Digital Hardship Fund 2026/2027

USW is providing a scheme to help new full time undergraduate and postgraduate USW students studying at a USW campus for the first time in the 2026/27 academic year in response to the challenges that many are experiencing with financial difficulties affording a basic laptop for their studies.

The support available is a voucher for a refurbished laptop from our supplier.

The scheme is intended to support new  full-time USW students who are experiencing financial hardship and cannot afford to buy a laptop.

In the event of oversubscription, priority will be given to students deemed to be most in need and who will receive the most benefit from the scheme.

Both your personal circumstances and your financial circumstances will be used to assess your application in a fair manner. The fund is limited and not all applicants will be successful. It should be noted that there is no right of appeal.

The scheme will open during your first term of study at USW.

FAQs

USW students who are starting an eligible  full-time undergraduate or postgraduate course in the 2026/27 academic year and are based at a USW campus. The campuses are:

  • Pontypridd (Treforest & Glyntaff)
  • Cardiff
  • Newport
  • Sport Park

Cohorts that are ineligible:

  • Partner College students
  • Pre-sessional English
  • Part-time students
  • Courses taught solely online
  • Students continuing at USW on a top-up course (e.g. going from a foundation degree to a one-year top-up course)
  • QA Higher Education students on a Pathway College course

If you have received a laptop through another USW scheme, you are not eligible to receive a voucher for a laptop through the Digital Hardship Fund 2026/27.

A new student is in their first year of study with USW and is starting on year 0 or year 1 of an eligible course.

This would not include students:

  • Who are repeating their year of study
  • Who have changed to a different course since studying with us last year
  • Who were in year 0 last year and are now on year 1.

Please click here to access the form (you will need to be logged into your university account).

The deadline to submit an application form is 4pm on Friday 23 October 2026. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered. There is no appeals process, and all decisions will be final.

Applicants are reminded that they are solely responsible for ensuring that their application form has been submitted correctly and cannot make changes to applications or resubmit, so please check your answers before submitting.

The University reserves the right to request further evidence from applicants to verify their circumstances. 

No, not everyone who applies will be awarded support. Applications will be assessed against criteria to ensure that those most in need of equipment/financial help receive support.

If required, the university will request evidence from you to support your application, and you will have a week from the requesting date to provide this information. If all the information required is not provided within this time, your application will be automatically declined.

Decisions are expected to be available within one month of the closing date and will be sent to your university student email account.

Successful students will be awarded a voucher which is to be exchanged for a refurbished laptop with a 3x year warranty (30 days for batteries).


The laptop spec is as follows:


Product – Dell Latitude 3410
Condition – Grade A
Memory Size – 32GB
Hard Drive Capacity – 256GB
Operating System – Windows 11 Pro
Processor – Intel Core i5
Screen Size - 14” 


Vouchers are limited and applications will be judged on a case-by-case basis.

The decision of the University is final, and no appeals will be considered.

If you are an international student and successful with your application, then you can be assured that receiving this support is not considered as ‘public funds’ and therefore will not impact on any future visa applications that you may make. If you have any queries, please email [email protected].

No, the scheme was previously available to all students in previous years and is now only available to new students.

No, students can make one application during the 2026/27 academic year.

No, students cannot make changes to their application after submitting. Applicants are reminded that they are solely responsible for ensuring that their application form has been submitted correctly, so please check your answers before submitting.

No - if you are studying at a Partner College, you should contact your college to see what support is available.

If you are experiencing IT issues accessing or submitting the application form, please take a screenshot of the issue that has occurred and email it to [email protected] as soon as possible and no later than the deadline.

Please see options available to students: Options for Students | University of South Wales

Open Access suites: You can access computers in your campus library, check out the library opening times to see when they're available. There are also open access computer labs all over campuses available for you to use.

Laptop Loans: Laptop Loans | University of South Wales - All our campus libraries now offer a self-service laptop collection service. The laptops are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis and can be borrowed for a 1-week loan period.

Competitive Rates: IT Services have secured rates for students who have the means and wish to purchase their own equipment from Stone Technologies. Equipment can be purchased through their website Refurbished Laptops and Desktop PCs | Stone Refurb using the following discount code: SRISW-Q22024 (10% discount, no minimum spend).

Disabled Student Allowance: UK Students with long-term health conditions, disabilities, mental health or specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia) may be eligible to apply to their funding authority for Disabled Students Allowances to pay for disability specific study-related support services and equipment including a laptop. The Disability team can assist you with this.

Healthcare Students on NHS Bursary Registered Courses: A grant of £200 toward IT equipment may be available for those students who are Welsh domiciled and have a home address within a WIMD 1 and 2 decile areas. This grant is administered by the faculty automatically following enrolment. All home students will receive an email from the faculty in October stating whether they are or are not eligible. There is no appeal process - the only eligibility factor is your home address when you enrolled. Please refer to your course page for further information Courses - University of South Wales

Student Support Fund: The university has a Student Support Fund for home (UK) students studying at a USW campus.

International Student Support Fund: The university has an International Student Support Fund for international students studying at a USW campus.

If you are a USW student at a partner college, then please contact your partner college for advice and guidance.

If you have any other queries about the scheme, please contact [email protected].