Southampton Physics and Astronomy Achievement Scholarship

10 £5,000 stipend scholarships are available to new undergraduate students in physics and astronomy.

This is a widening participation scholarship. 5 will be awarded automatically based on merit, and 5 will be awarded based on widening participation criteria.

They are renewable for subsequent years of study (subject to the applicant’s continuing academic performance) for up to £20,000 total.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this scholarship you must:  

• have submitted you application to study on an undergraduate programme in Physics and Astronomy to UCAS by 31 January 2026
• be invited to an applicant day at the University of Southampton
• have a conditional or unconditional offer from the University of Southampton
• be paying your fees yourself
• not be in receipt of any external sponsorship if you are an international student

How to apply

If you receive an offer from us, we’ll send you details of what you need to submit to be considered for the scholarship, as well as details on our Applicant Days and how to book one.   

You will need to submit an essay of up to 500 words on a physics topic of your choice. This must be submitted no later than 7 days before your applicant day.

How we award scholarships

This is a competitive process and not all applications will be successful.

We will score and rank all eligible applicants’ essays and their interview performances.  We will ask you questions on your essay as part of your interview so that we can be sure you’ve written it yourself.

The top scoring 5 applicants will be awarded a scholarship.   

The remaining 5 scholarships will be awarded to the next highest ranking applicants who meet the widening participation criteria.

Applications will be assessed against this criteria individually and compared against all applications received for this scholarship. The decision of the Head of School is final.

Successful applicants will have a stipend of £5,000 paid into their UK bank account in quarterly instalments. Continuation of the scholarship from year 2 onwards is subject to maintaining first-class performance (70%) each year. If first-class performance is maintained, the scholarship maybe received each year for the duration of the course, up to a maximum of 4 years.

Contact us

For more information, questions or help with the this scholarship, get in touch with our admissions team.

admissionsPA@soton.ac.uk