What's available?
Find out which scholarships and bursaries are available once you become a University of Portsmouth student
Bursaries and scholarships are a good way to partly or fully fund the costs of your study. You can usually use these alongside student loans and you don’t have to pay them back.
Whether you can get a scholarship or bursary depends on your circumstances. So they aren’t available to everyone.
These are the scholarships and bursaries you can get once you've registered as a student with us.
If you weren't eligible for a bursary or scholarship when you applied for your course, you might be eligible now if your personal circumstances change.
Undergraduate scholarships and bursaries
Internal scholarships and bursaries:
- You’ll get this bursary of £750 a year if you’re a full-time undergraduate student from England and your household income is less than £25,000 a year
- You can’t get this bursary if a sponsor (such as an employer or NHS organisation) is paying all or some of your tuition fees
No need to apply
You don’t need to apply for this bursary. We'll check if you're eligible each time you apply to Student Finance England for income-based support.
On your Student Finance England application, you need to make sure:
- you’ve said you study at the University of Portsmouth
- you (and your parents or partner) have given your consent to share your information with the University
Information for entry before 2018
- You may have received a bursary of £1000 a year if you joined as a full-time graduate student from England and your household income was less than £25,000 a year
- You may have received a bursary of £500 a year if you joined as a full-time graduate student from England and your household income was less between £25,001 and £32,000 a year
You could get this £1,700 bursary if you’re a full-time undergraduate from the UK and you’ve spent a significant time in care, some of which was in your teens.
This bursary isn't based on your income.
How to apply
Contact our Student Finance Centre to find out if you’re eligible for this bursary.
Restrictions
You won't be able to get this bursary alongside the Standalone Bursary or Young Carers Bursary (below).
You could get this bursary of £1000 a year if you’re a full-time undergraduate UK student aged under 25 and estranged from your parents.
It isn't based on your income.
How to apply
Contact our Student Finance Centre to find out if you’re eligible for this bursary. If you’re eligible, we’ll tell you how to apply.
Restrictions
You won't be able to get this bursary alongside the Care Leavers and Foyer Residents Bursary or the Young Carers Bursary.
You could get this bursary of £500 a year if all the following apply:
- you’re a full-time undergraduate from the UK aged under 25
- you have caring responsibilities for a parent or family member (but not a dependent child)
- your family income is less than £25,000 a year
How to apply
Contact our Student Finance Centre to apply for this bursary.
Restrictions
You won't be able to get this bursary alongside the Care Leavers and Foyer Residents Bursary or the Standalone Bursary.
This scholarship is a free place in a Unite hall of residence for 3 years of undergraduate study for students who have spent time in care or are estranged from their parents.
You could get this scholarship if all the following apply to you:
- you’ve spent time in care - or you’re estranged from your parents
- you’re a full-time undergraduate from the UK aged under 25 at the start of your course
- your household income is less than £25,000 a year
- you're starting or studying on your first undergraduate course
You can get this scholarship alongside the Standalone Bursary or the Care Leavers and Foyer Residents Bursary.
There are a limited number of these scholarships, so not everyone who’s eligible will get it.
How to apply
You can apply for this scholarship once you've made the University of Portsmouth your firm choice via UCAS.
Applications open on 1 January and the closing date is usually around the end of May. We'll publish details of how to apply here when we have more information.
Restrictions
You won't be able to get this scholarship if you're undertaking foundation, repeat or placement years.
This is a bursary of £3,000 a year to cover some of your living costs. You could get this bursary, if you meet the following criteria:
- you’re a child of serving or retired Royal Navy or Royal Marine personnel, or you’re a retired member of the Naval Service who isn’t sponsored by the MOD
- you’re a full-time undergraduate UK student
- your household income is less than £40,000 a year
There are 3 Greenwich Hospital Bursaries available for University of Portsmouth students each year, so not everyone who’s eligible will get it.
How to apply
The application window for this bursary has now closed.
Students starting and continuing their course from September 2020 can apply for the NHS Learning Support Fund (NHS LSF) if they’re on one of the following pre-registration undergraduate or postgraduate courses:
- dental therapy/dental hygiene (level 5 and 6 courses)
- dietetics
- midwifery
- nursing (adult, child, mental health, learning disability, joint nursing/social work)
- occupational therapy
- operating department practitioner (level 5 and 6 courses)
- orthoptics
- orthotics and prosthetics
- paramedics (bachelors and masters courses are eligible, DipHE and FD courses are not eligible for NHS LSF)
- physiotherapy
- podiatry/chiropody
- radiography (diagnostic and therapeutic)
- speech and language therapy
To find out more, read this MyPort article.
As part of our Sport Scholarship programme, student-athletes receive a bursary between £250 - £3000, as well as a range of support services to enhance their sporting and academic performance. You can apply for the sport scholarship programme as soon as you have applied or if you're currently studying.
You could get this bursary if you are:
- enrolled or have applied on an undergraduate or postgraduate degree
- compete at national level or above in your sport
How to apply:
To find out more and to apply, visit our Sport Scholarships page and complete the online application form. Please note there are a limited number of Sport Scholarships available, not everyone who is eligible will receive it.
External scholarships and bursaries for undergraduates
Here are some undergraduate bursary and scholarship programmes run by external organisations.
It's a good idea to apply for as many bursaries and scholarships as you can and keep looking throughout your studies.
The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust – £3,000 a year
The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust offers financial support for grocers, chemists, commercial travellers and their families. There are awards of up to £3,000 a year for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
To be eligible, you must have a spouse or parents who have worked as commercial travellers, chemists or grocers for at least 5 years.
Find out more about the Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust Scholarships.
European Funding Guide – £7,800 a year
In partnership with Idealo, the European Funding Guide offer 10 scholarships a year to students.
The European Funding Guide also hosts a searchable database of scholarship opportunities for home, EU and International Students.
Postgraduate scholarships and bursaries
If you haven't started your postgraduate course yet, you can find out what funding is available on our scholarships and bursaries page.
Charitable grants and bursaries
Some organisations, charities and trusts offer bursaries and grants. They are awarded to high-performing students or people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
You can search for sources of Master’s funding from charities, trusts and foundations on The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding website. To register, you'll need your email address and our PIN – 7517.
Useful publications:
- Educational Grants Directory – contains over 1,100 sources of non-statutory financial help for people in education. It's still in print, so check at your local library.
- The Grants Register – the most authoritative and comprehensive guide available of postgraduate and professional funding worldwide. It's currently in print, so check at your local library.
- Charities Choice UK – an online encyclopaedia of charitable and voluntary organisations within the UK.
Student Support Fund
Whether you're an undergraduate or postgraduate, if you find yourself in financial difficulty during your course, you can apply for assistance from the Student Support Fund. The Support Fund can help with emergency costs, such as bills, food, and other expenses.