Overview
Funded from a philanthropic donation via the University of Sunderland’s Development and Alumni Office, the Douglas Clasper Elite Sports Scholarship aims to support an eligible undergraduate student to fulfil their athletic potential while studying at the University.
This scholarship offers the following generous support package for each year of continuous study:
- £2,000 cash payment for each year of undergraduate study (up to a maximum of three years)
- A tuition fee discount of 20%
- A 20% discount on university-managed accommodation
- Specialist support, including mentoring, sport massage and physiotherapy, gym access, strength and conditioning, nutritional advice and lifestyle management
The Douglas Clasper Elite Sports Scholarship 2025/26 is for students who:
- Study an eligible full-time undergraduate course in autumn 2025
- Have been selected within the last 18 months to compete at regional, national or international level
- Are a member of Team Sunderland as an Elite Athlete
- Participate in a sport recognised by BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport)
By applying for this scholarship, you agree to participate in PR/marketing activity if awarded.
Who's eligible?
1. You must be a 'Home' or 'Overseas Island' student on an eligible full-time course
The Government classes all students as ‘Home’ or ‘International’. This status determines which tuition fees you pay, and which scholarships and bursaries you may be eligible to receive.
Overseas Island; Isle of Man and the Channel Islands students are eligible.
EU students with a UK Settled Status at the time of application are eligible.
International students are not eligible.
You are not eligible if you have been awarded aUniversity of Sunderland Medicine Bursary.
2. You must apply for and meet the conditions of your offer, then successfully enrol onto and study an eligible course
You must be a first-year student applying to commence your studies in autumn 2025 based at City Campus, Sir Tom Cowie at St Peter’s Campus, Dance City, or the Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME).
3. As an Elite Athlete you must continually meet the following conditions:
- You must agree to represent the University in your chosen sport.
- You must have exemplary class attendance and maintain satisfactory academic and sporting progress to retain access to the allocated support.
- You must play a full part in sport at the University and represent the University when it is compatible with training, competition, and academic courses.
- You are required to display the highest standards of sporting behaviours at all times as expected in sport generally and abide by the Team Sunderland Code of Conduct.
How to apply
You can apply from March 2025. The deadline for applications is Sunday 31 August 2025. Once the deadline has passed, we are not permitted to accept any further applications.
You can apply via your myApplication account.
Your username is your student number, which can be found on all correspondence you have received from the University. If you are unsure of your student number, please contact Student Administration at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk.
As part of the application process, you must submit:
- A statement detailing your most recent achievements in sport (up to 2,000 characters). You must specify the competition, age group, event, and year. Please include any recent inclusion in excel, national, international, or regional squads.
- Details of a sporting referee we can contact to discuss your application.
- Any video footage of a performance in the last 12 months.
There is one scholarship available. Please note that applying for this scholarship does not guarantee that you will receive it.
Receiving the scholarship
The Douglas Clasper Elite Sports Scholarship will be awarded following an application process. All applications that meet the criteria will be shortlisted for consideration. An award will be made following a checking and verification process.
Once the scholarship award has been allocated, the successful student will be notified via email of their provisional award in February 2026.
The scholarship recipient will receive the following cash payments in each year of study, subject to validation checks and academic progression:
- Year 1: £1,000 in November 2025 and £1,000 in February 2026
- Year 2: £1,000 in November 2026 and £1,000 in February 2027
- Year 3: £1,000 in November 2027 and £1,000 in February 2028
The scholarship cash payments will be paid via bank transfer into your UK bank account via the University’s Development Trust.
Additional information
If you have not registered on your course within three weeks of the course start date or provided sufficient evidence of eligibility, the scholarship or bursary will be withdrawn and offered to another eligible student.
Once provisional awards are made, the Development and Alumni Office will contact awardees via registered contact details. If you do not respond, we reserve the right to reallocate funding. If you do not supply us with the required information by February 2026, the scholarship provisional award will be withdrawn.
If you withdraw from your course before receiving a scholarship or bursary payment, the award will be withdrawn. If you withdraw in the same academic year after receiving your scholarship payment, you will be required to return the funding to the Development Trust.
The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the programme team.
If you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be paid in the repeated year.
If you transfer to another course, or you repeat a year of the same course, the award will not be made in the repeated year. However, the award will continue once you progress onto the following level (s) of study.
If you are on a placement year or studying for a year and not paying full fees, the award will not be paid during that year.
If you take a leave of absence (LOAB), your payments will stop until you return and progress academically.
If you are in debt to the University to the value of £50 or more, you will not receive payment until the debt has been cleared.
All payments will be made into your UK bank account. It is your responsibility to enter your bank details and ensure these are kept up to date. If you fail to enter your bank details to enable payments to be made to you before your course end date (or the date of leaving your course if earlier), all scholarships, bursaries, and payments will be withdrawn.
As part of the admissions process, the University will verify various aspects of a UCAS or direct application to determine that you should be classed as ‘Home’. The following criteria will be verified:
- Declared nationality
- Country of birth
- Area of permanent residence
- Date of entry into the UK (if applicable)
- Location of previous education provider
Disclaimer
Every effort is made to ensure that all details included in these guidance notes are correct at the time of writing. They are intended to act as an information source only, and in no way should they be considered legally binding or guarantee an award.
The University will not be deemed to be in breach of any legal or contractual obligations due to changes to eligibility criteria beyond the reasonable control of the University. It should therefore be noted that these guidance notes are regularly reviewed and are naturally subject to change, sometimes without notice. The University’s decision is final.
Published: 31 October 2024