University of Sanctuary Scholarship (Postgraduate)
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.
- Apply for and hold a conditional or unconditional offer on an eligible one-year PGT Masters at Essex
- Complete the Sanctuary Scholarship application form on the scholarship's information page
- Email the completed form, evidence of your immigration status, and a letter of reference to funding@essex.ac.uk
- Submit before the published deadline (2 June 2026 was the would-be 2026/27 date; the round is already closed)
- A selection panel chaired by the Dean of Postgraduate Research and Education ranks applications against stated priorities (rationale for study, interruptions to prior education, immigration status, lack of access to mainstream funding)
What to prepare
- Evidence of immigration status
- A letter of reference
How they select
application form · references · evidence of circumstances
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
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: pgadmit@essex.ac.uk
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
Adults are a visible share. Roughly one student in four is over 30 (22.9%), and 34.7% are over 25.
In detail about University of Essex: 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 →
Only one award per year; reapply for the 2027-28 cycle when it reopens.