UEA is committed to helping reduce the barriers to participation in Higher Education (HE) faced by those seeking asylum in the UK.
Sanctuary Scholarships
For the 2020/21 academic year, UEA will look to offer two scholarships (either undergraduate or postgraduate) to students who are seeking asylum in the UK, and are not entitled to receive statutory student financial support from Student Finance England, (Wales or Northern Ireland), or the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.
The successful applicants will receive:
- Full Tuition Fee Support. Students will be offered a 100% tuition fee waiver.
- Maintenance Support. In addition to a tuition fee waiver, students will be awarded a bursary of £3,000 a year towards living costs and course related expenses.
These will be awarded until such time as you are awarded status that enables you to access student finance. The applicant will then be removed from the scholarship effective from the next academic year, when they will be able to apply for student support.
Eligibility Criteria You must ensure you meet ALL of the eligibility criteria outlined below in order to apply, and be able to provide documentary evidence to verify your circumstances. Applicants who do not meet the full criteria will not be considered for an award.
- You have sought asylum in the UK or were included as a dependant (spouse/child) on an application for asylum*; AND
- You have yet to receive a decision on your asylum claim, or you have received a decision on your claim for asylum which has resulted in an award of DLR (Discretionary Leave to Remain).
- You have been offered a full-time place on either an undergraduate or postgraduate course at UEA, commencing September / October 2020. Please note that courses within the Faculty of Medicine are ineligible for the UEA Sanctuary Scholarship (Fees and Bursary award).
- You are unable to access UK Government Student Financial Support (Tuition and Maintenance Loans) because of your current immigration status.
- You have not already obtained a qualification that is equal or higher than the course you are applying to.
* Spouses / civil partners must have been the spouse / civil partner on the date on which the asylum application was made. Children / step-children must have been aged under 18 on the date on which the asylum application was made.
These scholarships are payable in each academic year of your course until such time as you (or your parents or spouse / civil partner) are granted Refugee Status (Leave to Remain) in the UK. Your award will then cease from the start of the next academic year.
UEA Sanctuary Scholarship (Fee Only Award)
New to 2020 entry, Sanctuary applicants who have Refugee status or Humanitarian Protection and are ineligible for course fee loan funding from Student Finance England due to their possessing a qualification that is equal to or lower than the course qualification being aimed for, may apply for a fees only award.
The successful applicants will receive:
- Full Tuition Fee Support. Students will be offered a 100% tuition fee waiver. The applicant’s maintenance support will be provided by Student Finance England.
You must ensure you meet ALL of the eligibility criteria outlined below in order to apply, and be able to provide documentary evidence to verify your circumstances. Applicants who do not meet the full criteria will not be considered for an award.
- You have received a decision on your asylum claim that has resulted in Refugee status or Humanitarian Protection; AND
- You have been offered a full-time place on an undergraduate course at UEA, commencing September / October 2020; AND
- The qualification aim of the course is equal to or lower than a qualification you already possess; AND
- You have been accepted for a maintenance-only award from Student Finance England.
UEA/INTO UEA Pre-sessional English Scholarship
New to 2020, UEA and INTO UEA are jointly sponsoring a fully funded 12-week pre-sessional English course. The course is available to any applicant from a forced migration background (all statuses are eligible) who intends to study at University but does not meet the English language requirement of the course.
In response to the latest Government and Public Health England advice regarding COVID-19, INTO will no longer run face-to-face teaching and will instead be offering virtual teaching for the Spring and Summer Semesters.
Course Features– Updated
- 20 learning hours per week
- Half of the learning hours will be delivered in real time through a state-of-the-art live virtual classroom by our teaching teams. Live classroom sessions will be delivered within the hours of 8:30am-13:00pm GMT.
- Asynchronous learning to include pre-recorded lectures and interactive tasks such as quizzes, video, group project, presentations and writing practice
- The following skills will be taught: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Research & Presentation skills on different academic interests
- The online programme will allow students to balance their study time between live virtual lessons, self-study and group work with fellow students.
The successful applicants will receive: Full tuition fees for the 12-week course and a bursary of £1000 to cover living costs whilst studying.
You must ensure you meet ALL of the eligibility criteria outlined below in order to apply, and be able to provide documentary evidence to verify your circumstances. Applicants who do not meet the full criteria will not be considered for an award.
- You have an immigration status as a result of having made an asylum application in the UK
If the successful applicant is of an immigration status that makes them ineligible to Student Finance funding, a Sanctuary Scholarship (fees and bursary) will be guaranteed for their University course. If the successful applicant is of an immigration status that makes them eligible for Student Finance, it is expected that the applicant will apply for Student Finance and fund their course as a Home student.
Application and Selection Process
The application process for these scholarships for 2020-21 is now open.
UEA Sanctuary Scholarship Application Form
The deadline for this scholarship is 31st May 2020 and successful candidates will be notified by 30th June 2020.
In the event more applicants than scholarships is available the UEA Sanctuary Scholarship will be awarded by a Selection Panel whose decision is final. Preference will be given to applicants based on:
- Academic potential
- Academic history
- Regional residence
Any enquiries regarding the Sanctuary Scholarship, please contact Peter Courridge.
Read full Terms and Conditions for the Sanctuary Scholarship.