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UCL Study Abroad offers funding support for students undertaking a global short-term mobility.
Global Experience Bursary 2023/24
The Global Experience Bursary supports undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate-taught (PGT) students on a short-term mobility. It is financial support that is a contribution to students' travel and living costs abroad, but should not be relied upon as a principal funding source.
Applications open Friday 3 November 2023 and are accepted on a rolling basis until 23:59, 1 April 2024 or until funding is completely spent - whichever occurs sooner. Students can expect to receive the outcome of their application within 2-3 weeks of submission. Examples of short-term mobilities are on Study Abroad's introduction to short-term mobility webpage.
The minimum bursary amount is £220 and the maximum bursary amount is £660, however students may be eligible for a higher award if they are a Widening Participation (WP) student, up to £1320. Full WP criteria is under the drop-down heading below.
Students cannot receive more than one Global Experience Bursary in an academic year. Students that have been granted a place on the Widening Participation Summer Programme cannot apply for an additional Global Experience Bursary.
For questions about any of the bursaries, please contact the Study Abroad team via askUCL. Applications closed for the 2023/24 academic year on 1 April 2024.
- Eligibility Criteria
This bursary is open to students that are:
- Current UG and PGT students, fully enrolled at UCL throughout the duration of the placement (end date of placement must be before the first day of the next academic year)
- NOT undertaking paid work-place internships (refer to the Global Internships Programme offered by UCL Careers instead).
All eligible short term mobilities must be:
- In-person or virtual
- Relevant to students' UCL programme of study, future studies and/or career
- At least five (5) days long.
Virtual short term mobilities must also be:
- Live learning and/or involve interaction with colleagues, students, course leaders or lecturers around the world e.g. group project work
- In an environment that enables an understanding of different approaches and attitudes from around the world, fostering employability skills like intercultural communication
- A fee-paying placement (free virtual programmes are NOT eligible).
- Widening Participation Criteria
A student may be eligible for a higher bursary if they are undertaking a mobility that meets the above criteria and if they meet any of identifiers below, providing suitable evidence in their application:
- Household income of £42,000 or less (or £25,000 or less in another currency)
- Receiving income-related benefits
- Care-experienced student
- Student with caring responsibilities
- Refugees and asylum seekers
- Received an Access UCL offer
- For UK-domiciled students, Black African, Black Caribbean or mixed Black, African/White or Black Caribbean/White
- Mature (aged 21 or older at the beginning of your current, undergraduate, degree)
- Estranged students
- Part-time students
- Special Educational Needs or Disability (SEND) students.
Other Funding Opportunities
Students are encouraged to look for funding opportunities beyond what UCL offers. Below is a sample of different grants and scholarships that have been/are offered by a variety of organisations and can be used as a springboard for research into even more potential funding pots.
- Funding Organisations
- BUNAC Scholarships
- BUTEX Scholarships
- The Chadwick Trust Travelling Fellowships and Scholarships
- IEFA Scholarships Finder (search engine)
- IIE Funding for U.S.A Study (search engine)
- Jack's Flight Club Travel Scholarships
- John Speak Language Trust Bursary
- Psychology International Internship Scholarship (for Psychology internships with Volunteer HQ)
- The Rotary Foundation
- Volunteer Abroad Scholarships (for travel, volunteer and study abroad grants, mainly U.S.A based)
- Turing Grant
If students' overseas, in-person activities are at least 28 days, they may be eligible for the Turing Grant (in addition to the Global Experience Bursary). Students could therefore access a considerable amount of funding from both opportunities. Students should see UCL's Turing Grant website for further information, then check with their department first if their Turing grant can be administered through them. If not, they can raise a query through askUCL to see if it's possible with Study Abroad. Students should contact Study Abroad at least 3 months in advance of their proposed start date abroad if they wish to apply for the Turing Grant.