Open Futures Sanctuary Scholarship

What it gives

full tuition waiver · equipment and study costs

Full fee waiver for up to 360 undergraduate credits (max 120/year); plus an equipment starter pack (laptop, case, keyboard/mouse, printer, ink, paper). No cash maintenance award.

Who it is for

asylum seeker (claim pending) · recognised refugee status · humanitarian protection · indefinite leave to remain · Ukraine or Afghan scheme · other categories — see terms

This scheme does not accept recognised refugee status — its terms narrow the field of applicants.

Level of study: undergraduate

The student finance condition

Only if you cannot access student finance

This scheme is for people without access to government student finance — usually asylum seekers and some limited-leave categories. If you have refugee status and can access student finance, this is normally not for you.

How to apply

You do not need to wait for an offer — the scholarship application can run alongside admission.

Complete the Open Futures Sanctuary Scholarship application form
Attach evidence of immigration status (ARC copy, or Home Office letter/share code + passport ID page)
Send as file attachments (PDF/Word/JPEG only) to fees-fs-bursaries-scholarships@open.ac.uk, or by post
Post to: Student Fees, The Open University, PO Box 6055, Milton Keynes MK10 1NH, signed-for delivery
Submit by midday 22 July 2026 (2026/27 cycle); only one application per person
If oversubscribed, a randomised draw allocates the 10 places among eligible applicants
Successful applicants notified by email on or before 7 August 2026

What to prepare

Asylum seekers: copy of front/back of Application Registration Card (ARC), OR Home Office letter re asylum application/support
Granted leave after failed asylum/humanitarian protection claim: Home Office share code + passport ID page copy + Home Office outcome letter

How they select

application form · evidence of circumstances · automatic, no separate application

There is no interview — the decision is made on documents. On most routes there are no subject entrance exams either: the main hurdle on the way into university is proving your level of English. The exceptions are medicine, dentistry and creative courses, where tests and portfolios do appear.

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: “applications closed midday 22 July 2026»

Deadline

2026/27 cycle: applications closed midday 22 July 2026, results emailed by 7 Aug 2026

When applications open

Terms published March each year; applications close midday 22 July; results by ~7 August

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?

Who to write to: fees-fs-bursaries-scholarships@open.ac.uk; general-enquiries@open.ac.uk / 0300 303 5303

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

The Open University is a UK distance-learning university (HQ Milton Keynes) with no campus admissions offer in the usual sense — students study online/at home UK-wide. Eligibility instead requires being a new OU student in the relevant year, UK ordinary residence, no existing UK HE qualification, and minimum 25% (30-credit) study intensity.

Many adult students. More than a third of students are over 30 (65.2%). You certainly will not be the oldest in the room.

In detail about The Open University: 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 →

Direct WebFetch of the OU page returned only its title (likely JS-rendered content); details cross-verified via the Open University's own news blog post about the scholarship.