Financial Support for College Students

Online applications for the 2023/24 academic year are now open.

Financial support available

We know your finances and financial future are important to you so we try and give you as much advice as possible about what it will cost to study at University College Birmingham and the support available to you.

On this page, you will be able to see details of each of our bursaries and determine which one would be applicable to you based on your circumstances. There is also detailed guidance and a handy guide to download which explains registering and making an application which will help you through the process.

Please note the bursary is unable to provide financial assistance towards your course tuition costs. If you have any queries please contact us at financialsupport@ucb.ac.uk

Bursary Support Policy

Your application

Applications for current students are now open.

For students joining University College Birmingham this September, applications can be made after their enrolment (end of August).

Apply now

How to apply

Applications for all financial support for our college students are done online via our financial support portal. The first time you use our portal, you must register using your UCB student ID number. New students can't apply until they are fully enrolled. When applying you will need to provide evidence of your household income, so please have this ready when you start the application.

Please read the guidelines below to find out about eligibility and what you can apply for before applying for any financial support.

For students returning to study with us for 2023/2024 who have enrolled on their course, bursary applications have opened on Friday, 14 July 2023. For students starting their courses in 2023/2024, course enrolments take place at the end of August. Once you have enrolled on your course, you will be able to apply for a bursary.

View guide Apply now

Please note: All communication about your financial support application will be by email, so please check this regularly.

What am I eligible for?

Please see the information below on the support you may be able to apply for.

I am aged 16-18 at the start of my course

If your household income is below £27,000 or your household is in receipt of the benefits below you may be eligible for financial support:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Tax Credits
  • Universal Credit
  • Pension Credit

To be eligible students must also be studying on a full time course and be attending a minimum of 2 days per week.

Travel Support

If you are eligible for funding and live in the West Midlands travel area, a minimum of 1.5 miles away we can provide you with a travel pass from NXBus to help support with your travel to and from College.

If you live out of the West Midlands travel area and your household income is below £31,000 we can still support you with travel. Where possible, this will be through a termly travel pass issued by West Midlands Railway. If not, we may be able to support with a monthly travel support payment of up to £100, as a contribution to your travel costs.

Meal Support

If you are not eligible for Free College Meals (please see below), we may also be able to support with the cost of meals with up to £3.50 a day (allowance to be used in our college food outlets and café).

Free College Meals

Free college meals will be offered to learners aged between who meet the below government criteria and are; 16 -18 on the 31st of August at the start of the academic year,
or they are 19+ continuing on a study programme they began aged 16 to 18 (19+ continuers),
or have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • The guarantee element of State Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC))
  • Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after someone stops qualifying for Working Tax Credit
  • Universal Credit with net earnings not exceeding the equivalent of £7,400 pa (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

Free Meal Transitional Protection Arrangements

If you had Free Meals at school or College last academic year, then you can continue to receive these, although you may need to provide us with evidence from your previous provider.

Please note you are required to apply for free college meals via the bursary.

16 – 19 Childcare 

Learners aged under 20 on the 31st of August at the start of the academic year who have a child that needs childcare while they attend college can receive assistance through Care to Learn via the Government. For more information on the Government's Care to Learn scheme, click here.

I am aged 16-19 at the start of my course, I live independently, in care or I am a care leaver

The college is able to offer an additional scheme called the Vulnerable Learner Bursary for those students who meet the specific criteria.

You could get up to £1,200 per year paid in fortnightly instalments of £70.00 during term time.

We are also able to provide meal support of £3.50 a day for the days you attend College, as well as a bus pass to support with travel costs.

To be eligible for 16–19 Vulnerable Learner Bursary, you will define as one of the below vulnerable groups:

  • you’re in or you recently left local authority care
  • you (the student) gets Income Support or Universal Credit because you’re financially supporting yourself 
  • you (the student) gets Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in your name and either Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit 
  • you (the student) gets Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in your name and either ESA or Universal Credit.

You will need to provide evidence of your eligibility.

I am aged 19+ at the start of my course

If you are a student aged 19 and up you can access support for travel, childcare and uniform and equipment.

You may be able to access support if your household income is below £31,000 per annum (this is for a household with one or no children, this increases by £1000 for up to a maximum of four children) or you are in receipt of one of the benefits below:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Tax Credits
  • Universal Credit
  • Pension Credit

We offer a range of support for those eligible including:

Travel Support

If you are eligible for funding and live in the West Midlands travel area, a minimum of 1.5 miles away, we can provide you with a travel pass from NXBus to help support with your travel to and from College.

If you live out of the West Midlands travel area, we can still support you with travel. Where possible this will be through a termly travel pass issued by West Midlands Railway. If not, we may be able to support with a monthly travel support payment of up to £100, as a contribution to your travel costs.

Childcare

Students aged 20 and over are able to apply for help with their childcare costs whilst studying here at UCB. If you are eligible, we can support you with childcare costs of up to £100 a week for a maximum of 2 children.

Funding is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Students who make a successful application are expected to maintain an excellent attendance record for the duration of their course.

You will need to provide evidence of your eligibility.

Uniform and Equipment support

We can provide Uniform and Equipment support for those studying on the following courses: Catering/Professional Cookery, Hospitality and Bakery, Hairdressing, Beauty Therapy, Theatrical and Media Makeup, Brickwork, Plumbing, Carpentry, Construction Multi-Skills and Electrical Installation.

You may be eligible for this support if your household income is below £31,000 or your household is in receipt of the benefits below:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Tax Credits
  • Universal Credit
  • Pension Credit

If you are awarded Uniform and Equipment support, you will be told how to order your Uniform and Equipment at this time.

We strongly encourage students to wait until being awarded funding rather than buying their uniform in advance as we may be unable to reimburse these costs.

Please be aware that any student who has equipment funded by the college and who withdraws from their course before the first week of December will either have to return their equipment or repay the amount for said equipment.

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