Hardship Funds

Helping students in financial difficulty

Applications to our Hardship Funds & the International Student Crisis Fund for the 19/20 academic year will be closing on 10th July 2020.

Money@CampusLife will reopen applications in August once the University’s financial year has started for 20/21. You won't be able to apply until the applications have reopened, therefore you must submit your application by 10/07/20 to ensure an award payment is made before the end of the current financial year (providing that your application is successful).

To make an application and for more information please see the links in the information below.

If you experience a financial hardship related problem whilst the online application system is temporarily inaccessible, please get in contact with the Money@CampusLife team directly: hardshipfunds@swansea.ac.uk.

If you have any queries or would like to discuss anything in further detail then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Money@CampusLife team directly: hardshipfunds@swansea.ac.uk

Money@Campuslife administer a number of hardship funds to help current students who are struggling financially. Each Fund has its own criteria but generally, they look to support the costs of:

Accommodation
Books and Equipment
Childcare
Diagnostic Testing
Travel
Utility Bills
General Livings Costs such as Food etc.

The Hardship Funds available from Money@CampusLife are unable to help with the cost of tuition fees.

We are working hard to assess and process applications as quickly as possible but please be aware that due to unprecedented events caused by the coronavirus outbreak, our payment dates and assessment time frames may be affected.

We welcome applications through the medium of Welsh and applications submitted in Welsh will be treated no less favourably than English.

Please note, external students are not eligible to apply to any of the Money@CampusLife hardship funds. You may find you are able to access the online application forms but these will not be considered.

Short Term Assistance Grant

If you are struggling financially or facing hardship as a result of the current situation related to Covid-19 you may be able to access some short-term financial support in the form of a Hardship Fund Short Term Assistance Grant. Applications can be submitted online, and there is an expectation that students supply all of the required information their form can be assessed.

You can access the online application system by clicking this link: https://intranet.swan.ac.uk/StudentHardship/. Please note that our Short Term Assistance grant is available for short term support only, and awards will be allocated on a case by case basis. The fund is limited, and should not be viewed as a form of funding to replace long-term loss of income or meet all additional costs, however we will seek to support those who are facing unexpected hardship as best we can.

The newly introduced Short Term Assistance Grant (STAG) has a streamlined application process. Awards are capped and may offer up to £600 for those with dependants and up to £300 for those without dependants. There is no guarantee of an award and assessments are based on financial hardship. Applications may take up to 14 working days to assess, however we are working hard to assess applications as quickly as possible. Please note that due to payment protocols there may be a period of 7-10 working days between receiving notification of an award and the date of payment.

If you’d like a fuller assessment of your financial circumstances you can apply to SUOA (see below). Please be advised that any award already allocated will be taken into consideration as part of our assessment process and first applications will take priority.

For enrolled Home and EU students. International students should refer to information on the International Student Crises Fund.

If you would like some guidance on providing sufficient evidence in your application please click here for some useful tutorial videos

Swansea University Opportunity Award

Once enrolled, UK and EU students at Swansea University are able to apply to the Swansea University Opportunity Award. It is available for full time and part time students at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

The Opportunity Award is the main Hardship Fund within Swansea University and is intended to support students through any unexpected or difficult financial circumstances whilst at University.

It is not a form of funding, but a safety net for when financial difficulties occur and can be applied for as many times each year as the student sees fit.

There is no guarantee of an award for any student but each application will be considered and assessed on an individual basis, with the strictest confidentiality by our expert advisors.

Awards are made as an unrepayable grant, so we would encourage any student who is struggling with their money to submit an application to find out if they are eligible to receive an award.

Current Students can apply using our online application form, and more information can be found on our Help with Hardship MyUni page.

If you would like some guidance on providing sufficient evidence in your application please click here for some useful tutorial videos

International Student Crisis Fund

Swansea University has established a small fund to provide emergency assistance for enrolled Undergraduate and Postgraduate International Students who face financial difficulties, which were: unforeseen at the start of the course and / or not within the student’s control.

The Crisis Fund is not a form of funding and applicants are required to demonstrate that they had made adequate arrangements to finance their course before they came to the University and that these arrangements have been affected by unforeseen circumstances, or events beyond their control.

There is no guarantee of an award for any student. Each application will be considered and assessed on an individual basis, with the strictest confidentiality by our expert advisors.

Awards are made as an unrepayable grant, so we would encourage any student who is struggling with their money to submit an application to find out if they are eligible to receive an award.

Current Students can apply using our online application form.

If you would like some guidance on providing sufficient evidence in your application please click here for some useful tutorial videos

Diagnostic Testing

Home and EU students who are struggling to afford the cost of a diagnostic test are able to apply to a hardship fund that is available specifically for this purpose. Students will need to complete a short form whilst providing evidence of income and bank statements so they can be considered for an award.

There is no guarantee of an award for any student but each application will be considered and assessed on an individual basis.

To apply, complete the Diagnostic Testing Application form.

More information about Diagnostic Testing is available from the University's Disability Office.

If you would like some guidance on providing sufficient evidence in your application please click here for some useful tutorial videos

Care Leaver Bursary

The Money@CampusLife office administers the Care Leaver Bursary. Eligible full time undergraduate students will receive a £2,000 bursary per year and part time students will receive a £1000 pro rata payment per year.

Postgraduate/PhD students will receive a £1,000 bursary per course*.

*All students must meet the full eligibility criteria upon enrolment of their course to receive the bursary. External students are not eligible to apply to any of the Money@CampusLife hardship funds. You may find you are able to access the online application forms but these will not be considered.

For more information, please click here.

Money@CampusLife Confidentiality policy

All information dealt with by the Money@CampusLife team is done so in the strictest confidence. On the occasions that we need to consult staff from other departments, we only do so with prior consent from you.