Care Leaver Bursary

The aim of the Care Leaver Bursary is to enable and encourage students who live in or have lived in care to pursue their undergraduate studies at UCL.

Eligibility

Eligible candidates must:

• be domiciled in the UK with Home fee status;
• be aged under 25 on the day your course starts and have been in the care of, or been given accommodation by, their local authority (LA) for a period of at least 13 weeks before the age of 16, and
• not have reconciled with their parents between leaving care and starting their course;
• hold an offer of admission to UCL to study a full-time undergraduate degree for the 2024/25 intake or currently be studying a full-time undergraduate degree at UCL.

Value, benefits, and duration

The award will be £1,000 per year for the duration of the programme, subject to student remaining under the age of 25. The bursary is awarded to cover maintenance costs.

Awardees can request for an advance payment of £200 to help with transition costs.

How to Apply

You do not have to complete a separate application for the UCL Care Leavers Bursary.

Once you have applied to study an undergraduate course at UCL, you should make an application for student finance - for further information please visit the Government website.

You should then provide your Regional Funding Authority* with:

• a letter from your relevant local authority; or
• a letter from a case/social worker.

This letter must confirm:

• that you were looked after by a local authority (this includes being placed in foster care by your local authority)
• the dates that you were/are in care
• that you have not returned to the care of your parent(s) prior to the first day of the first academic year of your course

UCL will then receive your Care Leaver status confirmation from your Regional Funding Authority*, and you will be automatically assessed for the bursary.

*Regional Funding Authorities

• Student Finance England (SFE)
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SSAS)
• Student Finance Wales (SFW)
• Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI)

We will then contact you by October of your academic year, with confirmation of the bursary payment.

There is no deadline for the Care Leavers Bursary. If you are applying for student finance after your academic year has already started, and think you are eligible for the Care Leavers Bursary, please contact us on studentfunding@ucl.ac.uk to let us know.

Duration

Once students are found eligible for the Care Leaver bursary, and receive their first award, they are eligible for the same award for each year of their studies. This will be automatic, as long as you continue to be an enrolled student at UCL.