St Leonards Masters Scholarship (UK students)

Value of award (per year)

Home students (Home tuition fee status, ordinarily resident in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland or Wales. Includes EU with settled/pre-settled status).

*Household income categories marked with an asterisk in the table above are under review for the 2025-26 academic year entry.

The above award values are intended to supplement government funding. Applicants can also apply for a postgraduate masters loan.

Reserved University accommodation is not funded. Applicants are expected to fund their accommodation from the maintenance part of the scholarship. Applicants will still need to apply for University accommodation. If the applicant does not apply for accommodation within the timescale specified in the award email or they do not meet the conditions of the course, the reservation may be lost.

Recipients of the Scholarship will have access to funding support for employability opportunities, such as: internships, placements, summer research and/or applicable workshops or conference attendance. The funding is flexible and may be taken at different stages of study, depending on individual circumstances. Awardees may be required to apply separately for employability funding. The allowance must be used during the Masters programme and awardees must remain registered to receive funding.

Duration of award

One year

At what stage of my course application can I apply for this scholarship?

Apply after you have submitted your application for a place at St Andrews. You do not need to wait until you have received an offer of a place before applying for the award.

Additional criteria

Selection is on the basis of financial need and/or academic excellence. Please articulate or evidence all of the following that apply to you in the application form.

Applicants must meet two or more of the following criteria:

• be care experienced (in the UK). Provide local council confirmation letter or talk to an Admissions representative.
• have a lower than average household income.
• have previously received needs-based funding.
• have been part of a widening access initiative (such as a Sutton Trust Summer School).
• come from a neighbourhood which is classed as a socio-economically disadvantaged area.
• be able to provide evidence a first class grade point average (GPA).
• have a proven record of academic excellence and show future leadership potential.
• be able to demonstrate non-academic achievement and/or leadership qualities, e.g. in music, theatre, sport or civic duties.
• have a physical, unseen or learning disability.
• be part of a minority group.

Information received in the application will be taken into consideration as part of the overall review process, and none taken in isolation. This information will only be used for the purpose of scholarship assessment.

In support of your application you will be asked to upload the following supporting documents:

• One personal reference and one academic or professional reference (two references in total). These can be in addition to your course application references, but must be uploaded before the deadline. Where possible your references should support the two or more criteria you meet from the list above. Please refer to the guidance below, or contact pgscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk if you have any queries.
• University transcript(s), including interim transcripts for any degrees pending.
• Evidence of household income (e.g. wage, salary, tax certificate); see Student financial information below for further details. You must include this to be considered for needs-based awards. Alternatively, upload a word document with a note confirming that you do not wish to be considered.
• Sport leadership applicants must provide a sport CV and video or video link before the deadline. Please email sportscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk. Sport leadership applicants should be competing in their sport at an elite level (i.e. at international/world level and representing their home nation).
• