Scholarships are a reward given to applicants based on final results and accumulate, as per the examples below.
Scholarships will be awarded via a tuition fee reduction to the cost of a student’s full annual course fee.
Any student is only eligible for one scholarship type in any single academic year.
For more information on any of the scholarships mentioned here, please contact admissions@solent.ac.uk.
2024 entry
Contextual offers scholarships
To further enhance the support we provide for students in receipt of a contextual offer, students may also receive a one-off contextual offer scholarship upon enrolment. This £500 scholarship aims to support eligible students with the cost of student living or course tuition fees.
There are 100 contextual offer scholarships available for the academic year 2024 - these are awarded on a first-come-first-served basis in the order the UCAS applications are received.
The contextual offer scholarship is awarded in the form of £500* which can be used by first-year undergraduate students in the following ways:
- A £500 reduction of tuition fees for their first year of study
or
- A £500 balance credit applied to the student’s Solent University Everyday catering app account. The Everyday app is used to purchase food and drink consumables from any of the University’s catering outlets including Costa Coffee and Starbucks.
* The contextual offer scholarship is a non-cash payment, is non means tested, and non-repayable. It is available in addition to any other funding applicants may be eligible to receive (excluding other Solent University scholarships).
The University reserves the right to pro-rata this discount, should you suspend or withdraw from study during the academic year. Please refer to our student fees and finance section for further information.
Eligibility
Students eligible for the contextual offer scholarship must:
- have applied to study at Solent University before the equal consideration deadline of 31 January 2024.
- have been made a contextual offer by the University and have received an offer letter via the Solent University applicant portal confirming this.
- have successfully enrolled onto their chosen Solent University course of study beginning in September 2024.
- not be in receipt of any other Solent University scholarship.
How do I apply?
Once you have been made a contextual offer by the University and have received a letter via the Solent University applicant portal confirming this, you do not need to do anything else apart from enrol on to the first year of your chosen undergraduate course.
After successfully enrolling on to your course, our Admissions Team will assess your eligibility for the scholarship and, if you meet the criteria, you will be contacted directly, informing you if you have been awarded the contextual offer scholarship and with information about the next steps you will need to take.
For more information about eligibility for our contextual offers and for answers to some frequently asked questions, visit our contextual offers page.
MSc Applied AI and Data Science scholarship
Solent University, Southampton is one of 30 English universities chosen to share an £8.1 million fund to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science scholarships. The funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Office for Artificial Intelligence (OAI) is being awarded by the Office for Students (OfS) to support the delivery of 27 scholarships to home students (£10,000 each) from eligible underrepresented groups, in order to increase diversity. Additionally, Solent University is to offer 6 scholarships to home and international students who meet the criteria.
Scholarship funding will be delivered to eligible students from the following underrepresented groups, with priority being given to the first four groups:
- Women,
- Black students,
- Students registered disabled,
- Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds (Index of Multiple Disadvantage quintiles 1 and 2, low household income - UK students only) You can check if you live in Q1 or Q2 here
- Care experienced students (UK students only) (Please refer to FAQs Q10),
- Estranged students (UK students only) (Please refer to FAQs Q11),
- Gypsy, Roma, Traveller student (resident in the UK),
- Refugees (resident in the UK),
- Children from UK military families, veterans, and partners of UK military personnel.
The scholarship can be used towards tuition fees or stipend (towards cost of equipment, living costs etc) required for the course, or a combination of both and you will be asked to specify this when applying for the scholarship.
Scholarships will be paid to the University to distribute to students who are in receipt of the scholarship. The University will pay the monies in four instalments over the duration of the course with the first payment being made at the start of the course.
Before applying for a scholarship, you must have applied for the course and provided all the required documents, including reference letters (click here).
For frequently asked questions on this scholarship please click here.
Key dates
Scholarships for home students
May 2024 intake:
- Deadline to apply: Friday 17 May 2024.
- Review of scholarship applications: Friday 17 May 2024 – Friday 24 May 2024.
- Applicants contacted to advise of outcome of scholarship: After Friday 24 May 2024.
Scholarships for international students
May 2024 intake:
- Deadline to apply: Friday 19 April 2024.
- Review of scholarship applications: Friday 19 April 2024 – Friday 26 April 2024.
- Applicants contacted to advise of outcome of scholarship: After Friday 26 April 2024.
Please note that we currently have more scholarships available for local/home students but also a few scholarships for international students who meet the above criteria.
Please send completed forms to shakeel.ahmad@solent.ac.uk.
* Before applying for a scholarship, you must have applied for the course. Applications will be judged based on the personal statement, academic merit, eligibility criteria, reference letters and possibly interviews.
Sports scholarships
Scholarships are awarded to athletes competing at national and international levels in a variety of sports, including - but not exclusively - basketball, cricket and football.
