Apply for a sanctuary scholarship

Asylum seekers living in the UK can apply for a sanctuary scholarship at the University of Plymouth
Plymouth Hoe apply to Plymouth2
Sanctuary scholarships are available on full-time undergraduate courses with the following exclusions:
  • Medicine and dentistry courses (unless you are already enrolled on a foundation year)
  • any courses which include paid work placements/right to work checks
  • any courses which require overseas placements.
If the course you choose includes an optional work placement then you can still do this course as long as you are not paid for your placement. If the optional placement is paid then you can still complete the course but cannot take part in the placement and this will not bear any impact on your overall grade.

Step 1: Choose your course

Courses

You need to decide which course you want to do. Scholarships are available on all undergraduate courses (with a few exceptions). You can only list one course on your application form and if you proceed to the interview stage, you will be interviewed by an academic from that course.
The University of Plymouth has three faculties with different schools and courses within each faculty.
There is one scholarship per faculty available each year. You can find out more about each faculty by visiting their web pages below.
If you have any questions or need assistance, then email equality@plymouth.ac.uk

Faculties and schools

Step 2: Complete the application form

Below you will find a guide to each section of the form, and we strongly recommend you write your personal statements and ask your referee to complete their statement of support separately and then copy and paste this into the form as you cannot save your progress.
If you have any questions, you can email equality@plymouth.ac.uk.

Section 1 – Personal details

This section is for your personal information. It's important that you complete this section in full but bear in mind that any answers provided will have no impact on how your application may proceed, we have to collect this for regulatory purposes and to ensure you get the support you need.
Contact details
If you do not have an email address or telephone number personally, you must provide one that you have access to so we can get in contact with you. For correspondence address, this can be any address that we can send you important documents in the post where you can access them.
Gender
If you do not define yourself as male or female, then select 'prefer not to say' or 'other'.
Disability
If you have a disability then please let us know if you are able to, however you can disclose this at a later date if you wish. If you are unsure of what we mean by 'disability' then there is some helpful advice or you can email equality@plymouth.ac.uk.
The answer to this question will not have any impact on our decision and you can leave this blank if you would prefer. If you choose to disclose a disability, we will ask for further information if you are successful to ensure you receive all the support you need.

Section 2 – Course information

This section is where you can tell us about the course you wish to study and whether you have studied in higher education elsewhere (in the UK or overseas). You will not need to provide evidence of previous study, but this will give us an indication of your suitability to the course.

Section 3 – Immigration status

We have to collect this information for regulatory purposes and it's really important that you are honest and provide as much detail as possible.
If you are unsure of how to answer any questions then either speak to your referee (from section 5) or email equality@plymouth.ac.uk in confidence and we will help.

Section 4 – Personal statements

As we do not require proof of existing qualifications for the sanctuary scholarship, your personal statement and statement of support (section 5) are how we base our decisions on inviting applicants to interview. It's really important that you complete this in full and allow yourself plenty of time to complete this section. We would recommend writing it with your referee (from section 5) and having it proof-read.
Existing qualifications
Whilst we don't require proof, we would love to hear about any existing qualifications you have in as much detail as possible. These can be any qualifications that you are proud of and/or are relevant to the course you are applying for. You have a maximum of 500 words here but you do not need to use them all.
Ambitions for the future
Here we are looking for you to share with us:
  • what is important to you
  • why you have chosen this course
  • what your dreams are
  • how the scholarship will help you to achieve them.
This is your opportunity to convince the panel why you should receive the scholarship. You have a maximum of 500 words here.
Steps already taken
We know that you have probably already taken some steps in trying to achieve your ambitions and/or access education in the UK and we would love to hear about them here. In this section you could include:
  • any evening classes you have taken
  • free courses you have taken part in
  • formal qualifications you have gained since arriving in the UK
  • volunteering and community work
  • going to museums, reflective writing or using the local library.
This list is not exhaustive. We know that everyone's circumstances are unique so you can include anything that you believe is relevant.

Section 5 – Statement of support

All applicants for a sanctuary scholarship will need to provide a reference from a teacher or someone from a community or voluntary organisation. If you are unsure over who qualifies as a referee, you can look at our list of suggestions here or email equality@plymouth.ac.uk.
Your referee will need to complete section 5 of the application form which includes a 500-word statement of supporting answering the following questions:
  • How well suited is the applicant to higher education?
  • How would the scholarship benefit the applicant?
  • What steps has the applicant already taken to gain access to education in the UK?
We ask for a statement of support as we do not require proof of existing qualifications for sanctuary scholarships. No applications will be accepted without a statement of support from a referee.

Section 6 – Declaration

All decisions by the University are taken in good faith on the basis of the statements made on your application form and statement from your referee. This section is to check your understanding that:
  • submitting an application does not guarantee you an interview or a scholarship
  • you understand and meet the eligibility criteria
  • you will let us know if your immigration status changes
  • you will attend a pre-sessional English course (free of charge)
  • you will provide copies of Home Office letters and anything else confirming your immigration status
  • you will provide copies of existing qualifications if available
  • that the information you have provided is true and accurate and that your application will be terminated if we find that you have made false statements or omitted significant information
  • you also agree with the University processing your data in line with GDPR regulations.
You must tick each box in this section. We will not accept your application if this is left blank.
You're done!
Now that your form is completed, make sure you proof-read it (or have someone do this for you) and submit it before the deadline along with the other documents requested.

Step 3: Submit your application

Once you have completed your application form, just select submit and you will get a 'thank you' message as confirmation that we have received it.
We may be in touch via email to ask for the following if we require them:
  • Proof of your immigration status (copies of Home Office letters).
  • Proof of existing qualifications (if available).
The deadline is 23:59 on 28 February 2023.
Our assessment panel will meet in March 2023 and decide on which applications to take forward to the interview stage and all applicants will be informed on whether they have been successful or not by the end of April.
If you are successful in your application, you will be invited to interview during April and May where you will be asked to deliver a ten minute presentation and then answer some questions from the panel. Full information on the interview process will be sent to applicants invited to interview.