COMING SOON: following a review, the University Access Fund is rebranding as the Financial Support Fund.  The Financial Support Fund is being introduced to better support students, by making support available to more students and reducing the time taken for assessments to be completed.  

We anticipate that the Financial Support Fund will open in September.

If you're facing unexpected financial difficulty in 2026/27, we may be able to help you.

The ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ Financial Support Fund provides limited discretionary financial support for full-time students experiencing unanticipated financial difficulty.

There are two different types of award:

  • Standard Award
  • Enhanced Award


About the Financial Support Fund

The fund is designed to offer short-term assistance during periods of unexpected hardship.  

The fund will support students facing significant, unforeseen financial hardship that has not arisen through personal fault, and is intended to complement, not replace, personal financial planning and other sources of support.  

We aim to support as many students as possible and therefore ask applicants to consider this fund as part of a wider approach to managing their finances.  

The fund should not be considered as a source of income and cannot address ongoing financial difficulties which existed prior to the start of your course. You will need to show that you made reasonable provision for your living costs before the start of your academic year as part of your application.

As funds are limited and demand is high, awards are normally partial contributions towards essential costs rather than full funding of any shortfall.

While students may apply more than once, in order to ensure fair access for all, repeat applications may be given less priority where previous support has already been provided.

All successful applications will be means tested, considering the financial circumstances of both the student and, where relevant, their family.

Information to read before applying to the fund

  • You must apply for — and receive, where eligible — the maximum amount of statutory funding available to you (for example, your full maintenance loan or grant).
  • If you choose not to apply for your full entitlement, you may not be eligible for support from this fund.
  • If your household income has fallen by 15% or more since the previous tax year, your student finance provider (Student Finance England, Wales, SAAS or SFNI) can reassess your application.  You may then be eligible for additional Maintenance Loan support to help with your living costs.
  • To request this, you must complete a Current Year Income (CYI) Assessment Form. You can find this, along with other useful information, on the “webpage on the gov.uk site.
  • If you're entitled to any welfare benefits, you should apply for these before applying to the fund.
  • Please be aware that any award from this fund may affect your benefit payments. If needed, we can provide a letter confirming the purpose of your award.

When we assess your application, we look at your full financial situation. This includes all savings and investments, such as:

  • Savings accounts
  • ISAs
  • Stocks and shares
  • Cryptocurrency
  • NS&I Premium Bonds

The first £200 of savings is ignored to allow for an emergency fund.

Who can apply?

The Financial Support Fund is open to Home fee status undergraduate or PGCE students receiving a means tested maintenance loan, and postgraduate students receiving student finance.
International students may be eligible for support through the Overseas Financial Support Fund.

When to apply

Applications will be considered from four weeks after the course start date for eligible new students joining BSU in 2026/27, or from three weeks after the start of a new academic year for eligible continuing students.

Applications will close four weeks prior to the end of the teaching period for the current academic year (to allow time for the application to be assessed) or once funds are exhausted if this is sooner.

Eligibility Criteria

To be considered for funding, you must meet all the following criteria:

  • Be able to demonstrate genuine temporary financial hardship caused by a recent, unforeseen event, and show that this has not arisen through careless financial management
  • Have £200 or less (including any available overdraft) across all bank accounts
  • Be fully registered on an undergraduate or postgraduate programme at ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ and be in term time at the point of application
  • Have either: 
    • Started your course before September 2025, or
    • Started from September 2025 onwards and be studying in Bath, or at Bath Spa London (Hackney) or Bath Spa London (Canary Wharf)
  • Be a Home UK student in receipt of a maintenance loan
  • Be in receipt of your full entitlement to statutory funding and any eligible benefits
  • Meet expected levels of attendance and engagement, including active attendance prior to any scheduled payment date
  • Must have adhered to the Student code of conduct throughout your programme.

You will not be eligible if you meet any of the following criteria:

  • You are currently on a placement year, or Year Abroad
  • You are studying less that 100 credits in the current academic year
  • You have an outstanding Short-Term Loan
  • You have Tuition Fee Arrears
  • You have completed your study and are no longer enrolled at BSU
  • You are studying via distance learning.

Short term loans

We offer short term loans that work very well for some students who have a short-term cash flow problem. For more information, visit the Short term loan page.

How to apply

Applications are managed via Blackbullion.

  • All students must initially apply for a Standard Award; your application will be considered by our Hardship Panel and, assuming you meet our criteria, will undergo a financial assessment. Depending on your circumstances and the outcome of this assessment you may be invited to submit a second application for an Enhanced Award
  •  Students who are invited to apply for an Enhanced Award will receive their Standard Award payment to ensure that they receive timely help whilst we carry out a more thorough assessment of your circumstances
  • Applications submitted without all the necessary supporting documentation will not be assessed
  • Supporting documentation is required for all applications. All evidence must be submitted in pdf format.

Evidence required

For a Standard Award you'll be required to submit the following evidence as a minimum:

  • Proof of student finance
  • Most recent months bank statement for all bank accounts – please annotate all income.

Depending on your circumstances you may be asked to upload other supporting documentation as part of your application.

If you're invited to apply for an Enhanced Award you will be required to submit the following evidence as a minimum:

  • Proof of student finance
  • Three recent months' worth of bank statement for all bank accounts – please annotate all income and any expenditure over £150
  • Tenancy Agreement.

Depending on your circumstances you may be asked to upload other supporting documentation, such as evidence of childcare costs, as part of your application.

What happens next?

We’ll communicate the outcome of our application via Blackbullion.

  • We aim to inform applicants of the outcome of their application within three weeks for a Standard Award or six weeks for an Enhanced Award.
  • We aim to make payments to your account within three working days of notifying you.

Appealing a decision

Appeals need to be submitted in writing by submitting a on MyServices within ten working days of the initial decision being communicated.  

Appeals would only be accepted where:

  • There was an error in the financial details reported on your initial application.
  • You have new information or supporting documents to submit, which were relevant at the time of the initial assessment but were unavailable.
  • There has been a major change in circumstances between the initial application being submitted and the outcome being communicated.
  • Your application was rejected due to not meeting the attendance criterion and you believe your attendance has been reported or assessed incorrectly, or that there are mitigating circumstances to consider.

Important information

  • While we’re happy to accept repeat applications, our funding is limited. To help us support as many students as possible, we kindly ask that you avoid submitting multiple applications. Please also note that there’s a maximum award amount per student so we can share support fairly across the student community.
  • Students who submit incomplete applications will be given an opportunity to provide the missing evidence. If the evidence is not provided the application will not be assessed, and the application will be rejected
  • All applications will be treated in confidence, however, may be shared with Student Wellbeing Services where deemed appropriate, so that they can offer additional support.

Get in touch

If you have any questions about this award, please contact the Student Awards Team by submitting a on MyServices.