Scholarships – What Are They?

At the University of Northampton we have many different scholarships and bursaries available for students with a range of different academic capabilities and backgrounds.

What are scholarships?

This can be an unfamiliar word and people may find it confusing – they might think that scholarships are only for students with the best grades or those at the top of their class. This is not always the case – some of the scholarships we offer focus on grades but overall we’re looking to support great students with a passion for their subject.

Support

We want to support students from different backgrounds and circumstances – you may be the first in family to go to university, come from a household with low income, or be a mature student (21 or over), with or without children. We recognise that everyone faces different challenges, and that a scholarship could make a huge difference to the university experience. It’s not always just the extra money – it’s knowing that someone believes in and wants to support you.

Application process

When you apply we want to find out more about you – your hopes for your studies, what you love and your circumstances/background. We are really passionate about helping students who might need some extra support to make the most of university. We have scholarships with different criteria – some general, some subject specific and others for those from the Northampton area. We also have dedicated support for care leavers and estranged students.

Some applications will need a tutor’s report – this is an important part of the application – they should know you well enough to be able to recommend you for a scholarship and give some brief details of how it would help you.

The most important part of the application is the question ‘why are you applying for funds?’ Scholarships are not based on hardship, however we want to help those most in need. We need to know enough about your circumstances to understand whether we can make an award, and how it will help you. The more you can tell us the better!

If your application is successful the scholarship will be paid into your bank account – a scholarship is not a loan and does not need to be repaid, and it won’t affect any benefits you might receive. Most funds do not specify how you need to spend the money, so you can use to help with the costs of travelling to campus, rent, food or materials for your course.

I would encourage you to contact us to find out more – we’re a friendly team who want to help. We can also signpost you to other Teams for further support – such as Assist and the Financial Guidance Team. Over the years I’ve met some amazing students and we’ve been so proud to help them with the costs of their studies and projects, and to see them go on to graduate and achieve great results.

To find out more please visit our webpages for more information or drop us an email at scholarships@northampton.ac.uk.

Corinna Coleman, Scholarships Administrator

Corinna has worked at the University for almost 20 years. She loves meeting and speaking to current and potential students, and seeing the difference that scholarships can make.