Widening Participation.