Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarships

These scholarships are for students who meet at least one of our widening participation criteria and/or students who achieve a first in their undergraduate degree.

If your application is successful, you can use the scholarship towards fees or living expenses – the choice is yours.

Widening participation criteria

You are eligible to apply for the widening participation element of the scholarship if you meet any of the following:

• You have been in care as a looked-after child for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and be aged under 25 on the first day of your course.
• You are estranged from your parents and are aged under 25 on the first day of your course. 
• You have a disability.
• You are a carer for an ill or disabled family member.
• As an undergraduate student you were/are in receipt of support from the Student Loans Company which indicates that your household income was assessed as £40,000 or less. 
• You are from a black and minority ethnic group.
• You are female applying for a postgraduate taught course in the Department of Economics; Aerospace Engineering; Department of Automatic Control & Systems Engineering; Bioengineering; Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering; Department of Civil & Structural Engineering; Department of Computer Science; Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering; Department of Materials Science and Engineering; and Department of Mechanical Engineering.
• You are male applying for a postgraduate taught course in the Division of Nursing and Midwifery; Division of Human Communication Sciences; Department of Psychology; Department of Sociological Studies; the School of English, courses that were previously taught in the Department of Oncology and Metabolism (please contact us if you would like to check if your course is eligible) or the School of Education.
• You come from one of the most deprived areas of the country as defined by the government's IMD (Indices of Multiple Deprivation) database. If your postcode IMD value is 16,250 or less, you meet this criteria. You can check your postcode ranking using the IMD website. You should check the postcode for the address you lived at during your last year of school or college. Please note this criteria only applies to students who live in England.
• You come from an area where it is unusual for people to go to university. This is defined by the government's classification called Polar, to meet this criteria your address must fall into quintile 1 or 2 in the young participation quintile or the Adult HE qualification quintile for Polar 4. You can check your postcode quintile using the POLAR search tool. You should check the postcode for the address you lived at during your last year of school or college. Please note this criteria only applies to students from the UK.

Academic merit criteria

You are eligible to apply for the academic merit element of the scholarship if you achieve, or are predicted, a first in your undergraduate degree.

If you are awarded a scholarship, we will require an academic transcript as evidence to confirm you achieved a first.

How to apply

Applications are now open. The deadline to apply is 1.00pm Tuesday 7 May 2024.

Apply for a Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarship

All eligible applicants will be contacted regarding the outcome of their application before the end of June 2024.

If you are currently studying at the University of Sheffield, you will need to register as a guest or use your postgraduate applicant login details (once you have received an offer) to access the application form.

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Selection process

All applications will be reviewed by senior members of academic staff and/or Student Support Services staff.

When reviewing your application we'll look at personal circumstances, widening participation criteria and take into account academic achievements. All applications are anonymised and the decision is discretionary and final.

When assessing your application, we will give regard to whether you have:

• provided a clear rationale for applying for a postgraduate course at the University of Sheffield;
• clearly identified how the scholarship will be beneficial to their student experience;
• clearly articulated future ambitions; these goals relate to the postgraduate degree they have applied for, and they involve appropriate and credible contribution from which others will benefit.

Please note that the scholarship application is a separate process to applying for a course. Being awarded a scholarship does not guarantee you will be made an academic offer. To apply for a course, please use our Postgraduate Online Application Form.

You are not required to apply for your course prior to submitting your scholarship application.

Further information regarding the awards can be found below.

Further information

• Successful recipients of the scholarship who chose the maintenance payment will receive the award in four instalments. Payment dates will be confirmed before the start of your course.
• The scholarship can be used towards fees or living costs.
• You must be starting a new, stand alone postgraduate course to receive the Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarship 2024.
• For courses where the 'home' and 'overseas' tuition fee is the same, you must be assessed as being eligible to pay the 'home' rate fee.
• Students intending to take a postgraduate loan are classed as self-sponsored and are eligible to apply for the Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarship.
• Students studying by distance learning are eligible to apply.
• Students in receipt of other University scholarships that are equal to or higher than the value of their tuition fee are not eligible to receive the Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarship.
• Courses that are funded by the undergraduate funding system or are NHS funded are not eligible.
• Students who receive the Social Work Bursary from the NHS cannot receive the Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarship.
• Integrated masters, such as the MArch, are not eligible for the Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarship.  
• If you are in receipt of one of the Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarships, you are not eligible for the Alumni Reward discount.
• Students in receipt of the Sheffield MBA Scholarship are not eligible to receive the Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarship too. 
• Students in receipt of an Innovation Hubs for Gene Therapies Bursary are not eligible to receive the Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarship too. 
• You must not have already achieved a Masters level qualification or higher.
• If you register for a course and then take a leave of absence, you are not eligible to apply again the following year once you become fully registered - even if you register on a different course. To be eligible to apply, you must withdraw from your course and reapply to the University as an applicant. 
• If you have a condition that can affect aspects of your written communication and would like panel members to be aware of this, please let us know by emailing us at sheffieldscholars@sheffield.ac.uk.
• Full terms and conditions will be shared with scholarship recipients shortly after registration.