The Bath Bursary

The Bath Bursary provides free financial support to students with a household income of £30,000 or below.

The Bath Bursary will comprise of the following payment structure:

• Year 1: £2,750 comprised of: £1,000 cash, £1,000 campus credit plus £750 accommodation reduction if in university-housed accommodation
• Continuing students studying in Bath all year: £2,000 total comprised of: £1,000 cash and £1,000 campus credit

For students on placement:

• Thin paid placement: £1,000 total comprised of: £500 cash and £500 campus credit
• Thin unpaid placement: £2,000 total comprised of: £1,500 cash and £500 campus credit
• Thick unpaid placement: £2,000 total comprised of: £2000 cash

Bath Bursary recipients who take an unpaid placement period may also be eligible for the Placement Bursary

Bath Bursaries are not limited in number. You will automatically receive an award provided you meet the eligibility criteria (unless you have applied for and are successful in gaining a Gold Scholarship).

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Bath Bursary, you must:

• be a new Home UK undergraduate 
• be starting a full-time campus based undergraduate degree
• be eligible for a student loan and have a student loans household income assessment of £30,000 or below

The Bath Bursary can be awarded in any year of study.

How to apply

There is no application process for a Bath Bursary. You must, however, ensure that you:

• have requested for a household income assessment to be completed by your relevant UK student loans awarding agency e.g., Student Finance England (or equivalent)
• have not withheld permission for your household income assessment to be shared with the University by your student loans awarding agency

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have applied for a household income assessment ahead of starting your studies. It can take 6-8 weeks for the SLC to conduct and process a household income assessment; so, we strongly recommend that you start this process as soon as possible. Please do not leave it until August to apply for your student finance.

The University is not responsible for any delays in your student loans application being processed or information not being passed onto us by your student loans awarding agency.

The consent option to share your household income with the University will be automatically ticked within your SLC application. Please ensure that neither you nor your parent/guardian unticks this, otherwise the University will be unable to assess your funding eligibility.

Undergraduate students starting study in September 2026

We must have received your household income assessment by Friday 26 March 2027 in order to provide you with financial support for the 2026/27 academic year.

If we receive your household income assessment after this date, then you will be awarded a Bath Bursary from the 2027/8 academic year onwards.

Household income reassessments

If your household income has fallen by 15% or more since it was initially assessed, you can request for the Student Loans Company (SLC) to reassess, and provide the University with an updated figure.

Any assessments or reassessments received after Friday 12 March 2027 will be considered for the 2027/28 academic year onwards. Please contact studentmoneyadvice@bath.ac.uk for financial support and advice between this date and the beginning of the 2027/28 academic year.

An award will not be taken away if your household income increases in any subsequent year.

Other funding opportunities

Bath Bursary recipients will be invited to apply for the the Claverton Scholarship Programme in early December 2026, an exciting new initiative worth £1,500 in addition to the Bath Bursary.