USW Travel Bursary

To apply for the bursary, you must:

• Be applying for your first undergraduate or first postgraduate degree.
• Be eligible for funding by one of the UK or Channel Island funding providers.
• You may only claim once for each event you attend.
• Have booked and attended an Open Day, Interview Day or Applicant Experience Day at the University of South Wales.

• You can apply for the bursary at any time; however, awards will ordinarily be made after attendance at the event.
• You must scan in with the events team at the event to log your attendance.
• Where possible we make awards to cover the full cost, however indicative guidelines are below.

Claim Guidelines:

• Round trip travel under 100 Miles - Up to £50
• Round trip travel 101 to 199 miles - Up to £100
• Round trip travel over 200 miles - Up to £150
• Hotels for round trip over 200 miles - up to £120

Please note: Awards are made on a first come, first served basis, subject to availability. The University reserves the right to withdraw this bursary at any time.

• The University may reimburse the cost of travel for a carer who offers support to a disabled prospective student where the carer is required to facilitate travel and accessibility. 

• The University can reimburse towards the cost of standard class return rail travel between your home (or the address from which you travelled on the day) and the nearest train station to the relevant campus.
• The University will not reimburse the cost of first-class travel, or any additional costs (e.g., penalty fares). You should take the most appropriate direct route and attempt to book in advance to secure the most favourable fare. 

• The University can reimburse towards the cost of local bus fares where a bus journey is required to travel to your nearest bus or coach station.
• The University can reimburse the cost of bus or coach fares between your home and Cardiff Coach Station. 

• If travelling by car, the University can reimburse mileage for a return journey between your home postcode and the relevant campus.
• Distances will be calculated using the RAC Route Planner.
• The distance for the recommended route will be multiplied by 35p per mile to obtain the amount to be reimbursed.
• The cost of parking charges can also be claimed up to a maximum of £15.00.

• The University can reimburse towards the cost of ferry, boat, or economy class air fares (or the equivalent on budget airlines) for flights from the UK Airport closest to your home and Cardiff International Airport where a low-cost airfare is cheaper than the equivalent bus, coach, or train fare.
• The University can reimburse the costs of appropriate airport flyer bus services between airports and your home and the University.
• The University will not reimburse the cost of business class or first-class air fares or additional charges for priority boarding, airport lounges, Wi-Fi or meals, snacks and drinks purchased at the airport or in-flight.
• The University will not reimburse the cost of international flights that originate from outside the United Kingdom.
• This restriction applies to both EU students (eligible for home fee status) travelling from an EU country and UK students who are currently living overseas (including within another EU member state) and travelling to USW to an Open Day, Interview, or an Applicant Experience Day.
• By exception, we may be able to honour a claim for travel between Dublin airport and Cardiff providing the journey starts in Northern Ireland for prospective students living in Northern Ireland and where it is not possible to travel from Belfast. Contact us for clarification before travelling. 

• The University will only reimburse the cost of overnight accommodation where a single day round trip would not be possible.
• This would usually be for prospective students travelling from Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or more than a 200-mile round trip.

• The University would not ordinarily be able to reimburse the cost of taxi fares to the University or between bus or coach stations and your home or the University.
• The University cannot cover the costs for any additional expenditure such as subsistence (meals, drinks, etc).
• The University cannot reimburse the cost of travel for additional individuals (other than carers noted above) who accompany prospective students such as parents, guardians, or friends.
• Any fines incurred while driving or parking cannot be reimbursed.

If you have any questions about the travel bursary, need to check any eligibility requirements or need to discuss your individual circumstances, please contact [email protected].  

Discounted rail travel is available with Great Western Railway (GWR) for attendees travelling to our on-campus Open Days and Applicant Experience Days.

How to use the discount

You can apply the discount when booking your journey via the GWR website:

• Search for your journey as normal
• Select “Have a Promo Code?”
• Enter the code: USWOPENDAY26

The discount code is valid within 7 days of the event date.

Visitors attending our events can receive a 20% discount on travel with National Express using the promotion code UOSW30.

Please see the terms and conditions below for full details.

Terms and conditions

• Discount only valid for students travelling to Open day on 25 October 2025, 22 November 2025, 21 January 2026, 21 March 2026, 3 June 2026 and 13 June 2026.  Also valid for travel to an Applicant Experience Day on 28 February 2026, 18 April 20256 and 9 May 2026 at  University of South Wales.
• Redeemable from any location to Newport South Wales or Cardiff Coach Station, Sophia Gardens.
• Only valid for travel to an Open Day/Applicant Experience Day on the following dates,24-25 October 2025, 21-22 November 2025, 20-22 January 2026, 27 February -1 March 2026, 20-22 March 2026, 17-18 April 2026, 8-10 May 2026, 2-4 June 2026 and 12-14 June 2026
• Bookings must be made 3 days in advance.
• Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer including Coachcards.
• Offer cannot be used on third-party services.
• Read the full National Express terms and conditions here.
• All tickets are issued and all passengers are carried subject to National Express' General Conditions of Carriage.