University of Sanctuary

The University of Liverpool is committed to supporting sanctuary seeking students from all backgrounds, through an extensive range of work from across our Schools, Faculties and Professional Services teams. We are a committed partner to our local community whilst also forging impactful collaborations and welcoming students and staff from across the world.

We are a recognised University of Sanctuary and a member of the Council for At Risk Academics (CARA), as well as a signatory of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) Global Pledge for expanding refugee access to Higher Education. Our support for sanctuary seeking students is human-centred, multifaceted, and ever changing, this page highlights some key areas of work and is regularly updated. 

Our Support 

For prospective students and applicants

Asylum Seeker Scholarship

Each year we offer up to four scholarships to Asylum Seeker students in the UK, supporting them to complete their undergraduate studies. The scholarships cover tuition fees and a living stipend, and students benefit from a moving in package and wrap around support through Liverpool Plus. You can find out more at our dedicated webpage, applications open each January for courses beginning the following September.

Hear from current and past scholarship holders.

Humanitarian Scholarship

We offer 2 scholarships per year to students with refugee status outside the UK, who would like to complete their postgraduate studies at Liverpool. These scholarships cover tuition fees and around £18,000 for living expenses. You can find out more at our dedicated webpage.

Disrupted Education Project

Sanctuary seeking students can receive support with their application to higher education through our Disrupted Education project, which provides 1-2-1 information, advice and guidance, bespoke campus visits and a named contact to provide comprehensive, holistic support. 

For current students 

Welcoming practices are embedded throughout the student experience at both the institutional and departmental levels. Additional cohort-building activities are provided at the Department and School level to support students who may face extra barriers to entering university.

Our Student Services teams, including teams focused on mental health, visas and immigration and finance, are fully aware of the barriers and challenges that sanctuary seeking students may face, and tailor their support accordingly when engaging with these students, including signposting them to the Widening Participation team as appropriate. 

To support our most at risk and vulnerable students to effectively transition and navigate the University, and take up all the support and opportunities on offer, we offer the Liverpool Plus programme, which provides targeted support for students throughout their studies at Liverpool. 

Liverpool Plus provides essential transitional support for new students coming into the University, providing them with opportunities to establish relationships, build communities and feel at home within our University Community. The programme is well embedded across the institution and will continue to provide ongoing support for students from widening participation backgrounds, with a particular focus on our sanctuary scholars. The opportunities available to sanctuary scholars through the programme include a designated point of contact to address any issues or concerns which arise, study skills, signposting to undergraduate and postgraduate support and regular bespoke and individual communications. This personalised, 1-2-1 support has been crucial to the success of our sanctuary scholars and is now a key aspect of the Liverpool Plus programme. 

Collaborate with us

Are you a student who is interested in supporting the sanctuary agenda through your academic studies or personal endeavours? We want to hear from you! We have a range of opportunities available where you could support us by adding your voice or time to student voice panels, sanctuary awareness raising opportunities and social events. Please get in touch: sanctuary@liverpool.ac.uk 

Liverpool Guild of Students

The University has a proactive and engaging Student Union which provides a safe space for students and a range of student societies. At Liverpool, we have societies such as Student Action for Refugees Liverpool (STAR) and the Amnesty Society, giving our sanctuary students the opportunity to engage with a community of their peers and find a place to come home 

Event and Activities 

Coming soon!

Law Clinic 

The Liverpool Law Clinic, supported by qualified solicitors and expert solicitors, offers free legal advice to members of the public who would otherwise be unable to afford it. Alongside work in family and education law, the Law Clinic has a focus on immigration, offering advice only and some full representation on issues of statelessness, naturalisation as British for adult refugees and stateless people, child registration as British and some other immigration applications. 

Alongside supporting individuals in need of legal aid, the Law Clinic offers current students practical ways of learning about the real lived impact of current UK immigration policy. Over 350 students per year benefit from experience at the Law Clinic. 

While the focus of the Law Clinic is primarily providing free legal advice, they also partner with agencies across the Liverpool City Region to deliver outreach projects and provide education about legal issues. 

English Language Centre

The English Language Centre offers free language classes to refugees and asylum seekers in the Liverpool City Region. The small group classes focus on building confidence when communicating in English, improving knowledge of grammar and vocabulary and practising speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. The classes support new arrivals with employment and education transitions, and a wraparound programme of pastoral and well-being activities is available to all students. 

Refugee Research Hub

More information coming soon 

Research and Teaching

Knowledge and understanding of sanctuary-seeking is a cross-cutting theme at the University, reflected not only in teaching and research by academic staff but also in the institution’s daily practices and its commitment to creating a safe, inclusive environment where colleagues and students can learn together. You can read more here.