Office for Students Funded Scholarship for the MSc in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science

The Award

Our programme offers Scholarships of £10,000 that are available for underrepresented students listed in the following eligibility criteria:

• Black students (Defined in line with the HESA student ethnicity codes) 
  • 21 Black or Black British – Caribbean
  • 22 Black or Black British – African
  • 29 Other Black background
  • 41 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
  • 42 Mixed – White and Black African
• Disabled students (as defined under the Equality Act 2010)
  
• Female students
• Students from low socioeconomic background (Index of Multiple Disadvantage quintiles 1 and 2, low household income). If you think you meet this criterion, you will initially be asked to supply the postcode of the house you grew up in (or the houses you mainly lived in under the age of 18, if you lived in more than one) and then we will be in touch with some follow-on questions. As an initial guide you can use this tool, but note we will confirm eligibility once you apply. Deciles 1 - 4 may be eligible to receive the scholarship.
• Care experienced students 
• Estranged students 
• Gypsy, Roma, Traveller students 
• Refugees
• Children from military families, veterans and partners of military personnel. 
• Meet the nationality or residency status criteria to qualify for the UK postgraduate masters' loan (see below for more information) 

Further details as to why these underrepresented groups have been selected can be found on the OfS website. 

For September 2023 and January 2024 entry, there are 24 Scholarships available.

Prioritising criteria in case of oversubscription

Students with 2 or more underrepresented group criteria will be prioritised initially. Applicants will then be considered by the selection panel where the primary consideration is the candidate’s personal statement (submitted via the form linked below).

Panel membership comprises of the Head of School, Director of Education, School Athena Swan Lead and University Athena SWAN Support Officer.

If you only meet 1 of the criteria, please do still apply as applicants in previous years with 1 criterion have been successful. 

Eligible countries

Funding for scholarships aims to address skills gaps and increase diversity in the UK AI and Data Science workforce. Therefore, to be eligible for scholarship funding students must meet the nationality or residency status criteria to qualify for the postgraduate masters' loan: https://www.gov.uk/masters-loan/eligibility 

Payment amount and frequency

Successful applicants will receive £10,000 over the course of the academic year 2023*. Payment dates to be confirmed.

How to apply

In order to apply for the Scholarship, you must have already applied for a place on the University's MSc in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science course (specific entry requirements can be found on the course page).

The application form will ask you to specify which criteria you meet and to write a personal statement (500 words maximum) where you are asked to "Outline your motivation for wanting to study the course and how insights from your personal experiences could impact on improving equality and diversity in A.I. and Data Science"

Apply Online

Closing date: We will be using a rolling application process where we will make decisions on the applications received each month and inform successful students in the month following their application. When the 24 Scholarships have been allocated, we will then close the Scholarship application process. 

Please note that this is a competitive process and not all applications will be successful. The Scholarship is available only to students who register for and attend the degree programme. There is no appeals process if you are not successful as the panel's decision is final; also, please not that we will not be able to offer feedback. 

For further information on any aspect of completing your application, please email: e.de.quincey@keele.ac.uk

*This OfS Scholarship cannot be combined with other Scholarships the University may offer. 

Please note that this award is subject to our general Terms and Conditions.