Accelerate eligibility criteria
To be eligible for Accelerate, you will need to:
- Have a home address postcode that falls under POLAR4 quintile 1
OR
- Have a home address postcode that falls under POLAR4 quintile 2 and meet one of the following criteria
- First in family to go to university
- Have disclosed a disability
- Have/had caring responsibilities
- Are estranged from your parents
- Have refugee/asylum status
- Are or have been in the armed forces, or have/had a parent/carer in the armed forces
- Have parenting responsibilities (and you are 25 at the point of application)
- Been in care (and you are under 25 at the point of application)
- Been in receipt of free school meals (and you are under 25 at the point of application)
You can check your quintile using the Office for Students’ postcode look up.
You will also need to:
- Apply to Birmingham City University by 30 June 2025
- Be awaiting results in the 2024/25 academic year (for qualifications you are taking for the first time)
- Meet any course-specific entry requirements, e.g., passing an interview, submitting a portfolio, or achieving qualifications in a specific subject
Please note: Access to HE students are not eligible for a reduced offer but will be considered for the scholarship element of the scheme if they meet the other eligibility criteria.
Courses excluded from the Accelerate scheme
The Accelerate scheme is for students applying to undergraduate courses (BA, BSc, LLB, MSci), except the following:
- BA Acting, BMus Music and BMus Jazz at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire**
- Sub-degree courses such as Foundation Year entry, Foundation Degrees and HNC/HND
- Courses delivered by BCU partners
- Fast-track/accelerated degrees
- Part-time courses
- Professional Practice/CPD courses
- Short courses (credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing)
- Apprenticeships
- Distance learning/online courses
** BA Acting, BMus Music and BMus Jazz students are not eligible for a reduced offer but will be considered for the scholarship element of the scheme if they meet the other eligibility criteria.
Which academic year is Accelerate available for?
The terms and conditions shown on this page are for those starting in the 2025/26 academic year – joining courses in September 2025 or January 2026.
It will not be possible to defer your Accelerate offer.
Scholarship terms and conditions
To be eligible for the £1,000 scholarship in addition to the Accelerate offer, you will need to:
- Accept your offer of a place to study at BCU, as a firm or insurance choice. If you decline your offer and reapply later in the academic year, you will no longer be eligible for the scholarship
- Be given a confirmed place on an eligible course at BCU on receipt of your level 3 qualifications (A Level / BTEC or equivalent). See excluded courses above
- Complete our online Accelerate module
- Enrol at BCU and pass all required modules in the first year of your course.