XClose

UCL Scholarships and funding

Home
Menu

Master's Funding Awards application guidance

The below is guidance for how to complete the online application for UCL's centrally administered scholarship scheme, the Master's Funding Awards.

Schemes

These guidance notes relate to the completion of the applications form for the Master's Funding Awards (MFA). The MFA is an umbrella application process that allows students to apply once and to be considered for all the schemes it encompasses, as long as they meet the eligibility criteria for those schemes. Eligibility criteria for the specific schemes are listed on the relevant web pages which are accessible by clicking on the links below:

Please note

  • You must have completed an application for admission in order to be able to apply for UCL’s Master’s scholarships. If you have not yet submitted a complete application for 2025/26 (including your referee submitting references and them having been verified by Admissions via the normal process, which can take a day or two), then you will not be able to apply for central UCL funding.   Please apply for admission well before the scholarship deadline.

    This application will collect information on a number of financial factors, including household income information and estimations of other available funds for study. Additional information including personal details and academic references from your UCL admissions application are used and are therefore not requested through the funding application.

    Navigating the form

    • In order to move through the form, you will need to click on the ‘Next’ button at the bottom of each page.
    • You will need to answer all required questions to move forward with the application – if you have not answered anything an error message will appear informing you of this.
    • We have highlighted the mandatory questions in the question guidance below.
    • Once you have clicked 'Next' on the question page, you will be taken to our two declaration pages. You will not be able to return to question page from these declarations, but you will subsequently have the opportunity to return to the original questions should you need to.
    • In order to complete the application, you will need to select 'Yes' and click the ‘Next’ button on the final page.
    • Once you have submitted, you should receive an automated email confirming receipt of your completed application.

    Answering the questions

    Q2. If you have previously completed, or are expected to complete, a Master's or PhD degree (UK equivalent) by the start of the next academic year, please select the degree

    This is a drop-down menu to select either Master's or PhD level study.  While you will still be considered for awards, if you already hold a Master's or PhD degree, this will be taken into consideration in the selection assessment, as students who have not yet had the opportunity to study at the Master's degree level are prioritised for most awards.

    Q3. [Mandatory] Have you completed, or are you expected to complete, an undergraduate degree at UCL by the start of next academic year?

    In order to be eligible for the Professor Malcolm Grant Scholarship, you need to be a UCL alum. This means that you must have completed an undergraduate degree at UCL, or be a current UCL student, in the final year of your undergraduate degree in the 2024/25 academic year.

    Q4. [Mandatory] In which year did you commence your undergraduate studies?

    Please let us know the year in which you first enrolled on your undergraduate programme.

    Q6. [Mandatory] Please provide a figure for your household's gross annual income in the last completed tax year (you must convert this into UK £ sterling).

    Please indicate the gross annual income of your household (HHI) for the 2023-24 tax year*. Income streams that should be considered include salaries, wages, dividends, tax credits, pension payments (both state and private pension providers), Carers Allowance, PIP living allowance, and investment returns. If you are not sure whether something should be considered as income, please get in touch with the Student Funding Office.  Do not include the following as income: Universal credit, Housing benefit, PIP mobility allowance.

    For the purposes of HHI, the household should consist of all earning members whose income goes towards supporting general costs such as rent, bills, food, etc. Members of the household who work part-time for spending money that is not contributed to general household support should not be included (e.g a younger sibling with a part-time job while still at school).  Your own income should always be included.

    If you were an undergraduate student during the 2023/24 tax year, unless you were assessed as independent by Student Finance for your loans, we would expect your parents incomes to always be included in your household income, as it was the basis for your student loan amount. E.g:

    • I live with my parent(s) and/or partner and have a job - we would expect you to include all two/three incomes.
    • I live alone (or in a shared house) but am financially assisted by my parent(s) and/or partner - we would still expect you to include all two/three incomes.
    • I live alone (or in a shared house) and am completely financially independent - we would only expect you to include your own income.

    Please be aware that if you are shortlisted for a scholarship, we will require evidence of this amount in the form of bank statements, tax returns, PIP letters, and P60s etc. If you put 0 as your income, we will require evidence of the alternative income you have such as Universal Credit, housing benefit etc

    *  This should be for the 2023-24 tax year. If there has been a significant change in your circumstance since April 2024, you can additionally include a more contemporary estimate in Q14, and will need to provide additional documents if shortlisted to show both years.

    Q7. [Mandatory] How many peoples incomes does the answer at Q6 include?

    Please provide a figure for the number of peoples incomes you have included in your total.

    Q8. [Mandatory] Does more than 60% of your total household income come from State Benefits?

    Given the amount you provided at Q6. if you also added in any other state benefits such as Universal Credit and Housing Benefit etc, which your household receives, would the total benefits amount account for more than 60% of the household's total actual income.  E.g. If your income in Q6 was £10,000, and your household also receives £12,000 from Housing Benefit, and someone is getting £9,000 in Universal Credit, then the total income would be £10K + 12K + 9K = £31,000. The total £21,000 in benefits is more than 60% of the £31,000 combined total so, in this instance, the answer would be Yes.

