Alyssa Noble, American, Archaeology and Ancient History UG

Nottingham Potential Bursary

For UK students with personal circumstances or backgrounds that may have impacted academic potential

Applications for 2023/24 are now open.

The Nottingham Potential Bursary provides a £1,000 award per academic year to support students from lower income backgrounds whose personal circumstances may have impacted access to higher education.

This bursary requires an application once you start university to assess your eligibility. However, there are an unlimited number of places, meaning all applicants that meet eligibility criteria will receive the funding.

If you receive the bursary, you do not have to pay it back after you graduate and you can spend the money in any way you like to support your studies. Payments are made directly to the student's bank account, typically in three instalments over the academic year.

The amount you receive and the eligibility criteria for the bursary can differ based on your start date. For current students looking for specific details of their bursaries, please see the information below.

If you have any questions about this bursary or your eligibility, please contact us.

Apply now

Eligibility criteria explained

If you are a current student at the University of Nottingham, please find the specific details of your bursary based on your start year below.

To receive the Nottingham Potential Bursary in 2023/24 academic year, you must meet one of the following criteria:

Entering via an Access route or with vocational qualifications (at further education level) and with a household income between £0-£35,000 (as assessed by Student Finance) - we will require a copy of your certificate or transcript. Students on the PGCE, GEN or GEM courses would not be eligible for the bursary on this element of the criteria.
Students with a household income between £0-£35,000 (as assessed by Student Finance) with financially dependent children or adults - we will require a copy of your 2023/24 Student Finance letter showing you to be in receipt of either Childcare Grant, Parents Learning allowance or Adult Dependants Grant
Students who have fulfilled specified conditions through participation in the University's Nottingham Potential or Sutton Trust Summer Schools hosted by the university or other eligible activities (including attendance on a minimum of 6 Ambition Nottingham: 16-18 sessions (Tier 1 students only) or 8 Nottingham Pathways to Law or Medicine sessions). Students who attended 16 hours of IntoUniversity sessions (outside of in-school sessions in year 12 or 13. At least 4 of the contact hours need to be in year 13. There is no need to apply for the award if eligible on this basis. NHS-funded students are eligible to receive the Nottingham Potential Bursary for summer school attendees. Students on the PGCE, GEN or GEM courses would not be eligible for the bursary on this element of the criteria.

Plus all of the following criteria:

Have first joined the university in September 2023
Be registered on a full-time undergraduate degree course (or PGCE/Graduate Entry Nursing/Graduate Entry Medicine) at Nottingham which you commenced in 2023/24
Have UK home status for funding purposes
Be liable for the tuition fee set in 2023/24
Have had a full financial assessment carried out by Student Finance
Not have studied for an undergraduate degree before starting your current course
Not be in receipt of a Maycock-Whileman Scholarship or an Alumni Scholarship
PGCE/Graduate Entry Nursing/Graduate Entry Medicine students are only eligible for the Nottingham Potential Bursary on the grounds of having dependants.

Part-time students - The Nottingham Potential Bursary provides additional support on a pro-rata basis for new part-time undergraduate students in 2023. You will need to have a means-tested assessment carried out by Student Finance (SF) as well as meeting one of the criteria above in order for us to assess your eligibility for this bursary. Your award amount will depend on the number of credits you're taking. You can find out more about funding for part-time undergraduate students on our website.

Students with Refugee Status can apply to the Maycock-Whileman Scholarship - we will require a copy of an official letter confirming your status. A student cannot receive both a Nottingham Potential Bursary and a Maycock-Whileman Scholarship.

How to claim your bursary

You will need to apply for this bursary so we can assess your eligibility against the criteria.

Applications for 2023/24 are now open.

You cannot apply for the bursary until you are registered as a student at the University of Nottingham.

You only need to apply for the Nottingham Potential Bursary once. If you are a continuing student that has already received the bursary, you will be automatically reassessed each academic year.

Once you have been accepted to receive the bursary, most students will be automatically paid in three termly instalments across the academic year. The only exception is if you're awarded due to attending a summer school then the award is paid in one lump sum at the start of the academic year.

Apply now

What happens if my eligibility changes?

If your household income decreases during your time at university and this is reflected in your student finance assessment, you can apply for the Nottingham Potential Bursary at any time before the application deadline in June.

If you don't apply for the bursary in your first year, or miss the deadline for that academic year, bursary payments will not be backdated, however, you will receive payments for the following academic year, if you are assessed as eligible.

If your household income increases during your studies, you will stop receiving the bursary after the reassessment period at the start of each academic year. You will not have to pay back any bursary payments you've received until this point unless you were assessed incorrectly.