GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP

20% fee discount on most Master's courses for BCU undergraduates

What you need to know

The Graduate Scholarship is a 20% fee reduction available to all BCU graduates enrolling onto an eligible postgraduate qualification within two years of graduation with a first or second class honours degree (first, 2:1, 2:2). Find out the full terms and conditions and eligibility criteria.
The Graduate Scholarship is automatically awarded to those who are eligible. If you are awarded the Graduate Scholarship, your offer will show the full fee but your postgraduate course fees will be discounted by 20% in each year of study. You can then choose to pay your fees in full at the start of the year, or by instalments. See our fees and funding pages for more information on paying your fees.
You can apply at any time for a postgraduate course (via MySRS), even if you do not have your degree results. Current BCU students can use our fast track application to apply in minutes.

Why you?

Why study a Master's?

Earn more: Someone with a Master’s degree or PhD earns £6,000 more per year, or £240,000 over a 40-year working life, than someone with just a degree (Graduate Labour Market Statistics 2021, Department for Education).
Take the next step: A postgraduate degree could help you to develop key skills employers are looking for.
Specialise: A postgraduate degree allows you to dive deeper into your subject.
Change direction: You can study a postgraduate course in a completely different subject to your undergraduate degree.

Gain experience: You can learn from industry experts, gain work experience and build your professional network while you study.

Why now?

Why study a Master's straight after your degree?

Graduate scholarship: Our graduate scholarship makes studying a more affordable option.
Build confidence: A postgraduate degree means you can apply for your first full-time job after university confident that you have advanced skills and knowledge.
Launch your career: If you have a career in mind, a postgraduate degree can help to build the skills and experience needed to build a great job application.

Why BCU?

Why study a Master's with us?

Why stop here? If you’ve enjoyed being part of the BCU community, continue the experience with a postgraduate degree.
Fast track application: Apply in minutes with no need for a personal statement with our fast-track application.
Prepare for industry: Our expert lecturers, accredited courses, and links to employers make BCU the ideal place to learn more about your chosen industry.
Build your network: At BCU’s STEAMHouse, you’ll find local businesses working alongside students. Students will have the opportunity to work on industry projects, attend workshops and gain experience from our resident businesses.
Learn from experts: Several of our academic staff are National Teaching Fellows – the most prestigious award for excellence in university teaching and learning.

Scholarship terms and conditions

Application Process

We have established a Fast Track application process for all BCU undergraduate students who would like to take a Master’s level degree, which you can find in your student portal (see here MySRS). It will just take a few clicks to find a suitable course and complete the Fast Track Application form.

Some courses do require a different application process:

Conservatoire programmes can be applied for via UCAS Conservatoires
Law programmes can be applied for via LawCabs.

How to complete the fast track application

Eligibility

To be awarded a scholarship, you must fulfil the following criteria:

Have achieved a first or second class honours degree (first, 2:1, 2:2)
Be enrolling onto a Master’s course, either full-time or part-time, that is not exempt from the Scholarship (see list below)
Be a UK, EU or international fee-paying student
Have completed a BCU undergraduate degree within the past two years (24 months)**.

*The two years begins on the date the undergraduate degree was completed, NOT the date the undergraduate degree award was given (graduation). E.g. If the degree was completed on 4 June 2022, the 24 month window will end on 4 June 2024.

**If you choose to defer entry to a course, your new start date would still need to fall within the 24-month window to access the Scholarship.

The Scholarship is also open to Level 7 Apprenticeship students who fulfil the criteria above. Students who joined BCU in their third year after gaining a HND are also eligible.

It is not open to ERASMUS students currently studying at BCU.

If you are eligible for the Graduate Scholarship and a second BCU scholarship, we will automatically award you the larger of the two. You can only hold one Scholarship, whichever represents the greater amount.

Courses exempt from the Scholarship

Please note that the Scholarship is not available for study at research level (PhDs).

In addition, the Scholarship is not open to students wishing to enrol on the following courses:

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses
Distance learning / online programmes (excl. MSc Psychology)
Franchise or validated course delivered at or through partner colleges
PGCE
Postgraduate Certificates
Postgraduate Diplomas
Graduate Diplomas

Timelines

You can apply at any time for a postgraduate course (via MySRS), even if you do not have your degree results. We encourage you to apply early since some programmes may be full due to popular demand.

When you become eligible for the Scholarship (i.e. you have achieved a first or second class undergraduate honours degree from BCU and are continuing, or returning within 24 months, onto a postgraduate programme), you will automatically be awarded the Graduate Scholarship.

If you are a UK or Irish student, or EU passport holder with Pre-Settled or Settled status, you can also apply for the government postgraduate loan of up to £11,836 (for courses starting after 1 August 2022). If you qualify for Student Finance England (SFE) funding, please apply as early as possible as the SFE team gets very busy with applications for undergraduate loans too at certain times of the year. Applying late may lead to a delay in receiving your loan. For more information about this, visit the government’s student finance website.