Overview
The University of Sunderland offers generous bursaries to students studying Medicine MBChB. Bursary awards will be allocated according to the following criteria, prioritising students currently under-represented in higher education.
Eligible students will receive a cash award in each year of study and will also be offered the opportunity to stay in university-managed accommodation either rent-free or at a discounted rate in academic year 2025/2026, and some students, academic year 2026/27.
| Under-represented group | Award |
|---|---|
|
Household income of £25,000 or less |
Year 1: Rent-free University-managed accommodation and £1,500 cash Year 2: 50% discount on university-managed accommodation and £1,500 cash Year 3: £1,500 cash Year 4: £1,500 cash Year 5: £3,000 cash |
|
Household income of between £25,001 - £42,875 |
Year 1: 75% discount on university-managed accommodation and £1,000 cash Year 2: 25% discount on university-managed accommodation and £1,000 cash Year 3: £1,000 cash Year 4: £1,000 cash Year 5: £1,500 cash |
|
Students who live in low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR 4: Quintiles 1 and 2) |
Year 1: 50% discount on university-managed accommodation and £500 cash Year 2: £500 cash Year 3: £500 cash Year 4: £500 cash Year 5: £1,000 cash |
Who's eligible?
1. You must be a 'Home' or 'Overseas Island' student on an eligible 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.
Students who already hold an undergraduate degree are eligible.
You must be a first-year student applying to commence your studies in autumn 2025.
You are not eligible for these bursaries if you have been funded by the Enhanced Learning Credits Administration Service (ELCAS).
Students awarded the We Care Bursary are eligible to receive the Medicine Bursary in addition.
2. You must apply for and meet the conditions of your offer, then successfully enrol onto and study Medicine MBChB
You must successfully enrol onto and study Medicine MBChB in academic year 2025/26. Any students studying another university course are not eligible for these bursaries.
How to apply
You can apply from March 2025. The deadline for applications is Thursday 31 July 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.
Please note that applying does not guarantee you will be awarded this bursary.
Receiving the bursary
Eligible students will be awarded based on only one of the under-represented groups criteria.
Following enrolment onto the Medicine MBChB course and confirmation of satisfactory evidence of priority, bursary awards will be confirmed. We will assess your annual household income each year to consider your eligibility for the award. POLAR4, Quantiles 1 and 2 will be assessed based on your home address at the time of your university application.
Please note, if we need to verify your household income as part of your bursary application, you must have undertaken a means-tested Student Loans Company (SLC) assessment. You must also agree to share your data with the University via the SLC. The University will liaise with the SLC to verify household income. Bursaries will only be offered to those students who have a household income of £42,875 or less.
POLAR4, quantiles 1 and 2 refers to the geographic areas where the number of 18 and 19-year-olds participating in higher education is less than two-thirds of the UK average rate. We will be able to identify whether you are from a low-participation neighbourhood based on your postcode. This will be based on your address at the time of applying to the University. Check your eligibility by postcode.
The University of Sunderland Accommodation Team will allocate places in university-managed accommodation. This offer is not transferable.
Cash awards will be made on the fifth working day of February in each year of study, subject to progression to each subsequent academic year.
The cash element of your bursary award is intended to support you with any of the following:
- Travel costs – including public transport, petrol, vehicle costs such as insurance, maintenance, other costs such as parking, tolls.
- Digital – IT equipment including laptops, tablets, specialist software and digital connectivity such as broadband costs.
- Childcare costs – related to additional childcare needs for attending university and/or placement.
- Other expenses – such as books, specialist equipment and essential course materials.
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.
If you do not supply us with the required information by November 2025, the scholarship or bursary 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 after a payment is made, the University will not seek reimbursement however, you will not receive any further instalments.
The award is conditional on you maintaining satisfactory engagement and making academic progress on your course in the reasonable opinion of the programme team.
The University agrees to pay you, the student, all awards, and payments that are due to you while you are on your course of study If a scholarship or bursary payment is made to you in error, the University reserves the right to recover any awards or overpayments from you, the student. This may result in you being asked to repay an award if it was paid to you in error. It is also the responsibility of you, the student, to ensure that all awards and payments received are accurate. Any payment discrepancies will be rectified by the University or the student.
If you transfer to another course, you will no longer be eligible for this bursary. If you repeat a year of your Medicine MBChB course, the bursary will not be awarded in the repeated year. Any payments due to you will continue once you progress onto the following level (s) of study on the course.
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.
Appendix
Use the information below to determine what evidence will be required as proof of priority group:
You have an annual household income of £25,000 or less
If you are a ‘Home’ student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Student Loans Company (SLC), the University will liaise with the SLC to verify your household income.
You have an annual household income between £25,001 and £42,875
If you are a ‘Home’ student who has applied for means-tested loans and grants from the Student Loans Company (SLC), the University will liaise with the SLC to verify your household income.
You reside in a low-participation neighbourhood (POLAR4: Quantiles 1 and 2)
This refers to geographic areas where the number of 18 and 19-year-olds participating in higher education is less than two-thirds of the UK average rate. Check your eligibility by postcode. During the enrolment process, the University will verify this based on your postcode. This will be based on your address at the time of applying to the University.
Published: 18 October 2024