Bursary Scheme for 2025/26 Entry
The UCO Bursary is awarded by University Campus Oldham (UCO), Higher Education at Oldham College, to help UK students with costs whilst studying. The financial support is a grant, which means you don’t have to pay it back.
You don’t need to apply for the UCO Bursary – we will tell you if you qualify. We calculate your eligibility for the Bursary using information from Student Finance and your student record.
To qualify for the Bursary, you must be registered on an undergraduate, higher-education course lasting at least one year. This includes:
· A degree
· A foundation degree
· A HNC / HND
You must meet all of the eligibility criteria in the next section to be considered:
· Be a new student, enrolled on an eligible course at UCO*,
· Have your household income assessed by the Student Loans Company (SLC)**,
· Have an assessed household income of or below £26,000,
· Have a minimum attendance of 85% at the time of payment.
If you are eligible to receive the UCO Bursary, we will contact you at your UCO email address to confirm this. Payments will be made in January and May, totalling £500 (two payments of £250). These will be paid directly to your bank account.
*Returning students, such as those progressing from a Foundation Year to the first year of a Foundation Degree or Honours Degree, or those repeating modules are not eligible for the bursary scheme. Students enrolled on postgraduate courses and teacher training courses (Cert. Ed, PGCE and PGDE) are also excluded from this offer.
**You will need to have your household income assessed by your financial awarding body in order to receive the UCO Bursary. This is also sometimes referred to as being means tested. Household income refers to the earnings before tax of parents, partners of parents or legal guardians, who you live with. If you want to request a household income assessment from Student Finance England (SFE), use the government’s student finance forms page to find and complete the correct form. It is possible for them to assess your household income even if you do not wish to take out a loan so that you can be considered for a UCO Bursary award. Applying for this assessment is necessary, even if you choose not to take the loan, as they handle bursary payments on our behalf. If you’re a new full-time student, you’ll complete the PN1 form – https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-forms. To be awarded the UCO Bursary, all household income assessments/re-assessments must be finalised by your financial awarding body and updated on the Student Loans Company’s (SLC) Bursary Administration Service.