Sanctuary Scholarship

A panel of judges will review each application and reference. We will contact you via email in August to let you know if you have been successful or not. If you have been successful we’ll share the next steps when we let you know the outcome of your application.

No – you can only receive one BCU Scholarship. If you are granted more than one BCU scholarship, you will receive the larger scholarship.

To accept the scholarship, you will need to supply us with your bank details, so that we can process payments of the scholarship. You will need to do this by 31 August so that we can process the payment.

The tuition fee waiver and accommodation costs will be implemented automatically. You will receive the bursary following enrolment onto your course at BCU.

Autumn term – Payment received Late August-Early October 2026

Spring term – Payment received Mid January 2026

Summer term – Payment received Mid-late April 2026

If your status changes, you will need to let the university know immediately, so that we can review the conditions of the Scholarship and whether we are still able to award it to you.

This scholarship is for students who are not able to access Student Finance. If your situations changes, you need to inform the university immediately, so that we can review whether we are still able to award the scholarship.

We will contact all applicants in August to let them know the outcome of their application for the scholarship.

The scholarship is for the normal duration of the undergraduate programme for which you have been admitted. If you need to repeat a year then the scholarship funding will be extended to cover the additional year, up to a maximum of four years.

Two BCU Sanctuary scholarships will be awarded in 2026/27.

If you withdraw from your course, then we will withdraw the scholarship. You will not receive any further funding. You will not need to repay any money you have already received for the scholarship.

The reference should outline:

• The applicant's personal and financial circumstances and what barriers have they overcome to continue their education?
• What contributions, to the referee's knowledge, has the student made to college life and/or their community?
• How does the referee think the student would benefit from the scholarship?
• Any other information that the referee believes is relevant to the student's application.

The reference should be someone who knows you well, but is not a direct relation. For example, it could be your school tutor.

If you do not accept the scholarship before 31 August, we will offer the scholarship to another applicant.

You will have a place in our University Locks accommodation.

If you don't need a place in university halls, you can still access the tuition fee and cost of living elements of the scholarship. You won't have access to alternative accommodation support.