Scholarships for home students

YSJ Scholars Scholarships

The York St John University Scholars set of scholarships is open to 4 groups of students.

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Scholarship

This scholarship is £800 cash for each year of study. It is awarded after you have fully registered as a York St John University student.

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must identify as being in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic population at registration. You must also show a residual family income of less than £42,000. This means your household income before tax and after any pension contributions or allowances for dependent children.

This assessment will be made as part of your student funding application. You will not need to provide any further information to us.

Estranged Student Scholarship

This scholarship is £800 cash for each year of study that you are eligible. It is awarded after you have fully registered as a York St John University student.

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must be under the age of 25. You must have been assessed as independent and recognised as estranged by Student Finance England or an equivalent organisation.

This assessment will be made as part of your student funding application. You will not need to provide any further information to us.

If you are in receipt of this scholarship then you will also be eligible for the Find Your Future bursary.

Care Leaver's Scholarship

This scholarship is £800 cash for each year of study. It is awarded after you have fully registered as a York St John University student.

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must be under the age of 25. You must have been assessed as independent and recognised as a care leaver by Student Finance England or an equivalent organisation.

This assessment will be made as part of your student funding application. You will not need to provide any further information to us.

As a care leaver you may also be entitled to support from your local authority. To find out more, contact our Specialist Support team on specialistsupport@yorksj.ac.uk.

If you are in receipt of this scholarship then you will also be eligible for the Find Your Future bursary.

Offer Scheme Scholarship

This scholarship is £800 cash for each year of study. It is awarded after you have fully registered as a York St John University student.

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must have an offer with 4 points or more in our Contextual Offer Scheme. If you are in this category, you will be contacted directly by our Admissions team. They will get in touch after receiving your offer to let you know that you are eligible for the scholarship.

Further information on YSJ Scholars Scholarships

Students cannot receive more than 1 of our YSJ Scholars Scholarships. If you are eligible for more than 1, you will receive the award that is of the higher value or the most benefit to you in terms of support or accessing further funding.

All scholarships will be awarded after you register as a York St John University student. For most scholarships, we will let you know you are eligible after your registration. For the Contextual Offer Scheme Scholarship, we will let you know during the application cycle.

Our £800 scholarships will be paid in 2 instalments: 1 in mid-November and 1 in mid-February.

Scholarship Plus

At York St John University we offer personalised support to our students. Our teams of experts are here to support you throughout your university experience. They can help with a range of issues and situations, to help you realise your ambitions and potential.

To further increase the positive impact of our scholarships, from September 2025 onwards we will be offering an additional range of support and opportunities for scholarship recipients. Students will be able to choose from a range of activities that they believe will be most beneficial to them including a new YSJU Scholars Forum, Scholarship Curriculum Partners, EDI Ambassadors and a Scholarships Plus Network. There will also be opportunities for mentoring, internships, and targeted support for employability and further study.

Further scholarships and support

York College Progression Scholarship

The York College progression scholarship is offered to York College students starting undergraduate courses at York St John University.

The scholarship is a £200 one off cash payment to York College students and can be offered in addition to another scholarship should you qualify for one.

Find out more information on Our offer schemes page. 

Alumni-funded Scholarships

Funded by donations from our alumni and friends of the university, the alumni-funded scholarships support underrepresented undergraduate and postgraduate students in particular need of support. Successful applicants will receive £1,000 per academic year for the duration of their degree. Applications are open annually between October and November with successful applicants receiving their scholarship in January. Applicants are expected to complete an application form including a supporting statement and reference.

Find out more on our Alumni-funded Scholarships page.

Education Opportunity Award

This award supports under represented PGCE students such as carers, parents, those with low household income or whose family circumstances have drastically changed.

To be eligible for this award you must also be 25 or older and have accepted an offer to study a non-salaried PGCE course.

There will be 6 scholarships available and it is funded by an extremely generous donation by an alumnus.

Applications are now closed for 2024.

Gateway Scholarship

The Gateway Scholarship will help support access to higher education for undergraduates who are mature students, care leavers, carers or had their education affected by COVID. Successful applicants will receive £2,000 per academic year, in two instalments, throughout their degree. Applications will be open from April to October and applicants will need to complete an application form including a supporting statement and reference.

This scholarship is generously supported by a graduate of the university who was a mature student, 1983 to 1987, and her partner who was a lecturer at the university for a short period.

Apply now

Applications will close on 28 October 2024.

Please read the instructions on the application form carefully. If you have any further questions, please email alumni@yorksj.ac.uk.

Sanctuary Scholarship

These scholarships provide financial support for students seeking asylum or with Limited Leave to Remain in the UK.

Find out more on our Sanctuary Scholarship page.

Armed Forces Bereavement Scholarship

These scholarships provide financial support for the children of people who have died serving their country in the Armed Forces.

Find out more on the UK government's Armed Forces Bereavement Scholarships pages.

President's Award Scheme

These scholarships provide financial support for children of Armed Forces personnel with costs linked to educational needs. The scheme provides 2 different types of financial support: Education Grants and Accommodation Scholarships.

Find out more on the Royal British Legion' Grants - President's Award Scheme pages.

William A Gauld Scholarship

Care leavers and estranged students can apply for this scholarship to help fund study abroad.

Find out more on our Study Abroad and Exchange funding page.

Adult learners

Adult learners can apply for grants and bursaries to help pay for courses and training. Usually, you do not have to pay this money back.

For most grants and bursaries, you can apply directly to the organisation that gives them out. They’ll have an application form and will be able to tell you if you qualify.

Find out more on the government's Grants and bursaries for adult learners page. 

Single parents

Find sources of funding for single parent students on the Gingerbread website.

Student Support Fund

Our Student Support Fund offers financial assistance to help students with unexpected financial difficulties.

Find out more on our Student Support Fund page.

Find Your Future Bursary

The Find Your Future scheme is open to recipients of our Care Leavers and Estranged Student Scholarships and is worth £500 for each year of study. This bursary is designed to encourage you to take those first steps in considering how to enhance your CV, add to your transferable skills or just get involved in something new.

To be eligible for this bursary, you must be under the age of 25. You must have been assessed as independent and recognised as either a care leaver or estranged by Student Finance England or an equivalent organisation.

You do not need to apply for this bursary, instead you just need to attend an appointment with either one of our Careers or Opportunities staff and then complete a short survey. Your funds will be paid to you in one instalment once we receive your completed survey, and you are not tied to how you spend these funds. Eligible students will be contacted at the start of Semester 2 to advise them of how they book their appointments.