New education bursary to help Economic Recovery for Gloucestershire

The University of Gloucestershire has launched a new bursary to support local employees whose jobs have been adversely affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

​​​​​​​​​​​The Gloucestershire Recovery Bursary entitles eligible applicants to a 20% discount in tuition fees for some of its most popular Postgraduate taught courses. ​​

Eligible groups:

• Gloucestershire residents who have been made redundant since 1st July 2020 (e.g. people living at an address with a Gloucestershire postcode)
• People who have been made redundant from a Gloucestershire-based business since 1st July 2020 (e.g. their place of work has a Gloucestershire postcode)

The discount applies to the university’s Masters in Cyber Security, Mechatronics and Engineering Management, Marketing and Human Resource Management, Financial Technology (FinTech) as well as the prestigious MBA programme. Applicants must meet the course entry requirements for the programme they wish to join.

The UK government already offers PG loans for fees and living costs for UK Graduates, so the new discount could bring Masters study closer to reality.

Dr Polly Pick, the University’s Director of Business Engagement and Partnerships, said: “This is a hugely challenging time for many local businesses, and for our communities as a whole.  We understand that many organisations have needed to change the way they operate in order to respond to the pandemic. In some cases, this has led to uncertainty and ultimately, redundancies.  Our Gloucestershire Recovery Bursary will help local residents and workers to develop new higher level skills and realise emerging opportunities as our economic recovery gets underway. Moreover, there will also be benefits to the wider economy – local employers will need access to new skills in order to drive growth in a post-Covid world. Thanks to this bursary, many of those skills will now be available to them within the county.” ​

Key Terms and Conditions: The scheme will run for September 2020 entry and January 2021 entry and will only apply to new applicants from 1st September 2020 (existing applicants before this time will be considered on an individual basis).

The 20% fee discount is available as a standalone bursary and will not be available in conjunction with any other existing discount/bursary on offer by the University of Gloucestershire. Alumni of the University already qualify for fee discounts of between 10% and 20% for their Masters’ study. Applications are still welcome for September 2020/January 2021 entry for these and other Masters courses, as well as Undergraduate degrees.  The bursary only applies to the MSc in Cyber Security, MSc in Mechatronics, MSc in Engineering Management, Marketing, Financial Technology (FinTech), Human Resource Management and the Master of Business Administration (MBA).  The bursary is available to UK students only who are eligible for Student Finance England/Student Loans Company support for postgraduate study - the postgraduate loans scheme. This scheme is available to eligible UK and some EU graduates, and contributes towards fees and/or living costs for postgraduate study.

The University of Gloucestershire will request​ evidence of redundancy or employment before enrolment, to be eligible for the bursary. Applicants should make their application as normal online and state in their personal/applicant statement their circumstances and evidence related to redundancy.

Prospective students should search the relevant courses online, check entry requirements and make an application as soon as possible for September 2020 or January 2021 entry.