Care Leaver and Estranged Student Bursary

The Care Leaver and Estranged Student Bursary is an annual bursary of £3,000 plus an additional £500 on graduation to support with moving on costs. Please note the Care Leaver and Estranged Student Bursary is not paid in addition to the University of Surrey Bursary.

This Care Leaver and Estranged Student Bursary aims to support students who are either care leavers or estranged students.

Care leavers

You have been ‘looked after' for at least 13 weeks by a local authority at some point since you were 14 years old, and were in care on or after your sixteenth birthday.

Estranged students

You are estranged from both parents/carers. By estranged we mean that either:

• You have not communicated with either of your biological or adoptive parents for a period of time before your course began
• Your parents cannot be traced or it is not possible, practical, or safe to make contact with them
• Your parents have significant mental or physical health problems which prevent you from contacting them
• Both of your biological or adoptive parents are deceased.

In order to be eligible you must be:

• A full-time undergraduate student
• A UK student
• Paying full tuition fees (therefore NHS-funded students and students who are being funded are not eligible)
• On a course which has started on or after September 2022
• A maximum age of 25 upon entry to be qualified as estranged, or under the age of 28 upon entry to be classified as a care leaver. If you are over the age of 28 but you were in care during your childhood/adolescence, you are considered to be care experienced.

You may still be eligible for the bursary if you are repeating a year with full attendance for the first time since becoming estranged.