Access Edinburgh Scholarship

The financial implications of University study can be very worrying and ultimately off-putting for many of our students. Distance, together with the typical 4 year degree, make Edinburgh a relatively expensive – and therefore, for some, unrealistic – choice. The University’s new undergraduate Access Scholarships can enable students from lower income households across the UK to better afford to attend the University of Edinburgh. Designed to attract students who otherwise might decide not to apply to or attend the University because of the financial cost of doing so, and to support them to have a positive and fulfilling student experience when they are here.

A yearly scholarship with no separate application process that recipients do not pay back. When students apply for funding from SAAS or Student Finance England, Wales or Northern Ireland, they tick the box to agree to share their household income figure with the University which enables the scholarship assessment to begin. There are an unlimited number of scholarships available. If students meet the criteria, they will receive a scholarship.

We have increased our scholarships for those students in the greatest need who automatically receive the maximum scholarship with care-experienced and estranged students receiving £5000 per year. Students who are entitled to the scholarship in their first year with us, will receive at least that amount for every year of your studies. Those, who become entitled to a scholarship during their degree, will receive one from that point onwards. Student scholarship payments are made in two instalments each year: once in semester 1, and once in semester 2 either directly or via their Student Loans Company.

The Access Edinburgh Scholarship is for full-time undergraduate students who live in the UK and fulfil widening participation criteria of care-experienced or estranged or household income under a specific threshold. The Access Edinburgh Scholarships are funded by the University and the generosity of our supporters.