    Q9. [Mandatory] What is the income of the highest earner in the last completed tax year (you must convert this into UK £ sterling)?

    Based on your answer to Q6, please provide the figure of the gross income of the highest earner in your household for the 2023/24 tax year.  

    Q10. [Mandatory] What is the income of the 2nd highest earner in the last completed tax year (you must convert this into UK £ sterling)?

    Based on your answer to Q6, please provide the figure of the gross income of the 2nd highest earner in your household for the 2023/24 tax year.  If there is no 2nd earner, put 0.

    Q11. [Mandatory] What is the income of the 3rd highest earner in the last completed tax year (you must convert this into UK £ sterling).

    Based on your answer to Q6, please provide the figure of the gross income of the 3rd highest earner in your household for the 2023/24 tax year.  If there is no 3rd earner, put 0.

    Q12. [Mandatory] Please select the most appropriate employment category for your household's highest earner.

    Please select the employment category* that best fits the main income earner in the household. Some examples are given in the dropdown to provide guidance as to what each category includes. Please try and pick the category you feel most closely resembles the main earner’s occupational level. We will check this with additional information provided.

    *   These broad categorisations are based on the Office for National Statistics' Standard Occupational Classification for the UK (2020) and the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08) (2008).

    Q13. [Mandatory] Please give the occupation of the household's highest earner (if you selected 'retired' for the previous question, please add the former occupation here).

    Please give the occupation (i.e. Secondary School Teacher) of the highest earner indicated in Q12. Please note, if you have selected 'Retired' in Q12 you should give the last occupation of that individual.

    Q14. If you would like to provide any additional information on your household income, please do so here (optional) (500 characters max.)

    Include here any additional details about your household income that you would like to make us aware of, or would like us to take into account when assessing your financial need, that are not immediately obvious from the numerical value above.

    e.g. if there are more than 3 earners included in your household income at Q6. please list their incomes here.

    Q15. If you would like to provide any additional information on exceptional household expenditure (e.g. medical bills, significant debts), please do so here (optional) (500 characters max.)

    Include here any significant and exceptional costs that impact on your household situation e.g. large medical bills, repayments on sizeable debts etc.

    Q16. If you would like to provide any additional information on your household employment situation, please do so here (optional) (500 characters max.)

    If there are any additional details about your household employment situation that you would like us to consider (e.g. redundancy since the 2023/24 tax year, reduced shifts) please include them here.

    Q17. [Mandatory] Please specify the number of people in the household who are fully dependent on the combined income stated above, including yourself (include earners and non-earners).

    This should include all members of the household who are fully dependent on the amount indicated in Q6. This should include the money earners themselves, and anyone else who lives in the house and is dependent on those earnings. This should also include yourself.

    Q18. If you would like to provide any additional information on the number of dependants in your household, please do so here (optional) (500 characters max.)

    If you do not feel that simply noting the number of dependants in the household fairly reflects your situation, please outline additional information here (e.g. a dependent who is unable to work etc)

    Q19.[Mandatory] Please provide a rough estimated figure for your household's gross annual income during your upcoming year of study (you must convert this into UK £ sterling - numerical values only).

    Using the same earners as included in Q6, please provide a figure for the estimated total gross income for your upcoming year of academic study.

    Q20. If the income in Question 19 is different from Question 6, please explain the reason for the change (500 characters max.)

    This could be reasons such as, you were the main income earner in the 2023/24 tax year, but will be stopping work/reducing your hours when you begin your study.  An income earner is retiring/has been made redundant etc.

    Q23-33. Please specify in UK £ Sterling the amount of funding you expect to have access to for use during the full length of your programme from the following listed sources.

    In this section of the application, we are looking for an honest appraisal of your financial situation beyond what you may receive through this scholarship application. As these are partial scholarships, it is important that accurate information is provided as to how you will be intending to cover the remainder of costs while at UCL, even if you are awarded one of our scholarships.

    All values should be the overall total for all the academic years of your course (e.g if part-time or on a 2 or 3 year full-time programme, provide combined estimates for all 2 or 3 years as a single total for each question).  The amounts given will be considered to be in UK£ Sterling. Please use numerical values only (e.g. 1500, no commas or symbols) - if a particular funding option is not applicable or available to you, please simply enter 0. You can find a useful currency converter at xe.com. For clarification on the types of funding details requested, see below.

    Q23. We assume that all UK students will be able to access the government's Masters Loan towards their cost of study. If you are unable to take out the Student Finance England loan, please explain why here – as these are financial need awards, we expect all students to exhaust available support from other sources. If, for some reason, you are unable to take out a governmental Masters Loan, please explain why here. E.g. You did an intergrated Masters at undergraduate level, you are not resident in England etc.  We will assume that the loan is available to all other students.

    Q24. Other Loans (Scottish/Welsh/Northern Irish education loans, private loans, etc.) – any other loans that you may be intending to take for your year of study whether government loans from UK states outside England, or loans from banks or other sources. If you are attempting to secure some other form of loan, please provide details in question 25.

