Scholarships and bursaries
Scholarships are payments made to support your education, awarded on the basis of merit, personal achievement and academic ability.
Bursaries are non-competitive payments intended to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds, or who are having difficulties funding their studies. In 2019 we spent more than £4.5m on bursaries to support our students.
Scholarships
Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarships starting from £5,000, payable as a reduction of the international tuition fee for the first year of study. We encourage prompt submission of your scholarship application once you have received an eligible programme offer.
The University of Exeter Sports Scholarship Scheme is one of the most prestigious in the UK, helping the best student athletes reach their full potential. The scheme provides a comprehensive support package and is tailored to suit the needs of each individual athlete. Many of our graduating scholars have progressed to a professional level in their chosen sport and represented their respective countries on the global stage.
Find out more about these scholarships on our sports website.
In addition to the Chapel Choir, the University also has close performing relations with Exeter Cathedral and three local churches, each offering their own scholarship schemes. The awards available are of various values, depending on weekly duties.
The University invites applications for the Scholarships listed below from candidates residing in Cornwall or Devon who also meet the specific requirements of the individual awards and have been offered an undergraduate place at the University (Exeter and Penryn campuses) through UCAS for degrees commencing in September 2022.
Find out more about these scholarships on our dedicated webpage.
The Sanctuary Scholarship scheme enables individuals seeking asylum and refugees who are not able to access student finance to study at the University of Exeter.
Deadline
Please note that applications for 2021/22 entry are now closed. The application deadline was 21 May 2021.
Travel scholarships
The Mrs Bessie Rook Memorial Scholarships are awarded to students who will be studying abroad in German and/or French speaking countries. For the 2021/22 academic year 6 scholarships are available, each worth £1,000.
A small number of travel bursaries are available to students of all degree programmes at the Penryn Campus to help with the costs of field trips and project work. In the first instance, preference will be given to students born and who currently reside in Cornwall, and are eligible to receive the full maintenance grant. Depending on application numbers others may also be considered.
The Languages for World Peace and Understanding Scholarship is worth £600 and is awarded to a student who will be undertaking a study abroad year in 2021/22 in a Spanish and/ or French speaking country.
Bursaries
The University of Exeter provides additional funding to certain part time and full time Home or returning European Union students in the form of the Access to Exeter Bursary.
We will automatically assess your entitlement for an award based on your household income information provided by the relevant UK Funding Body. However, we can only do this if you, and your parent(s), do not opt out of consenting to share your financial details when you complete your Application for Student Finance.
In order to see what funding you could be eligible to receive please check your household income below:
Household income of £16,000 and below
If you have started, or are due to start, your studies after September 2015 and have a household income* £16,000 or below, you are eligible for the Access to Exeter (ATE) Bursary.
For the first year of your studies you are eligible to receive a £2,130 Bursary and from the second year onwards, for the duration of your undergraduate studies, a £1,580 Bursary, providing you continue to meet the eligibility criteria.
* for further details on how your household income is assessed, please visit the Direct Gov website.
Payment of the ATE Bursary
Payments are made in 3 instalments and will be made direct to a nominated bank account, with each instalment weighted according to the number of weeks in each term. The table below shows the dates of each instalment and how your payments will be weighted according to your total bursary:
|
Payment Date |
£2,130 |
£1,580 |
|---|---|---|
|
29 October 2021 |
£850 |
£635 |
|
21 January 2022 |
£850 |
£635 |
|
29 April 2022 |
£430 |
£310 |
Household income between £16,001-£25,000
If you have started, or are due to start, your studies after September 2015 and have a household income* of between £16,001-£25,000, you are eligible for an Access to Exeter (ATE) Bursary award of £1,070 for all years of study.
* for further details on how your household income is assessed, please visit Direct Gov.
Payment of the ATE Bursary
Payments are made in 3 instalments and will be made direct to a nominated bank account, with each instalment weighted according to the number of weeks in each term. The table below shows the dates of each instalment and how your payments will be weighted according to your total bursary:
| Payment Date | £1,070 Amount |
|---|---|
| 29 October 2021 | £430 |
| 21 January 2022 | £430 |
| 29 April 2022 | £210 |
We automatically assess your entitlement for the awards based on information about your household income provided by the relevant UK Funding Body. However, we can only do this if you consent to share your financial details when you complete your Application for Student Finance.
Terms and conditions
For further information on our bursary schemes, please see our Terms and Conditions.
The University of Exeter offers financial support to students who have been in care in the form of a full fee waiver for UK undergraduates and PGCE students, and a Care Leavers’ Bursary.
For the purposes of these schemes, the University of Exeter define care leavers as young people (up to the age of 25) who have been looked after by the local authority for more than 13 weeks since they were 14, including some time at age 16 or 17.
Fee waiver
Care leavers starting undergraduate or PGCE courses at the University of Exeter will not have to pay tuition fees. If you have identified yourself as someone who has been in care in your UCAS application, the University of Exeter will contact you asking for further information. You will be asked to show that you meet the criteria described above and have home fee status.
Care Leavers’ Bursary
To be eligible you will need to meet the following criteria:
- You are a care leaver (see definition above)
- You must be under 25 when you start your course
- You must be in receipt of financial support from the university through the Exeter National Scholarship or Access to Exeter Bursary schemes
The bursary is intended to help with the cost of accommodation during the summer vacation period after your first and subsequent years of study (but not final year). The bursary amount is not fixed, but is decided by taking into account the additional cost of your accommodation needs.
To apply for this bursary, please contact the Students’ Guild Advice Service.
Further information on the full support package avaliable to Care leavers and Care experienced students can be found on our Widening participation student support pages.
