Career development bursary

Bursary for extracurricular career development activities
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Worth up to £250, this bursary is intended to help you access career development opportunities that would otherwise not be possible due to the costs involved.
 

What can be funded?

The bursary is for extracurricular career development activities such as:
  • expenses associated with work experiences including placements, internships or volunteering
  • attending industry and/or sector-specific conferences
  • attending career networking events
  • membership of professional organisations relevant to your career aspirations
  • attending accredited and non-accredited training courses relevant to your career aspirations, including 'Bounce!' our Women’s Personal and Professional Development Programme.
You can apply for funding for more than one activity/event on one application, but you must specify how each one will enhance your career development.
If you are successful, we will ask you to provide us with a brief case study outlining your experiences and how the activity helped you meet your career goals. This will be used (with your permission) on the University’s website and in publications.

What cannot be funded?

  • Activities that are unrelated to career learning and development such as statutory professional registration fees, sports clubs and societies.
  • Field trips, placements or other excursions that are a core part of your academic programme.
  • Costs for activities that have been covered by another budget such as the Career Insight Bursary or the Santander Scholarship.
  • Costs above the £250 limit.
 

Who can apply?

UK home undergraduates whose household income was assessed by their Student Finance provider as under £35,000 per year and have applied for all available funding from their Student Finance provider including the means-tested component of the maintenance loan.
You should also belong to one or more of the following groups:
  • from an area where few people access higher education (low participation neighbourhoods*) or from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background
  • a student of Black, Asian, mixed heritage or another minority ethnic group such as the Gypsy, Roma or Traveller community
  • disabled students or students with a mental health condition, medical condition or specific learning difference
  • neurodivergent students for example autistic or dyslexic students, students with ADHD and students with Tourette's – although this list is not exhaustive
  • mature students or those over 21 when they start their first degree
  • care-experienced students
  • students caring for for another vulnerable adult.
*Low Participation Neighbourhood: an area where a low percentage of students progress to higher education. You can check to see if your home postcode qualifies by entering the postcode on the Office for Students webpage.
Your postcode qualifies if it shows as TUNDRA – Quintile 1. Quintile 1 means this is an area where the fewest students progress into higher education.
Application process
Please complete the application, detailing how you plan to spend the bursary and providing an estimate of costs, along with any relevant links or other evidence. The applications will then be reviewed together at the end of each term until all of the funding has been allocated. We will let you know if you have been successful, and your Student Finance provider will pay you directly into your bank account.
All of our Career Development Bursaries for 2024–25 have now been awarded! As a result, we are no longer accepting applications at this time. Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to offering more opportunities in the future!
 
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