Our student bursary is a discretionary fund used to support students experiencing financial difficulties, who are unable to pay course fees in full. Our bursary fund is limited and highly competitive.
Bursary support for course fees is capped at £300 per student for the academic year. This can be spread over 3 terms. If your application is successful, the amount awarded will be dependant on the strength of the application and evidence submitted
Regretfully, due to the volume of applications received we will not be able to award all students who apply for support with course fees
Please note
You must submit your bursary application 4 weeks before the course starts. We cannot accept applications after you have enrolled or after your course has started
You can only apply for one bursary per term
Are bursaries available for any City Lit course?
Available for most courses at City Lit but not for:
- Courses that have an Advanced Learner Loan
- Courses that run for fewer than 3 weeks/sessions
- Courses that cost less than £200 (full fee)
- More than one course at a time
Who can get a bursary?
Get one of these benefits: Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), Employment Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support (IS), Universal Credit (UC) (your take home pay must be under £952 for a single person claim or under £1437 for a joint claim), Housing Benefit (HB), Working Tax Credit (WTC) - for full details on what benefits qualify check here.
Are working and earning less than the London Living Wage a year - we do not include benefit payments when calculating total income
Are homeless
Are an Asylum Seeker
Have no income
Have experienced or are currently experiencing barriers to learning
This course will help you find a job or improve your English, Maths or health and confidence
Are up to date with all you payment plan payments (if you have taken out payment plans for other courses)
How will my application be assessed?
All bursary applications are reviewed by an independent bursary panel. The panel will not have any prior knowledge of your application or evidence submitted before they assess. This is to ensure their decision making is fair, transparent and impartial
The bursary panel will assess based on the application and evidence you provide. A Student Adviser can review your application before submitting to the panel and advise if they feel anything else is required
Applications that are incomplete or missing evidence will be automatically be rejected by the bursary panel.
The bursary panel will not be able to approve all applications. Due to the high volume of applications and limited bursary funding, they are only able to award to the strongest cases
Note: Contact details and drop in times are incorrect in the video
If you have questions contact the Advice and Guidance Team:
For more information about the bursary, please watch this short video:
Ready to apply for the bursary?
Please ensure that you answer all the questions on the form and use the checklist below to make sure you have uploaded all the required evidence.
Evidence Check List
Proof of benefits - letter confirming you are in receipt of benefits dated in the last 6 months (for full details on what benefits qualify check here)
OR
Proof of income - your 2 most recent months of pay slips or SA302 or Tax Return form
OR
Proof of Asylum seeker or Refugee status (if applicable)- ASPEN card or letter from Home Office
AND
your 2 most recent bank statements for all accounts in your name
Still have a question?
Contact Us
We will get back to you as soon as we can.
You can drop-in and see an advisor Monday to Thursday 10:00-17:30, please speak to a member of staff at the desk in the Student Centre.
See phone numbers and opening times
Or Apply for a bursary online
IAG and enrolment support for Deaf students
IAG sessions with BSL interpreters to help Deaf students enrol onto courses and apply for financial support take place in Room 1 in the Student Centre and Library from 2pm to 4pm.
Come at 2pm. The last enrolment will finish at 4pm.
The next drop in dates will be:
Wednesday 7th January
Wednesday 21st January
Wednesday 18th February
Wednesday 25th March
If you are Deaf and cannot come to any of these sessions, please email advice@citylit.ac.uk to arrange an individual appointment (the times and dates we can offer will depend on staff and interpreter availability, but we will do our best to arrange a time suitable for you).