Externally-sponsored awards

What is this scholarship?

£1,500 cash award for 100 undergraduate students, which will be paid in the first year of study.

What are the eligibility criteria for the 2023/24 award?

To be considered for this scholarship, you should:

• Be a current Keele University student
• Have commenced the first year of your course in 2023/24 (Foundation Year or Year 1)
• Be an undergraduate UK student
• Have a home postcode beginning with ST (i.e. you must have been living in the ST area prior to starting your course)
• Have an annual household income of below £30,000 (verified by Student Finance)
• Be studying your first degree

Please ensure that your household income details have been provided to Student Finance prior to application. If we’re not able to verify your household income then we will unfortunately not be able to consider your application. 

If you’re not sure what your annual household income is, please don’t let this stop you from applying. 

Students in the Harper-Keele Vet School can apply, provided that their host institution is Keele University. 

Students who receive the Philip Soar Bursary will not be eligible for the Denise Coates Scholarship. 

How can I apply for the scholarhip?

Applications for the 2023/24 Denise Coates Scholarship will be open between 1st November 2023 - 5th January 2024. Applications can be made online via the Blackbullion financial education platform - you can register on the Blackbullion platform using your Keele email address. Once registered, you will find the online application for the Denise Coates Scholarship in the ‘Funds’ tab. If you need any help with your application, please contact the Financial Support Team in Student Services.

As part of your application, you will be asked to provide a short supporting statement (of no more than 200 words). You might want to include the challenges you've faced in getting to university and how you would use this scholarship to support your education.

Once applications have closed, a panel will meet to consider all eligible applications. We will confirm the outcome of all applications within 2 weeks of the closing date.

Phil Soar is a Keele graduate (History and Sociology and Social Anthropology, 1969) and a member of the College of Fellows at Keele University. Beyond Keele, Phil Soar is a respected and successful author, publisher and businessman. In the past 20 years, he has built up one of the best collections of football books and periodicals in the world. Phil has written and collaborated on numerous football histories that have been widely acclaimed (e.g. Encyclopaedia of British Football & Arsenal 1886-1986). Phil is Chairman/CEO of a number of large media groups such as Blenheim, DeAgostini, Eaglemoss, Spearhead, CloserStill. Brand Events and Nineteen (19) Events.

Phil Soar has set up these scholarships to provide a student from a similar background to himself the opportunity to access the vital funding they need to support their higher education experience at Keele, just as he enjoyed.

What is this scholarship?

£1,500 cash award for six first year undergraduates, which will be paid to them in each year of their study.

What are the criteria?

To be considered for this scholarship, you should:

• Be a current Keele University student
• Have commenced the first year of your course in 2023/24 (Foundation Year or Year 1)
• Be an undergraduate UK student
• Have a household income of below £25,000 (verified by Student Finance) OR belong to any of the following under represented groups:
  • Student with a disability
  • Student with children
  • Student with caring responsibilities
  • Student from an ethnic minority background
  • Care leaver (aged under 25)
  • Irreconcilably estranged from family (aged under 25)
  • Student from an area of low HE progression

If you are applying based on household income, please ensure that your household income details have been provided to Student Finance prior to application. If we’re not able to verify your household income then we will unfortunately not be able to consider your application. If you’re not sure what your annual household income is, please don’t let this stop you from applying. 

Students in the Harper-Keele Vet School can apply, provided that their host institution is Keele University.

How can I apply for the bursary?

Applications for the 2023/24 Philip Soar Scholarship will be open between 2nd October 2023 - 1st November 2023. Applications can be made on our online application form. If you need any help with your application, please contact the Financial Support Team.

As part of your application, you will be asked to provide a supporting statement (of no more than 500 words). You might want to include the challenges you've faced in getting to university and how you would use this scholarship to support your education. We'd recommend that you write a draft in Microsoft Word before starting your application. There are a limited number of places on this scholarship, and so your supporting statement will be used by the panel to help to decide which students should receive places on this popular scholarship.

Once applications have closed, a panel will meet to consider all eligible applications. We will confirm the outcome of all applications in early December.

Terms and Conditions

• Successful applicants can only receive 1 award per academic year, e.g the scholarship will not be payable in any repeat years
• If a successful applicant withdraws, they will receive no further payments once withdrawn from the University

Some charities and organisations offer bursaries and grants to support students who are studying at university. Here are some examples of external scholarships:

• The NHS Learning Support Fund offers grants of up to £8,000 for students studying certain healthcare courses.
• The Community Foundation for Staffordshire has a number of grants and bursaries targeted at people residing in the Stoke and Staffordshire area and addresses a range of social, health and social mobility issues.
• The Leverhulme Charities Trust offers grants of up to £5000 for students who are the children or spouses of grocers, pharmacists, commercial travellers.
• The RCN Foundation offers grants for student nurses working with young people.
• The BMA Charities organisation offers and refers to grants for student medics.