Understanding Bursaries

Following its success, we are pleased to continue the IEG Progression Bursary for the 2025/26 academic year. This bursary offers £500, paid upon successful completion of your first year of study.

Who is Eligible?

This bursary is available exclusively to Peterborough College and Stamford College students who:

• Progress directly from a full-time Level 3 course at Peterborough College or Stamford College to a full-time course at UCP in 2025/26, without a gap year.
• Successfully complete the first year of their degree and pass all modules.
• Engage in progression activities to support other students on their HE journey.
• Provide payment details and meet all criteria by the end of the 2025/26 academic year.

This is a fantastic opportunity to support your transition into higher education—don’t miss out!

If you are from a low income household (under £30,000 per year) and studying a full-time undergraduate course, with annual fees in excess of £6,500, you will receive a £500 cash bursary at the beginning of the second semester. Part-time undergraduate students will receive a pro rata payment depending on the number of credits you are studying and fees paid.

This bursary is available to students studying at University Centre Peterborough at either our Peterborough or Stamford campus and also our partner ESPA. The bursary for partners commenced in September 2020.

In order to be assessed as eligible for the low income bursary students must meet the following criteria:

• University Centre Peterborough student
• Paying their tuition fees through Student Finance England
• Have an assessed household income of under £30,000 from Student Finance England and be in receipt of maintenance loan from Student Finance England
• Fully enrolled and in attendance at the time of each payment
• Have validated bank details registered with Student Finance England
• As part of their student finance application they have agreed for information to be shared with UCP so that the bursary can be approved.

The Care Leaver Bursary is to enable students who live in or have lived in care to pursue their studies at UCP. If you are a Care Leaver and studying a full-time undergraduate course you will receive a £500 cash bursary for each academic year. 

This bursary is available to students studying at University Centre Peterborough at either our Peterborough or Stamford campus and also at our partner ESPA. The bursary for partners commenced in September 2020.

We recognise that when applying and entering higher education young people in care can face particular difficulties that their peers are less likely to experience. This guidance explains some of the specific help available to a care leaver or those who have experienced living in a care environment.

Once a student has been accepted on a course at UCP, we offer Care Leaver’s a one-to-one meeting with a member of UCP Student Support staff or nominee. They will give guidance, which includes advice about disability, and additional needs support, accommodation and advice on your student finance.

A student can also make an appointment with a Student Advisor by visiting the UCP Support Centre, emailing support@ucp.ac.uk.

In order to access this support, students will need to identify themselves as Care Leavers in their UCAS, Student Finance and enrolment form.

To be eligible, a student must meet the following criteria:

• is a new entrant to a course in the current academic year
• is under 25 years of age on the first day of the first academic year of their course (1st September)
• is a student enrolled and in attendance on an undergraduate course at UCP
• Must qualify as a care leaver under the guidance of Student Finance England
• Be in receipt of a maintenance loan from Student Finance England 
• Have validated bank details registered with Student Finance England
• As part of their student finance application they have agreed for information to be shared with UCP so that the bursary can be approved.

If you are a full time undergraduate student, you could receive a tax-free bursary of up to £1,000 per year by becoming a Student Ambassador.

The benefits of becoming an Ambassador includes; increasing employability when you graduate, developing personal and presentation skills and inspiring prospective students to go to university.

You can apply to become a Student Ambassador in the second year of your course. To be eligible you must have an excellent attendance record, be on target for a first or 2:1 degree classification and be studying at either Level 5 or 6 on a full-time programme at either our Stamford or Peterborough campus.

For this Bursary there are limited positions available and it is awarded based on application and interview.

University Centre Peterborough are very happy to announce that their bid for annual scholarships from the Malcolm Bradbury Trust has been agreed from September 2022. This funding will support a creative writing undergraduate each year, and they will undertake extra-curricular work to promote literacy and literary engagement in Peterborough.

Read the full details here.

Available for full time students funded by SFE for both Tuition and Maintenance. These are available for the following courses in 24/25:

•   HTQ – Higher National Diploma – Computing and Digital Technologies (3 strands – Cloud Networking, Data Analytics and Cyber Security) –  £1000 bursary available to full-time students to pay for attendance at a leading European Computing Conference.*
•  HTQ – HNC Sport (Community Coaching) – full-time students will receive £1000 funding to undertake a range of professional coaching qualifications. This means students will be able to balance study and professional paid work to enhance their career prospects.*
• HTQ – HNC/D Engineering- Electrical and Electronic and Mechanical Engineering – HNC and HND HTQ programmes are available at Peterborough and from 24/25 we will be offering these on a full-time basis. Full-time students will receive a £1000 bursary to assist with travel, equipment and PPE.*
• HTQ – Open University Foundation Degree Early Childhood Studies – Students studying Full-Time will be able to access a £1000 bursary that can be used for Forest School activities, new technology and a range of resources or travel.*

HTQ Scholarships will also be available for new courses in 25/26 including the following:

• Foundation degree in Digital Marketing and Communications

• OU Diploma in Adult Social Care
• HN Animal Conservation and Countryside Management 2025