Eligibility for the Discretionary Student Support Fund
The Discretionary Student Support Fund (DSSF) is part of Bath’s undergraduate financial support framework for UK Home undergraduate students who took up a place to study at the University of Bath from 2012 onwards. It is paid in the form of non-repayable bursaries to students who meet specific criteria dependent on their year of entry.
Please note if you are already in receipt of the Bath Bursary, Gold Scholarship or Income Related Scholarship you are not eligible to apply unless you are repeating a year due to personal or mitigating circumstance.
Repeating a year of study
If you are repeating a year due to personal or mitigating circumstances and you received a University bursary award in the previous year you may qualify for a DSSF award. You will need to verify your circumstances before an award will be considered.
If you are repeating a year and you are a care leaver or estranged from your parents, you may be eligible for an additional year of funding from the DSSF.
Fall in household income
If your household income has dropped to below £16,000 (2012 & 2013 entrants), below £20,000 (2014 & 2015 entrants), below £22,000 (2016, 2017 & 2018 entrants) and below £25,000 (2019 & 2020 entrants) since starting your studies and you also meet specific widening participation criteria you may also be eligible for an award.
The household income and widening participation criteria for the DSSF exactly mirror those of the Bath Bursary, which is determined by the year you started your course. Please select your year of entry on the bursary webpage to view your applicable criteria and relevant award amounts:
How and when to apply
If you think you may be eligible for the DSSF please contact Student Money Advice for an application form and the full Terms and Conditions.
A decision will normally be made within 4 weeks of submitting your application, provided that the application form has been fully completed and all documentary evidence has been received.
A Funding Panel will consider applications submitted on grounds of mitigating circumstances.
You can only apply once per academic year and you will need to make a new DSSF application for each academic year, subject to eligibility and funds available.
This is a discretionary fund and therefore students do not have an entitlement to receive an award. In addition, the DSSF is limited in its available funds and so not all applications may be successful. There is no right of appeal and the University’s decision is final in relation to your eligibility and entitlement.