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 2024/25 scholarship?

To be considered for this scholarship, you should:

• Be a current Keele University student
• Have commenced studies at Keele University in the 2024/25 academic year (either 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 2024/25 Denise Coates Scholarship will be open between 11th November 2024 - 8th January 2025. 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?

£2,000 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 studies at Keele University in the 2024/25 academic year (either Foundation Year or Year 1)
• Be an undergraduate UK student
• Belong to any of the listed under-represented student groups:
  • Care leavers (aged under 25)
  • Students from a minority ethnic background
  • Students from an area of low progression to Higher Education
  • Students who are estranged from their family (aged under 25 and have zero contact with family)
  • Students with a disability (including diagnosed mental health conditions)
  • Students with caring responsibilities (for a friend or family member with a disability who could not cope without your care)
  • Students with children aged under 18
  • Students with household income below £25,000 (verified by Student Finance)

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 2024/25 Philip Soar Scholarship will be open between 14th October 2024 - 8th November 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 Philip Soar 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, students are 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 throughout the length of your course. 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 the scholarship.

Once applications have closed, a panel (including Philip Soar himself) will meet to consider all eligible applications. We will confirm the outcome of all applications by 6th 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.

All Keele University students can get free access to the Blackbullion portal - this includes a Funding Hub, where you can search though many more external scholarships and grants. You can also filter by course area and level of study.