    Q26. Part-time employment – any money you hope to earn by working part-time during the duration of your programme. We are aware this is unlikely to be secured funding, but please provide an estimate based on whether you are intending to work alongside your studies, and how much you estimate you will earn from this part-time work. Please note that most part-time employment in industries such as retail and service will be paid near the minimum wage.

    Q27. Scholarships/Awards/Bursaries – any scholarships, awards, bursaries, or similar that you intend to apply for, have applied for, or have secured for your studies. This should not include funding that you are applying to via this form (funds listed above), but any other scholarships. If you include a number other than 0 in this field, please provide details in question 28 including the provider of the funding, and whether or not it is secured.

    Q29. Family/household contribution – this should include any monetary support or loan provided by your family or household for the duration of your studies. Other ‘in kind’ support such as rent-free accommodation should be highlighted in the any other funding section, or in the household expenditure section as a reason for lower overall costs, rather than estimated here as a monetary contribution.

    Q30. Personal savings – any of your own personal savings you have access to for use during your studies.

    Q31. State benefits – any state benefits you will continue to receive during your studies. (E.g Housing benefit, PIP)

    Q32. Any other funding – this is a place to declare any other funding you may have access to for your studies which you do not feel was appropriate to include in any of the categories listed above. If you include a number other than 0 in this field, please provide details in question 33.

    Q35. Have you been a permanent resident for the last five years (since 2020), or did you complete GCSE or A-levels, in one the following east London boroughs: Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, or Waltham Forest.

    The UCL East London Scholarship is only open to applicants who have resided in one of the above boroughs for the past five years, or who completed GCSE or A-Levels within one of those boroughs. Please indicate if this criterion applies to you, so you can be considered for the award.

    Q36. During the final year of your undergraduate studies, did you receive any scholarship, bursary or grant from your institution or the UK government that was based on your household income or financial hardship?

    Please indicate if, during the final year of your undergraduate degree, you were in receipt of any kind of funding – scholarship, bursary, grant etc. – either from your university or from the UK government that was awarded based upon your personal or household financial situation. This could include a low-income scholarship or bursary from your university either paid to you or towards your accommodation, a fee waiver, a non-repayable maintenance grant from Student Finance England, etc, as long as the criteria on which these awards were made was low income. Please note that you will be asked to provide evidence of any such funding – in the form of an official award notification letter – if your application is successful.

    Q37. If you answered ‘yes’ to the above question, please provide a brief description of the funding including who it was awarded by (i.e., your university, Student Loans Company)

    Please give a very brief description of the funding your received and who it was awarded by. E.g. “A £1000 Undergraduate Bursary awarded by University College London.” Please note that you will be asked to provide evidence of any such funding – in the form of an official award notification letter – if your application is successful.

    Q38. Are you the first member of your family to attend university at any level?

    This should include your immediate family, including parent(s) and sibling(s) who have studied at undergraduate or postgraduate level at any university.

    Q39. If you have any further information that you would like to provide on your household situation, please do so here (optional)

    If you feel some factors about your household income are not captured above, please provide these here.

    Q40. Are you currently in receipt of state benefits?

    Please indicate if you are currently in receipt of any state benefits (Housing Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance, Child Tax Credit etc.) including any that would stop as the result of your studies. Please note that you will be asked to provide evidence of this if your application is successful.

    Q41. Are you currently in receipt of a Carer's Allowance?

    Please indicate if you are currently in receipt of a Carer's Allowance from the Government which will continue during your studies. Please note that you will be asked to provide evidence of this if your application is successful.

    Q42. Are you registered as having a disability?

    This should be marked ‘Yes’ if you are recognised as disabled. Please note that we will need to verify this information and would expect you to register with UCL’s Disability Services department.

    Q43. Are you a single parent?

    Please indicate whether you are a single parent.

    Q44. Have you ever lived in care?

    Please indicate if you have ever lived in state or local authority care. This includes being placed in foster care by your local authority.

    Q45. Are you a Forced Migrant?

    UCL uses the term 'forced migrant' to mean one of the following: 

    • Refugee.
    • Asylum seeker.
    • Those who have been granted a temporary form of leave as the result of an asylum or human rights application (e.g. limited leave to remain, discretionary leave to remain, humanitarian protection, UASC leave).

    Please note, you will still need to meet the scheme eligibility criteria of being considered a UK student by UCL.

    Leadership Statement (this should be submitted for Professor Malcolm Grant Scholarship only)

    Applicants who are UCL undergraduate alum wishing to be considered for the Professor Malcolm Grant Scholarship are also required to provide a Leadership Statement.

    Please highlight any leadership roles or positions of responsibility you have held, or currently hold, covering the following 5 aspects: 

    • Vision / Goals
    • Excellent Communication
    • Motivating Others / Performance
    • Decision Making / Problem Solving
    • Passion and Enthusiasm

    500 words maximum (please include a word count) and please upload your document as a Word document or PDF only.


    Your form is complete

    Thank you for taking the time to complete your application for the Masters Funding Awards for 2025/26.

    If you have any further questions not answered above, please feel free to contact Student Funding.