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Asylum Seekers Scholarship

Applications are now open.

The University of Liverpool are pleased to offer tuition fee and maintenance support for up to three undergraduate students who've sought protection in the UK, so they can succeed in higher education.

The Asylum Seekers Scholarships cover the cost of tuition and provide awards to support the costs of study, eg equipment, books, travel and accommodation.*

*The value of the scholarship awarded is dependent upon individual circumstances.

Eligibility

Application step 1 – check your eligibility

Before completing an application for the Asylum Seeker Scholarship, please read the eligibility criteria carefully. Awards may be withdrawn if we later become aware that successful scholars haven't met the eligibility criteria or have provided false information.

To be considered for our Asylum Seekers Scholarship, you must either:

  • Be an asylum seeker in the UK, a dependent of someone seeking asylum, or have temporary status such as discretionary leave or limited leave to remain in the UK, or be the dependent of someone with such status
  • Have been granted Humanitarian Protection, leave as a stateless person or Limited Leave to Remain in the UK, or be a dependent or partner of someone with leave on these grounds.

You must also:

  • Have applied for asylum in the UK before you applied for a place at University
  • Be unable to access mainstream funding, such as funding from the Student Loans Company or local authority grants
  • Be joining an eligible undergraduate degree. Clinical programmes in Dentistry, Health Sciences, Medicine and Veterinary Sciences aren't eligible
  • Currently attend a school, college, community or voluntary group who'll provide a reference in support of your application. Priority may be given to applicants who've been educated or reside in the local area (Liverpool City Region).

You won't be eligible if you:

  • Transfer to Liverpool from another UK University. We can only accept applications from students beginning a new course at Liverpool
  • Receive a student loan from Student Finance England, Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland, or Student Awards Agency Scotland
  • Secure your place at the University through Clearing
  • Already hold a degree or equivalent higher level qualification
  • Join a clinical undergraduate degree in Dentistry, Health Sciences, Medicine or Veterinary Science, or the Psychology 2+2 programme delivered at Wirral Met. If you're unsure whether your programme is eligible, please contact us for clarification.

You may also be eligible if you have Refugee status but without access to mainstream funding. Please get in touch to discuss your eligibility if this is the case.

Please note:

  • It's important that you ensure it would be realistic for you to join the University of Liverpool if you were to awarded the Scholarship. This would include moving to Liverpool if you're currently based elsewhere in the country. The Scholarship award doesn't support living costs of any dependents you may have
  • As a scholarship applicant you should have achieved the required level of English Language for entry to your programme of study, or be confident that you can achieve the Language requirements by July 2026. If you have any queries about your ability to meet the English Language requirements, please contact us on wpscholarships@liverpool.ac.uk before applying
  • If you, or your family are in receipt of asylum seeker support provided by the UK Home Office, this scholarship may impact your eligibility. It's your responsibility to seek independent advice from an appropriate organisation on the impact the scholarship may have and to notify the UK Home Office or other bodies as appropriate.

Application step 2 – Asylum Seeker Review Form:

We're no longer accepting Review Forms for September 2026. If you're considering applying for the Asylum Seeker Scholarship for September 2026, you should proceed with a UCAS application, although we cannot guarantee that your current and prior study, qualifications and English Language level will be suitable for study at the University of Liverpool.

If you have any questions, please contact wpscholarships@liverpool.ac.uk.

We'll be accepting Review Forms for September 2027 entry from June 2026. 

Application step 3 – UCAS application:

After we've reviewed your form, we'll be in touch to discuss your next steps, including how to make an application to study at the University through UCAS.com if you've not already applied.

Please note, UCAS will charge an application fee. If you're applying through a school or college, please speak to them about a UCAS fee waiver.

Application step 4 – scholarship application:

To apply for the Asylum Seekers Scholarship, you must have received an offer through UCAS from the University of Liverpool for a full-time undergraduate course starting in September 2026. Please don't apply for a scholarship until you have a conditional or unconditional offer from the University of Liverpool.

You can make your scholarship application via our online form.

The deadline to submit your application is 17 April 2026, at 12pm. 

Your application must be completely your own work, and should not include any AI generated content. The panel will check each application for plagiarism and AI generated content. If you're found to have included work which is not your own, your application won't be considered.

Application step 5 – supporting your application:

You'll need to provide a supporting statement from a referee as part of your application. This referee must provide their contact details and confirm that the school, college, community or voluntary group that they represent wishes to support your application.

Your referee should send a statement in support of your application to wpscholarships@liverpool.ac.uk, with your name in the subject line. 

The supporting statement should address the following questions, so please ensure you provide these questions to your referee in advance:

1. What are the applicants personal and financial circumstances and what barriers have they overcome to continue their education? 
2. How well suited is the applicant to the university course they plan to undertake and how realistic are their ambitions? 
3. What contributions has the student made to school/college life or their community? 
4. How do you think the student would benefit from the support offered by the University of Liverpool?

The supporting statement must be submitted by the closing date, so please encourage your referee to submit the statement as soon as you have submitted your application.

Enquiries

If you have any questions, please contact wpscholarships@liverpool.ac.uk.

Closing date

The deadline to submit your scholarship application is 12pm on 17 April 2026. We can't accept late applications.

Decisions

This is a competitive process and not all applications will be successful. A panel of senior members of staff will select the strongest applications and will be looking for the following:

  • A clear rationale for applying for a course at the University of Liverpool
  • Clearly articulated future ambitions and an explanation of how these goals relate to the degree you've applied for
  • Time invested in your local community, contribution made to school/college life, or time spent undertaking additional activities to further develop your knowledge, learning or skills in your desired area of study.

The selection panel will include representatives from the following areas of the University:

  • Admissions
  • Faculty of Science and Engineering
  • Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
  • Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
  • International Advice and Guidance
  • Liverpool Guild of Students
  • Widening Participation and Outreach.

Priority may be given to applicants who've been educated in the Liverpool City Region.

If your application is taken forward, we may invite you for an interview to clarify the information you've provided.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of June 2026.