About the scholarship

The University has partnered with The Cowrie Scholarship Foundation to offer scholarships to support Black African and Caribbean heritage students from socio-economically, under-represented backgrounds.

This partnership began in 2021, and it will support 23 students with study and living costs during their degree, as well as providing access to mentoring.

The award

For 2024 entry, we have a total of six scholarships available. Two are available to students on any course at the University, and four are for students studying on courses run by our Faculty of Science and Engineering. You can find out which University Faculty your course sits within on its course profile page.

Recipients of the award will:

• have your tuition fees paid for the length of your degree, excluding any industrial placement years.
• receive an annual bursary of £8000.

Awards will be paid in instalments from Semester one for the 2024/25 academic year, if you’ve met the terms of your course offer and completed registration with the University. 

Continued receipt of the scholarship after year one of study is dependent on satisfactory academic progression.

Who can apply? 

You must meet all the following criteria to apply:  

1. Identify as belonging to one of the following ethnic groups: 

• Black or Black British – Caribbean 
• Black or Black British – African 
• Mixed –  White and Black Caribbean 
• Mixed – White and Black African 
• Other Black background  

2. Have firmly accepted an offer of a place with The University of Manchester on a degree starting in the 2024/25 academic year by the UCAS acceptance deadline (see UCAS guidance on replying to offers). If you have made a UCAS application to the University but are still waiting for confirmation of an offer, you can also still apply; however, we will remove you from the scholarship application and selection process if you do not eventually receive a course offer for 2024 entry.

3. Have been assessed for fee status as a 'home' student.

4. Have a household income of £25,000 per annum or less.

5. Have made an application to your regional student funding authority for income assessed UK government financial support for higher education students. The regional student funding authorities are: Student Finance England, Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland and the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. Make sure you’ve given consent to share the information with the University, as this helps us to determine eligibility.

Selection process

We’ll create a shortlist of applicants based on application form answers.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview at The University of Manchester campus in July. The interview offers a chance to tell us more about yourself and why you would benefit from receiving this scholarship.

A small selection panel will make a final decision on who’ll be awarded the scholarship based on the application form and the interview. 

Applicant enquiries should be sent to cowrie@manchester.ac.uk.