The information supplied on this page is for undergraduate students starting their studies in September 2024 or after. Students who started at Bath before September 2024 will continue to receive the funding they were originally awarded.
Please refer to the Historic Terms and Conditions for your year of entry if you joined the University of Bath before September 2024.
What is the Bath Bursary?
The Bath Bursary provides free financial support to students with a household income of £30,000 or below.
As of 2024 entrance, the Bath Bursary will comprise of the following payment structure:
Year 1: £2,750 comprised of: £1,000 cash, £1,000 Food and Drink Credit, plus £750 accommodation reduction if in university-housed accommodation
Continuing students studying in Bath all year: £2,000 total comprised of: £1,000 cash and £1,000 Food and Drink Credit
For students on placement:
Thin paid placement: £1,000 total comprised of: £500 cash and £500 Food and Drink Credit
Thin unpaid placement: £2,000 total comprised of: £1,500 cash and £500 Food and Drink Credit
Thick unpaid placement: £2,000 total comprised of: £2000 cash
Bath Bursary recipients who take an unpaid placement period may also be eligible for the Placement Bursary
Bath Bursaries are not limited in number. You will automatically receive an award provided you meet the eligibility criteria (unless you have applied for and are successful in gaining a Gold Scholarship).
Details of the payment schedule can be found here.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a Bath Bursary, you must:
- be a new Home UK1 undergraduate starting studies in 2024 and
- be starting a full-time campus based undergraduate degree and
- be eligible for and have a student loans household income assessment of £30,0002 or below
The Bath Bursary can be awarded in any year of study, provided you started your studies at Bath from September 2024 onwards.
How to apply
There is no application process for a Bath Bursary. You must, however, ensure that you:
- have requested for a household income assessment to be completed by your relevant UK student loans awarding agency e.g., Student Finance England (or equivalent)
- have not withheld permission for your household income assessment to be shared with the University by your student loans awarding agency
It is your responsibility to ensure that you have applied for a household income assessment ahead of starting your studies. It can take 6-8 weeks for the SLC to conduct and process a household income assessment; so, we strongly recommend that you start this process as soon as possible. Please do not leave it until August to apply for your student finance.
The University is not responsible for any delays in your student loans application being processed or information not being passed onto us by your student loans awarding agency.
The consent option to share your household income with the University will be automatically ticked within your SLC application. Please ensure that neither you nor your parent/guardian unticks this, otherwise the University will be unable to assess your funding eligibility.
Closing date?
We must have received your household income assessment by Friday 14th March 2025 in order to provide you with financial support for the 2024/5 academic year.
If we receive your household income assessment after this date, then you will be awarded a Bath Bursary from the 2025/6 academic year onwards.
Household income reassessments
If your household income has fallen by 15% or more since it was initially assessed, you can request for the Student Loans Company (SLC) to reassess, and provide the University with an updated figure.
Any assessments or reassessments received after the Friday 14th March 2025 will be considered for the 2025/6 academic year onwards. Please contact studentmoneyadvice@bath.ac.uk for financial support and advice between this date and the beginning of the 2025/6 academic year.
An award will not be taken away if your household income increases in any subsequent year.
Other funding opportunities
See our scholarships and bursaries web pages for information about other funding opportunities.
If you are a current student experiencing financial hardship you can speak to the Student Money Advice Team who can provide you with helpful information, advice and additional financial support, where appropriate.