Sanctuary Scholarship

The selection process is as follows:

After you've completed the online application form, Funding, Graduation and Awards will check your application and contact you if we need any further information.
Your application will then be reviewed by the University's International Student Team (IST) to check that you meet the edibility criteria for an award. The University will need to contact the Home Office on your behalf, so it's important that you complete the authorisation form as part of your scholarship application.
If your application is taken forward, it will be shared with the University's Sanctuary Scholarship panel, who will identify the applicants that we would like to invite for an interview.
For those who make it to this stage, the interviews will take place in the week commencing Monday 27 May 2024, either at our Edgbaston campus or on-line.
Successful candidates will be identified at the interviews and notified of the outcome by the beginning of June. All awards are made at the discretion of the panel and there is no appeal against a decision not to award a scholarship.
If necessary, the successful candidates will then be invited to an English Language testing day, hosted by the Birmingham International Academy (BIA) in either June or July. The testing will help those who have outstanding English Language requirements in their offer to study at the University of Birmingham.

The University of Birmingham is pleased to be able to offer five Sanctuary Scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students starting at the University who have sought refuge in the UK. We are committed to providing a welcoming environment for asylum seekers and we are passionate about becoming a university of sanctuary.

Value of Award

Sanctuary Scholars receive a full tuition-fee waiver and £5,000 per year of study to help with living costs. The University will also offer a fully funded place in University-owned accommodation to all Scholars for the duration of your course. You will also receive a welcome pack on starting at the University, which will include useful resources to help get your studies off to a great start.

To be considered for a Sanctuary Scholarship you must be able to demonstrate that you meet the following conditions at the point your application for the Scholarship is made:

• You must be unable to access mainstream UK student funding due to your residency status at the point your application for the Scholarship is made.
• You must have submitted, or be a dependant of someone who has submitted, an asylum application in the UK OR you need to have already been granted discretionary leave, at the point your application for the Scholarship is made.
• To be classed as a dependent, spouses/civil partners must have been the spouse/civil partner on the date 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.
• You must have made an application to study at the University of Birmingham for a full-time undergraduate or postgraduate taught course.