The Birmingham Grant

The Birmingham Grant offers additional support to all students whose household income is assessed as £33,790 or less.  From September 2007, you will receive a grant of £820 from the University if you:

• Are a new, full-time undergraduate
• Are eligible to pay fees at the rate of £3,070
• Are living in the UK
• Have applied to your Local Authority for a maintenance grant
• Have a household income below £33,790
• Have successfully achieved a place at the University

You do not need to apply for the Birmingham Grant.  If you qualify, the University will notify you of your award in writing.

The Birmingham Scholarship

The Birmingham Scholarship recognises the achievement of students from low-income backgrounds who perform extremely well in their A levels (or equivalent qualifications).  From September 2007, you will receive a Birmingham Scholarship if you:

• Meet the above criteria for the award of a Birmingham Grant
• Achieve a minimum of AAB at A level, more than 34 points in the IB, or DDD in BTEC. Other examinations may be considered. Please note that the award of a scholarship is not based on UCAS tariff points.

Students who meet the criteria and who successfully achieve a place at the University will be awarded a Birmingham Scholarship of £1,230.  This means that qualifying students will receive a total of £2,050 for the 2007/08 academic year.

Essential information for Birmingham Grant and Scholarship recipients

• Payment of the Birmingham Grant and Scholarship will be made in two equal instalments, one in late January and one in early May.  Payment will be made directly into your bank account.
• Once you have qualified for the Grant and/or Scholarship you will continue to receive the awards on an annual basis so long as you make normal progression, regardless of any change in your assessed income.
• If you failed to meet the income criteria in 2006/07, but your 2007/08 financial assessment finds that your income has fallen below the financial threshold for these awards, you will then receive the Grant and/or Scholarship for that and subsequent years.
• When completing your application for statutory support from your Local Authority, please ensure that you have fully completed section 13, as both you and your sponsors will need to provide consent to share the financial information that is used in your assessment.  Please also ensure that the details you submit to both the Student Loans Company and the University (name, course details etc) are consistent. If you do not ensure that both of these items are complete, it may result in serious delays to the payment of your Birmingham Grant and/or Scholarship.
• For 2007/08 students will need to have made an application for statutory support to their Local Authority (via PN1 form) and have received their support notification by 30 May 2008 in order to be awarded a Birmingham Grant and Scholarship.  Regrettably, if the University does not receive your financial details by this date no award can be made.

For a better understanding of how the Birmingham Grant/Scholarship process works, click here for a flow-chart interpretation.  You are advised to read the Terms and Conditions of the Birmingham Grant and Scholarship. If you have any further questions, you may find them answered in the Birmingham Grant and Scholarship section of our Frequently Asked Questions page.