The Raheem Sterling Scholarships for Black British students

The award will be paid in the form of an annual fee waiver of £9,250 and a cash award of £8,000 per student for a maximum of three years, subject to satisfactory academic progress. Students will not receive funding for repeat years, a year abroad or interruptions.

The scholarship is available for the duration of a student’s three-year or four-year programme of study (depending on the start year), subject to satisfactory progression.

Awards will be issued in Semester 1 for the 2023/24 academic year if students have met the terms of their course offer and completed registration with the University.

This scholarship will only fund students for the first three years of a degree course. If students are on a course that is longer than three years, additional years of study can be financed through Student Finance England or by other means.  

You must meet the following essential criteria to be considered for this scholarship – we may use the information provided on your UCAS form to help check these details.

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 a home post-code located within Greater Manchester.

3. Have firmly accepted an offer of a place with The University of Manchester on a three-year, full-time degree programme starting in the 2023/24 academic year by the UCAS acceptance deadline (see UCAS guidance on replying to offers).

4. Have been assessed for fee status as a UK student (see UCAS student finance eligibility information).

5. Made an application to your regional student funding authority for income-assessed UK government financial support for higher education students. The regional student funding authority for this scholarship is Student Finance England. Please make sure you’ve given consent to share the information with the University – we’ll use this information to determine eligibility too.

Preferred candidates will also meet one or more of the following priority criteria:

• Have a household income of £35,000 per annum or less.
• Be care-experienced.
• Be an estranged student.
• Have a contextual offer from the University.

We’ll use information from your UCAS and Student Finance England applications, and our own applicant records to check whether you meet any of the above priority criteria.

Scholarship applications are now open for students holding an offer for 2023 entry.

Apply now

Applications will close at 23.59 on Thursday, 15 June 2023.

The application form includes a set of questions to help determine your eligibility for the scholarship. You’ll also be asked to write 1500 characters (up to 375 words) outlining why you want to be considered.

Please read the guidance included in the form before starting your application.

Any applicants who don’t meet the essential criteria can be removed from the process at any time and will be notified accordingly.

1. We’ll create a shortlist of applicants based on application form answers.
2. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview at The University of Manchester campus in mid to late June. The interview provides a chance to tell us more about yourself and why you would benefit from receiving this scholarship. The interview will take around 40 minutes.
3. A small selection panel comprised of University of Manchester staff will make a final decision on who will be awarded the scholarship based on the application form and the interview.

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

Yes, you can still apply if you are yet to select The University of Manchester as your firm choice, but you must select the University as your firm choice in line with the UCAS acceptance deadlines that apply to you. If you don’t, you’ll no longer be eligible for the scholarship.

Please email any queries to rsfsadmin@manchester.ac.uk.

Your offer letter from the University should inform you of whether you have been made a standard or contextual data offer. You can also check and see if you're eligible for a contextual offer using our contextual offer eligibility checker tool.

Yes, if you meet the eligibility criteria.

No. Applications for 2024 entry will open next in the academic year during the UCAS 2024 entry application cycle.

Please let us know as soon as possible by emailing rsfsadmin@manchester.ac.uk. We will look to find a new date in June that works for you and our interview panel.

We’ll be able to reimburse you for any reasonable bus, train or tram travel you need to get from your home or school/college in Greater Manchester to our campus. We’ll advise you of the process for this if you are invited to interview.

You’re able to apply for this scholarship, even if you have applied for the Cowrie Scholarship; but you can only be awarded one. If you are selected as a Cowrie Scholarship recipient and wish to accept it, you will need to withdraw from consideration for a Raheem Sterling Scholarship.