Bonnart Trust Sanctuary Scholarship

What it gives

full tuition waiver · living costs

up to £18,000

Full Home fee waiver + £18,000/year maintenance bursary

Who it is for

recognised refugee status · humanitarian protection · Ukraine or Afghan scheme

Level of study: taught postgraduate, research postgraduate

The student finance condition

Open to applicants who do receive student finance

Having no access to student finance is not a condition here: people with recognised refugee status who already receive a student loan can apply.

How to apply

You need a place first: apply to the programme and wait for an offer. Scholarship applications are only considered from people who already hold one.

Have received an offer for one of the eligible master's programmes (about 17 humanities/social-science courses at Birkbeck's Bloomsbury campus or delivered online) by the scholarship closing date
Show household income below £42,875/year
Be a new student, not already enrolled on the master's course
Be a forced migrant with Refugee or Humanitarian Protection status, or in the UK under the Ukraine or Afghanistan sponsorship visa scheme (asylum seekers are directed instead to the separate Compass Project Scholarship)

Dates

Can you apply now · as of 6 September 2026

2026/27 round closed · next date not announced

Next year's round usually opens in winter or spring. Write to the university early: ask for the date and to be added to their mailing list.

Where the date comes from: “scholarship deadline 15 Jun 2026»

Deadline

2026/27 cycle closed (Birkbeck programme deadline was 31 May 2026, scholarship deadline 15 Jun 2026)

When applications open

Birkbeck programme application deadline 31 May, scholarship deadline 15 June, each cycle (2026/27 cycle: closed)

How many places

For how many years

Renewed for the following years of the course, as long as you keep studying.

Ask before you apply

We do not fill in the gaps for the institution. Here is what its own page leaves unclear — these are normal questions, everyone asks them.

What happens to the payments if I am granted refugee status mid-year?

If this scheme is not for you

See the full list of schemes — it has a filter for your status and for whether student finance is available to you.
Check whether you are entitled to student finance — if it is, a scholarship stops being the only road.
Foundation year and Access to HE — routes for people who only have a school certificate.
Education hub — where to start if you have not chosen a route yet.

About the institution

Birkbeck, University of London — Bloomsbury campus in central London, historically teaching evening/part-time courses for working adults; some programmes delivered fully online. Home fee status is assessed by Birkbeck admissions; the published scholarship page does not describe the application form or selection method beyond eligibility criteria.

Many adult students. More than a third of students are over 30 (48.1%). You certainly will not be the oldest in the room.

In detail about Birkbeck, University of London: all schemes, student ages, study modes →

Source

Every fact on this page we opened and read on the institution's own site, rather than taking it from an aggregator. Checked on: 22 August 2026.

The scheme page on the institution's site →

Household income cap £42,875/yr; must be eligible for Home fees already; Bloomsbury campus or online delivery only.