UWE Bristol Employability Bursary

This bursary is available to students undertaking certain employability activities.

About the bursary

The UWE Bristol Employability Bursary offers financial support to low-income UK undergraduate students to participate in a range of eligible employability activities. It aims to add value to your student experience and help you achieve a better graduate outcome.

A sum of money is paid to you in addition to any student funding you are already receiving. Mostly importantly, it does not need to be paid back. 

Bursaries are awarded for many different reasons and eligibility to receive them also varies. Bursaries, grants and scholarships help cover costs associated with an activity and/or certain circumstances. Such costs could be, travel, equipment and/or clothing. It is normally up to you what costs you use the money for.

What is an employability activity? 

An employability activity is something you choose to do as part of your studies, such as a sandwich placement or outside of your studies, for example a summer internship. By participating in such activities, you gain an invaluable experience and skills that will help secure your dream career or turn your big business ideas into a reality.

See the Eligibility section for a list of eligible employability activities and information about how you can receive the payment.

How much is the UWE Bristol Employability bursary?

There are 300 bursaries of up to £1,000 (depending on activity type) available this academic year. The bursary is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. This will be in addition to the UWE Bursary for UWE Bursary-eligible students.

The Employability Bursary does not need to be paid back and is normally paid as a lump sum.

Students can receive a maximum of £1,000 in funding each academic year, which runs from 1 September to 31 July. If you take part in an activity before 31 July, you can apply for funding again after 1 September for the following academic year.

If a single activity spans two academic years, it will only qualify for one bursary payment.

Eligibility

Eligible students

To be eligible for this bursary you must:

  • be fully registered as an undergraduate UK domiciled student at UWE Bristol
  • qualify for support with tuition fees (if liable for tuition fees during the academic year) and living costs support from Student Finance if you are an undergraduate student
  • have a household income of £30,000 per year or below, as assessed by Student Finance
  • have a confirmed place on an eligible activity listed below.

Please note: you must apply for and secure an activity before you can receive a bursary. Payment cannot be made unless your place has been confirmed by the provider and approved by UWE Bristol.

If you aren’t eligible, we recommend exploring different funds that may be available to you whilst studying at UWE Bristol.

Eligible activities

The bursary cannot support an activity that is a compulsory requirement of a degree programme but can support the following activities:

If your activity involves overseas travel, you will be required to complete a specific overseas risk assessment and share important travel and in-country information. You will be guided to complete this when needed.

How to apply

You need to have completed all the necessary steps that are required by the eligible employability activity.

Once you have done this, the team managing your activity will communicate the steps to check your eligibility for the employability bursary.

Follow the steps below to receive the bursary.

Steps to receive the Bursary

  1. Step 1

    The relevant UWE Bristol team managing your activity will explain what steps need to be completed prior to you having your eligibility checked. They will then communicate when you have completed these steps and confirm approval of your activity.

    For Sandwich Placements (including self-employed), please complete the Employability Activity Confirmation process through InfoHub (login required). Once your placement has been approved, and due to start within the next four weeks, the Placements Team will request your financial eligibility is assessed.

  2. Step 2

    If you are undertaking an eligible employability activity, you will receive information outlining the steps to have your financial eligibility assessed by the UWE Bristol Student Money Service (SMS). Once complete, you receive an email notification from SMS confirming whether you are eligible to receive the bursary or not, and if any further action is required before payment can be made.

    Financial eligibility is assessed by checking your household income provided to Student Finance. If you have not provided your household income to Student Finance, this will need to be completed and SMS will notify you of this. Alternatively, you can provide it at any time by contacting Student Finance directly.

  3. Step 3

    For those students that are eligible, your bursary payment will be received within 15 working days of the payment email notification from SMS.

    Please note that the payment you receive will be made via the Student Loan Company system rather than from the University directly.