USW Postgraduate Sanctuary Scholarship 2026/2027

What it gives

full tuition waiver · equipment and study costs · travel costs · English tuition · application support

Full tuition fee waiver + laptop/tablet assistance + local travel assistance + book voucher; cash amounts set annually by panel, not published as a fixed figure

Who it is for

asylum seeker (claim pending) · limited or discretionary leave · dependant of a person with status

Level of study: taught postgraduate

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.

Important warning

Payments stop if you are granted status during the course. Ask in advance what happens to the money: a decision can arrive mid-course.

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.

Get a conditional or unconditional offer for a full-time, taught, on-campus postgraduate degree at USW starting September 2026, and accept it on a firm basis
Also apply for a course lasting one academic year by 16:30, Friday 5 June 2026 (course application deadline)
Wait for an automatic email with a link to the USW Postgraduate Sanctuary Scholarship application form, sent to the email address used on your course application
Submit the scholarship application by 16:30, Friday 3 July 2026
Student Money Advice Team confirms receipt by email within 10 working days
If an English language test is required for admission, USW arranges and processes it within 10 working days
After the closing date the awarding panel reviews all eligible applications; you may be invited to an interview to discuss your application
Decision notified by email within two weeks of the closing date
Before enrolling, meet with the university's Immigration Advice Services to have your right to study checked and agree enrolment conditions

What to prepare

Evidence that you are not eligible for Student Finance from another authority (e.g. Student Finance Wales/England, SAAS), may be requested

How they select

application form · personal statement · interview · evidence of circumstances

There is an interview here. It is a conversation about your situation and your study plans, not a subject exam: nobody tests the school syllabus or tries to catch you out. You can answer calmly, in your own words.

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 apply by 3 July 2026»

Deadline

16:30, Friday 3 July 2026 for September 2026 entry (closed)

When applications open

For September entry: course application by early June, scholarship application window closes early July (2026/2027 cycle: course apply by 5 June 2026, scholarship apply by 3 July 2026)

For how many years

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

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

University of South Wales (USW) has campuses at Treforest/Pontypridd, Cardiff, and Newport in South Wales; the scholarship requires applicants to live within reasonable commuting distance of the campus their course is taught on (the page gives Cardiff-to-Treforest and Cardiff-to-Newport as example commutes).

Adults are a visible share. Roughly one student in four is over 30 (28.3%), and 45.4% are over 25.

In detail about University of South Wales: all schemes, student ages, study modes →

Source

We found this scheme in the STAR Network and Displaced Student Opportunities lists, but the institution's own site was unavailable when we checked: the page returned an error or blocked automated access. The record is therefore built from an archived copy and open sources — check the terms with the institution before you apply. Checked on: 22 August 2026.

The scheme page on the institution's site →

Direct page fetch blocked (403); details confirmed via search-engine quote of the official southwales.ac.uk page text. Also includes English pre-sessional course if assessed as needed.