BU Care Leavers Bursary

You will receive up to £9,000 over three years of study (up to £12,000 if you are studying a Foundation Year*) to support your learning and living costs, should you continue to meet the eligibility criteria. The amount received will be pro-rata for part-time study. If you are studying a Top-up degree lasting one year, you will receive £3,000.

*If studying a Foundation Year, you must be paying the higher tuition fee of £9,535 to be eligible.

To be eligible for a BU Care Leavers Bursary, you must:

• have been in care for a period of 3 months or more in the last 5 years
• be registered as Home for fee status; and
• live in England and have been ordinarily resident in England for three years prior to the start date of your course*
• be eligible for both the Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan from Student Finance England
• be a new student joining us in September 2025, actively participating on an Undergraduate BU or Wiltshire College Salisbury** course (excluding HNC/HND) on a full or part-time basis
• have a household income of £25,000 or less***.

*Students who are ordinarily resident in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are excluded from receiving the BU Care Leavers Bursary due to alternative funding arrangements being available to them. Ordinarily resident has been defined as 'habitual and normal residence in one place.’ It means that you live in a country year after year by choice through a set period, apart from temporary or occasional absences, such as holidays or business trips. Living here totally or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education does not count as being ordinarily resident. The course start date is defined as 1 September for September entrants and 1 January for January/February entrants.

**Applies to: BA (Hons) Film Production and Cinematography. If you're studying at one of our other Partner Colleges, you will need to contact them for information about financial support.

***You will need to meet the eligibility criteria each year in order to qualify for the full bursary.

The BU Care Leavers Bursary is awarded to all eligible students provided you have completed an income assessment as part of your student finance application and noted you are a care leaver, and given consent to share this information.

Care Leavers applying to study a part-time course will need to contact us by email to be assessed for eligibility

Your bursary will be loaded onto a pre-paid card. The money will be made available to you in nine instalments from October to June. You can only spend money that’s in your account, so you can’t go overdrawn, and you can receive up to 2% cashback on purchases at certain retailers. 

Students who are proven care leavers or have a Compact agreement are automatically guaranteed BU accommodation regardless of when they require it. 

Purbeck House, which is operated by our accommodation partner Unite Students, offer all Care Leavers who live in this property the opportunity to apply for the Unite Foundation Scholarship. Details on the scheme can be found at the Unite Foundation website, including levels of funding available, eligibiltiy and how to apply for the bursary. If you are eligible and interested in applying for this funding then you would need to ensure you lived in Purbeck House. If you would like to discuss your eligibility for the scheme and how to put in your application then you can contact our Student Support & Engagement Team.