UNDERGRADUATE SANCTUARY SCHOLARSHIP 2025 to 2026
The Sanctuary Scholarship will support two successful undergraduate applicants with tuition fees waived for the duration of their undergraduate studies and a scholarship to assist with course related costs.
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How does it work?
To be eligible you must be assessed by USW as having one of the following immigration status's:
- Be a Person Seeking Asylum
- Limited Leave to Remain (as a result of an Asylum application)
- Be the partner/dependent included on the application of a person of any of the above groups*
* 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
In addition, you must also
- Have been offered a conditional or unconditional offer for a full time undergraduate degree at the University of South Wales starting in September 2025
- Accepted the offer on a firm basis
- Have applied for a course lasting at least three academic years (excluding NHS funded courses e.g. nursing) by 4.30pm on Friday 6th June 2025
- Live within reasonable commuting distance to the campus that your chosen course is on
- Not require additional support from the University for living expenses or accommodation other than that provided through the USW Undergraduate Sanctuary Scholarship.
- Due to your immigration status, not be eligible for Student Finance from another authority e.g. Student Finance Wales, Student Finance England, SAAS, Student Finance Northern Ireland etc (you may be required to show evidence of this)
- Apply for the scholarship by 4.30pm on Friday 5th July 2025.
The scholarship will waive the full tuition fees costs of an eligible full time undergraduate degree for the duration of your original programme or until such a point that you become eligible to apply for UK government student financial support, at which point scholarship recipients must apply for this support. In addition to the tuition fee waiver, the following support will be provided by the University:
Pre-Entry
- An English Language test if required for admission
- An English Language pre-sessional course of up to 5 weeks duration if assessed as required.
Year 1
- Assistance to enable the purchase of an electronic device (e.g. laptop or tablet)
- Assistance towards the cost of local travel e.g. A rail card between Cardiff to Treforest or Cardiff to Newport or other local travel from home address to university
- Book voucher for Waterstones to support the purchase of academic texts
- A food voucher for a USW food outlet
- Support with course‐related consumables e.g. printing costs.
Year 2,3,4
- Assistance towards the cost of local travel e.g. A rail card between Cardiff to Treforest or Cardiff to Newport or other local travel from home address to university
- Book voucher for Waterstones to support the purchase of academic texts
- A food voucher for a USW food outlet
- Support with course‐related consumables e.g. printing costs
- Final year a £100 award towards graduation costs.
The amount of financial support will be set by the panel on an annual basis. Items may not usually be exchanged for other support, and requests for payment in kind will not usually be considered. No funding will be transferred directly to the students so as not to affect any UK Home Office financial support and remain within No Recourse to Public Funds condition.
You must submit the application by 4.30pm on Friday 4th July 2025.
- whether applicants meet the eligibility criteria for the scholarship;
- which eligible applicants would benefit most from receiving the USW Undergraduate Sanctuary Scholarship taking into account:
- Residency status
- Any barriers applicants have faced to access and complete higher education
- Access to other sources of funding
- Applicants' future ambition
- Applicants' support networks
- Applicants' personal statement
- The location applicants live in relation to the campus where the course is based.
You may be invited to an interview to discuss your application before final decisions are made.
The decision of the selection panel is final and there is no appeals process.
If you require an English Language test, we will process the application for this within 10 working days of this. After you receive the result of your test, we will let you know if you still remain eligible to be considered for the rest of the scholarship.
After the closing date, the panel will consider all remaining eligible applications for the scholarship. You will be notified of their decision within two weeks of the closing date.
Please note the panel may require for you to attend an interview to discuss your application further.
Successful applicants will also need to meet with a member of the Immigration and International Student Advice Team before enrolling to agree to enrolment conditions and have their immigration status checked.
If you do not have the right to study confirmed by the UK Home Office, you will not be permitted to start your programme of study and will not receive scholarship support.
If you are considering interrupting your studies, you must contact the Student Money Advice Team before you finalise your interruption of studies. Interrupting your studies may have an impact on your eligibility to receive the USW Undergraduate Sanctuary Scholarship. You must inform the Student Money Advice Team at the earliest opportunity to avoid any potential issues.
Successful applicants of the Undergraduate Sanctuary Scholarships may be contacted by the University about their experience of studying at the University of South Wales.