This bursary provides a cash award or a tuition fee waiver of £1,100 per academic year for new students joining the university in 2023/4, continuing students pre 2018/19 will receive £1,000 (£500 respectively). It is available (dependent on eligibility) for the duration of your course.

The cash award is paid in two instalments, 50% at the end of October, and the remaining 50% mid-February.  The bursary will be paid into the same account in which you receive your maintenance loan.

UK and EU* undergraduate students on a full-time or part-time undergraduate course commencing their studies in 2023/24 academic year with a household income of £27,000 or below. Students that started their course prior to the 2018/19 academic year, must have a household income of £25,000 or below to be eligible for this bursary.

Available to students of any subject

Final allocation of bursaries will be made on the 7 June 2024.

Any student who has not made their finalised household income available to the University by the end of the academic year, will not be considered for the Bursary.

(*EU students must be assessed as eligible for funding from Student Finance England in order to qualify.)

Further eligibility criteria

You do not need to apply for this bursary. However, in order to be considered, students must ensure that they have been fully means tested and their sponsors (parents/guardian) have agreed to share household income with the University (given consent to share).

If you have not given your consent yet, your sponsor (parent/guardian) will need to call 0300 100 0607 (England), 0300 200 4050 (Wales), 0300 100 0077 (N. Ireland) or 0131 244 5341 (Scotland) to check that you have given consent to share. You will need to state your Customer Reference Number in order to do so.

Closing date for applications is the end of the summer term.

For further information please contact the Student Financial Support team in the Carrington Building.

Telephone +44 (0) 118 378 5555 or email studentfunding@reading.ac.uk

One final thing, we would like to introduce you to our online e-learning platform Blackbullion. You can log on to gain access to interactive, bite-sized financial lessons, helping you to master your money from pre-enrolment to graduation and beyond. Topics include budgeting, savings and debt management alongside a Student Loan repayment calculator.

The following updates have been made to the Reading Bursary for new students starting their studies in 2024/25:

• The Reading Bursary will be a cash bursary only of £1,100 per year of eligibility
• A new student starting in 2024/25 will need to meet both of the following criteria:
  • Be registered on a full-time undergraduate programme with an assessed household income of up to £27,000 that is confirmed by their Student Finance Authority in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland entering in 2024/25 for year 1 of study, and;
  • Have a home address recorded on their RISIS student record that falls within an area of low participation of young people progressing into higher education (POLAR4 or TUNDRA quintile 1 or 2) or be considered to be from an area of general disadvantage according to the governments Indices of Multiple Deprivation quintile 1 or 2.

For full details on the Reading Bursary from 2024/25 onwards please see the Reading Bursary 2024/25 eligibility criteria.