Leeds Masters Scholarships, worth £7,000, aim to encourage eligible UK fee-paying students from under-represented groups to study a Masters qualification.
For successful applicants, the Leeds Masters Scholarship can be awarded as a fee waiver or as monthly payments direct to you. These scholarships are funded by a combination of generous alumni donations and University funding.
Additional benefits
By applying for a Leeds Masters Scholarship, you’ll also be considered for the University’s Plus Programme which offers many free and bespoke activities, extra funding opportunities and more.
If your Leeds Masters Scholarship application is successful, you’ll automatically be registered on the Plus Programme. If it’s unsuccessful, you may still be able to benefit from access to the University's Plus Programme throughout your studies.
I saw the MA Advertising and Design I knew it was the one, but I couldn’t afford the course fees and accommodation. A Leeds Masters Scholarship made this possible and I was able to continue my university studies.
Eligibility criteria
You can apply for a Leeds Masters Scholarship if you meet all of the main criteria and one of the financial criteria. This does not mean you will automatically get a scholarship, but we will consider your application carefully.
Main criteria
You must meet all of the four main criteria:
- Start a full-time, part-time or distance learning Masters programme at the University of Leeds in the 2023/24 academic year. This must lead directly to an MA, MBA, MEd, MMus, MPH, MRes, MSc, LLM or Masters by Research qualification. Please note, students undertaking an integrated Undergraduate and Masters degree are not eligible to apply for a Leeds Masters Scholarship.
- Be paying postgraduate tuition fees at the UK rate.
- Not already hold a Masters degree.
Financial criteria
To apply for a Leeds Masters Scholarship you must meet all of the main criteria and one of the following financial criteria:
If you graduated from full-time undergraduate education between 2019 and 2023
You must be able to evidence that:
- For Student Finance England funded students, you were in receipt of a Maintenance Loan greater or equal to the value(s) indicated in the following table for at least one year of study.
| Academic year | If you were studying while living in the parental home | If you were studying in London | If you were studying outside London and not living in the parental home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | £4,959 | £8,801 | £6,266 |
| 2018/19 | £5,118 | £9,083 | £6,469 |
| 2019/20 | £5,261 | £9,339 | £6,650 |
| 2020/21 | £5,414 | £9,614 | £6,845 |
| 2021/22 | £5,582 | £9,914 |
£7,060 |
| 2022/23 | £5,713 | £10,143 | £7,224 |
- For students funded by either Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland or the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, you were in receipt of any value of Special Support Grant/Welsh Assembly Learning Grant/SAAS Bursary, or in receipt of a Welsh Government Learning Grant of £4,000 or more, for at least one year of study.
If you graduated from a full-time undergraduate degree in 2017 or 2018
You must be able to provide evidence that you received one of the following (of any value) for at least one year of study:
- Maintenance grant
- Special Support Grant
- Assembly Learning Grant
- Welsh Government Learning Grant
- SAAS (Student Awards Agency for Scotland) Bursary
All other applicants
You must be able to provide evidence of individual, gross taxable income during the 2021/22 tax year of no more than:
- £39,771 if you lived in the Greater London region
- £28,059 if you lived anywhere else in the rest of the UK
Applications
The deadline for scholarship applications is 12pm on Monday 12 June 2023. Applicants can expect to receive the result of their application during the week commencing 17 July 2023. Scholarships are not awarded on a first-come first-served basis – all applications will be assessed after the closing date.
Please note: information relating to scholarships changes from time to time. While the University aims to keep this information as up to date as possible, we cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies.
FAQs
Does the Leeds Masters Scholarship cover fees or maintenance?
If you are successful, we will give you the option to receive your scholarship as a fee waiver or in monthly instalments directly to your bank account. There is no difference in the value of the scholarship whichever format you choose.
Remember though, as a Masters student you are responsible for making the arrangements to pay your fees yourself.
How will the Leeds Masters Scholarship be paid?
If you choose to receive the payments directly, the Leeds Masters Scholarship, worth £7,000, is paid in eight cash instalments of £875 when we have verified you as registered on your course. We pay the money directly to you from the end of October to the end of May. If you are studying over multiple years, we will split the £7,000 evenly amongst all your years of study.
If you choose to receive it as a fee waiver, we will take the money off your fee balance and you will be responsible for paying the remainder as per the normal terms and conditions of your tuition fee payments.
Do I need to have applied for my Masters course before I can apply for Leeds Masters Scholarship?
No, you can apply for a Leeds Masters Scholarship before you have applied for your Masters course at Leeds. Note: this may not be the case for other scholarships in the University.
Should I wait until I know if I have a scholarship to apply for my Masters programme?
Some Masters programmes will close applications before the scholarship results are announced. We would encourage you to apply for your programme as soon as possible to avoid missing any deadlines.
Can I apply after the deadline? I didn’t know about the scholarship.
Unfortunately we cannot accept applications after the closing date under any circumstances. This is because we shortlist applicants immediately after the application closing date.
Can EU or international students apply?
Unfortunately only students paying fees at the UK rate (including those with settled status) are eligible for a Leeds Masters Scholarship. If you are unsure what residency status you have, please check this with your school’s admissions team.
Can part-time students apply?
Yes, part-time students are eligible to apply. If you are studying part time, your scholarship can be split across the number of years you will study.
Can I apply for a Leeds Masters Scholarship if I've applied for a Postgraduate Loan from the government?
Yes, you can receive a Postgraduate Loan from the government and still apply for a Leeds Masters Scholarship.
I meet all the eligibility criteria. Will I get a scholarship?
Meeting the criteria does not mean you will automatically receive a scholarship. The Leeds Masters Scholarship scheme is very popular, so there are also many other factors which help us decide who is awarded a scholarship.
When will I find out if my application has been successful?
We are likely to respond to applicants by mid-July. We assess applications as quickly as possible following the closing date, however this is a lengthy and time-consuming process.
How much detail should I give in my answers?
Give as much detail as you can in your answers to make sure we can assess your application as fairly as possible.
The scoring process takes into account both financial and non-financial criteria, so if there are circumstances which have, now or previously, affected you whilst studying, we encourage you to mention these in your application.
We can only consider the information you provide in the application.
What evidence do I need to submit and when?
We will only ask you to submit evidence to support your application if you have been provisionally selected for a scholarship or if you are a reserve candidate.
If we ask you to supply evidence, you will need to prove that you meet the financial criteria listed previously on this page.
We may also ask for other evidence, depending on what else you say in your application. We will explain this clearly at the time.
Why are there so many different financial criteria?
Changes in government funding over the years mean we may ask you for different information, depending on when you graduated. This may include whether you had a maintenance loan, a grant or bursary, or what your annual income is.
Read the ‘Financial criteria’ section of this page to find out which financial information you will need to provide.
If your question is not answered in our FAQs, please send an email to pg-fsp@leeds.ac.uk. A member of the team will get back to you as soon as they can.