Sanctuary Scholarship application form

Applications for 2025 are now open, and will close 5pm Monday 2 June 2025.

Scholarships are open to applicants that:

Have applied to UCLan for a place on a three-year undergraduate course starting in September 2025
Are unable to access mainstream funding, eg student finance loan
Currently live within the North West of England (Cumbria, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire)
And have the right to study in the UK
You are not currently enrolled on an undergraduate course (including foundation year study) at the University.
You meet the eligibility criteria for the undergraduate course you are applying to.

Current immigration status should be described as one of the following:

Refugee status
Discretionary leave to remain (DLR)
Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
Humanitarian Protection (HP)
Awaiting a decision on application for refugee status (asylum seeker)
Leave as an Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Child (UASC leave)
Refused Asylum Seeker - application for refugee status has been denied and a fresh claim is in process
Lived in the UK for the last half of life, which was not for the principal purpose of study, and has a form of immigration permission. This can include Limited Leave to Remain (LLR)

Application guidance notes

The guidance notes below are to help you complete the application form for the Sanctuary Scholarship. Please read the guidance notes before completing the application form. You should find the answer to any questions you have in these notes. If you still have questions, please feel contact us via email.

Please make sure you understand and meet the eligibility criteria before applying.

In order to be considered for the Sanctuary Scholarship, you need to have made an application for a three year undergraduate course, beginning in September 2025 before the Sanctuary Scholarship application deadline.

You do not need to have received an offer for the undergraduate course before the Sanctuary Scholarship application deadline. The Sanctuary Scholarship assessment panel will liaise with the University Admissions team to check whether you have submitted an application for an eligible undergraduate course, and whether you meet the entry requirements for that course, before they assess your Sanctuary Scholarship application.

Applicants will need to submit supporting documentation and a supporting reference when applying. If you have any questions about whether you should apply, please contact us via email.

How we use the data you submit in the application form

There are 7 sections to complete in the application form. Please complete each section.

We are the University of Lancashire (formerly the University of Central Lancashire) and we will use the information you provide to assess your eligibility for our Sanctuary Scholarship. We will keep the information you provide on file for up to five years after this year’s Scholarship application process has ended. As part of the application assessment process, your information may be shared with external panel members who are experts in this field and are under a duty of confidentiality. If you would like further information about your data protections rights or how to contact our Data Protection Officer, please see our Data Protection web pages.

Please ensure you read the guidance notes section below before you complete the application. The guidance notes explain what is requires in each part of the application form and what additional documents you will need to submit.

This application form will assess your eligibility and suitability for the Sanctuary Scholarship. You are not required to provide personal information about your reasons for coming to the UK/seeking asylum.

Guidance notes

Please complete the personal information section of the form. We need this information to contact you about your application.

Please ensure that you put your name as you would want to see it on, for example, a certificate. Put your first name in one box and your second (family) name in the other. You do not need to include your middle names.

This section also asks if you consider yourself to have a disability. You will need to provide further details if you answer yes to this question.

In this section you'll be asked what course you would like to study and what offer you have received. If this is conditional, you will need to provide information about the conditions of your offer. For example, the qualifications you need to get to gain a place on your chosen course.

This section also requests information about your educational history. This includes whether you have faced any interruptions to study.

This section is about your immigration status and whether you meet the eligibility criteria for the scholarship. The information we ask in this section will only be used to determine whether you are eligible in relation to your current immigration status in the UK. We do not need you to provide details on the circumstances that led you to the UK.

Please note that you will need to evidence your current immigration status with documentation. For example a Biometric Residence Permit, Home Office letters or a solicitor’s letter. If you are unsure about your current immigration status please speak to your solicitor. Or, to your family members if you are listed as a dependent on a family member’s immigration application.

This section requires information about your current living arrangements, and your term time living arrangements. This includes any additional support needs you may have with regards to your personal circumstances. These may include support needs around a disability, mental health, counselling etc.

We ask this information to help us assess whether the scholarship we offer meets your living arrangement needs.

Any information you provide in this section will not negatively impact your application. It will only be used to ensure that we provide you with all the support you need throughout your studies, should your application be successful.

We recommend that you complete your answers to this section in a separate Microsoft Word document (or similar). You can then copy and paste this information into the form when you are ready to submit.

This section assesses your suitability for the Sanctuary Scholarship. This section has four headings. You will need to provide a detailed response to each of the following:

Scroll or swipe on small screens to see all table columns

Rationale for Higher Education	What is your rationale for wanting to access Higher Education? This includes your future ambitions and aspirations and how your chosen course will help you achieve these. The barriers you have faced in continuing your education and how you have tried to overcome these.
Interruptions to prior education	This includes anything that has interrupted your ability to study at school, college or university.
Immigration status	For example, asylum seeker or refugee.
Scholarship support needs	Tell us how the bursary support will best support you. For example, accommodation, transport, books and technology. Include details of your financial circumstances and any previous applications you have made for funding. Any further support you need to be able to succeed in higher education.

The information in your application is held and processed according to our Data Protection Policy. The selection panel will only be able to take into account information that you have provided in your application form.

The referee supporting statement is an important part of the selection process. Please be sure to include all of the requested information. You should also include any other information you believe should considered by the selection panel. It is your responsibility as the applicant to provide your referee with a copy of your personal statement.

Please remember the following:

The referee must provide their full name and contact details.
The application will not be accepted without a supporting statement.

The referee supporting statement should be no more than 500 words long and should cover the following:

What are the applicant’s personal and financial circumstances and what barriers have they overcome to continue their education?
How well suited is the applicant to the higher education course they plan to undertake and how realistic are the applicant’s ambitions?
What contribution, to your knowledge, has the applicant made to a) college life and / or b) their community?
Is there any other information that you believe is relevant to this application?
How do you think the applicant would benefit from the support offered by the Sanctuary Scholarship?

Applications will only be considered if they are accompanied by a referee supporting statement. This must be signed, dated and on letter headed paper.

Alongside your reference, you will need to submit:

Copies of any qualification documents you have available to support my application.
Copies of Home Office letters and other documentation confirming your current immigration status in the UK.

You can upload these using the option provided in the form.

If you have any issues uploading your supporting information via the online form (reference letter, proof of qualifications, proof of immigration status) please send them via email to our Widening Participation Team or post:

Liz Granger,
University of Central Lancashire,
Harris Building, HB120,
Preston,
PR1 2HE

Please note that this is a competitive process and not all applications will be successful.

Following initial assessment the University will contact you. You will be informed whether your application will progress to the next stage of the selection process.

If your application is taken forward, you will be invited to an interview to verify the information you have provided in your application.

If you are successful and offered a Sanctuary Scholarship, you will be informed within two weeks of your interview.