We offer the following sports scholarship bursaries:
- Platinum: up to £5,000
- Gold: up to £3,000
- Silver: up to £1,000
- Bronze: performance club offer (access to team support services)
In addition to the bursaries, we can also offer alternative tuition fee based packages for overseas applicants depending on the level you compete at and your sporting history.
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Scholarship
We recognise that for many Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students, the playing field for entry into university isn’t always level and this can be a barrier to students from these under-represented backgrounds reaching their potential.
For students applying for 2024 entry to our undergraduate courses, Solent University is offering the BAME Student Scholarship.
These scholarships provide eligible first year undergraduate students, from specific ethnic backgrounds, £1,000 each to use towards their university tuition fees or the cost of student living.
How the scholarship is awarded
The scholarship is awarded in the form of £1,000 which can be used by first-year undergraduate students in the following ways:
- A £1,000 reduction of tuition fees for the first year of study.
or
- A £1,000 balance credit applied to the student's Solent University Everyday catering app account. The Everyday app is used to purchase food and drink consumables from any of the University's catering outlets, including Costa Coffee and Starbucks.
The scholarship is non means tested, non-repayable and available in addition to any other funding that you may also be eligible.
Successful applicants for this one-off scholarship must meet the following criteria:
Have applied for and hold a firm acceptance, full-time undergraduate course offer from Solent University.
Have applied for this scholarship through the applicant portal.
Are a UK national with ‘home’ fee status who identifies as having one of the following categories of ethnicity:
-
- Asian or Asian British
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Bangladeshi
- Chinese
- Any other Asian background
- Black, African, Caribbean or Black British
- African
- Caribbean
- Any other Black, African or Caribbean background
- Other ethnic group
- Mixed multiple ethnic groups
- Mixed White and Black Caribbean
- Mixed White and Black African
- Mixed White and Asian
- Any other Mixed or Multiple ethnic background
- Other ethnic groups
- Arab
- Gypsy or Irish Traveller
- Any other ethnic group
- Asian or Asian British
How to apply
To be considered for the BAME student scholarship, applicants holding a firm acceptance place (conditional or unconditional) on an undergraduate course at Solent University, starting in September 2024, must apply for this scholarship through the applicant portal. You will need your applicant username and password to log in.
This will enable the University to link your UCAS application with your application for the scholarship.
Please note, there are a limited number of scholarships provided each year and these are awarded in the order completed forms are returned.
The scholarship is one of several initiatives we are undertaking as part of our Race Equality Charter and acts to address the gap in under-represented groups of students, as set out in our Access and Participation Plan.
This scholarship cannot be used in conjunction with any other scholarship, bursary or fee discount.
The University reserves the right to pro-rata this discount, should you suspend or withdraw from study during the academic year. Please refer to our student fees and finance section for further information.
For further information about the scholarship, please email stepintosuccess@solent.ac.uk.
Solent Sanctuary Scholarship
Solent University is committed to be a fair, diverse and cohesive University that challenges and tackles social inequality. We aim to foster a community with a culture of welcome, mutual trust, fairness, harmony and respect.
Our vision is to transform the lives of people from all backgrounds, through learning that is relevant to the real world. Our values create a university that is open to all, which celebrates different, and demonstrates a commitment to social justice and equality of opportunity
In support of our vision and values, each year Solent University awards one Solent Sanctuary Scholarship consisting of a full yearly fee waiver and a £3,000 grant to a person seeking sanctuary studying on a three-year undergraduate programme.
To be eligible for the Solent Sanctuary Scholarship, you need to meet the following criteria:
- Seeking asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK, or the partner/dependant of someone seeking asylum or humanitarian protection; OR
- Someone, or the partner/dependent of someone, who has been granted Discretionary or Limited Leave to Remain, or some other form of temporary status.
AND
- Have a conditional or unconditional offer from Solent University.
- Be attending a school, college or voluntary group which can provide a reference in support of your application.
- Be unable to access mainstream funding for higher education ie, Student Finance
- Not have a 'no study' immigration bail condition.
- Live within easy commuting distance of Solent University.
- Not require additional support for living expenses or accommodation, other than that provided through the Solent Sanctuary Scholarship
All undergraduate programmes are open to Solent Sanctuary Scholarship applicants except BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing Practice, BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing, foundation years, and apprenticeships.
Please be aware you are likely to be able to apply for a contextual offer, which is a scheme where applicants who meet certain criteria (including being a refugee) may receive lower entry offers than standard (based on their context and individual circumstances). Those who meet the contextual offer criteria should apply through the usual UCAS process and should also use a self-declaration form if they feel they meet additional criteria. Find out more about contextual offers.
For further information please contact Monika Materna-Brossier, International Student Adviser, at sanctuary@solent.ac.uk who will support you through the application process. If you do not yet have a conditional or unconditional offer from Solent University, we can also support you with this process.
Alumni discount
Solent alumni could be eligible for a reduction of tuition fees if returning to study a postgraduate course. Eligibility criteria and more information can be found on our discounted fees page.
