What is the Placement Bursary?

If you are in receipt of the Bath Bursary, Gold Scholarship, Cowrie Foundation Scholarship or Discretionary Student Support Fund, and undertake an unpaid placement period as part of your degree, you may be eligible for the Placement Bursary. This award is worth either £1,000 or £2,000, depending on the type of placement that you are undertaking.

The Placement Bursary is paid as a single instalment in December, alongside your other University funding.

Please refer to the historic undergraduate bursaries and scholarships Terms and Conditions for previous years of entry.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must:

• be a Home UK undergraduate student in receipt of the Bath Bursary, Gold Scholarship, Cowrie Foundation Scholarship or Discretionary Student Support Fund
• be undertaking an unpaid placement period or study abroad as part of your degree in the 2024/25 academic year

You will receive:

• the full award of £2,000 if you are doing a full-year unpaid placement and/or study abroad
• a pro rata award of £1,000 if you are doing a placement year that is part paid and part unpaid and/or study abroad
• a pro rata award of £1,000 if you are doing a thin sandwich placement that is unpaid and/or study abroad

If you are undertaking a full-year paid placement, or a thin sandwich paid placement, you will not be eligible for the Placement Bursary.

Placement course definition

For the purposes of this bursary scheme, a placement course:

• is a course that has a full or half-year placement option as an integral part of the course
• is defined by the UCAS codes that identify the course as an undergraduate degree course with placement
• can be made up of paid or unpaid employment, research, or study abroad. These periods normally attract a reduced tuition fee liability

Your placement will be classed as unpaid if:

• you are carrying out unpaid employment, research, or study abroad
• you are in receipt of a stipend – a paid allowance that is non-taxable income

How to apply

There is no application process for the Placement Bursary. Awards are automatic based on the information we hold for you.

You must, however, ensure that your placements team have everything they require to code your placement correctly in Samis e.g., confirmation of whether your placement is paid or unpaid. You should speak to your department placements team if you have any questions about this.

If you are in receipt of the Discretionary Student Support Fund, you will need to notify studentmoneyadvice@bath.ac.uk and undergraduatefunding@bath.ac.uk to make them aware of your placement circumstances.

Closing date?

The final date for us to consider awards for the 2024/25 academic year is 9am on Monday 18th November 2024.

We will email all eligible students the week commencing 18th November 2024. It is your responsibility to ensure that your placement record is accurate and up-to-date.

Other funding opportunities

The Student Money Advice Team have lots of tips on planning your finances for your placement year, including other funding opportunities. They can also provide further guidance to those who have concerns about their finances, or who are experiencing financial hardship.

The Alumni Fund Placement Grant supports Home UK undergraduates who undertake an unpaid placement year. Eligibility criteria apply.

The Turing Scheme supports students by providing funding to help cover some of the costs of living, studying and working abroad.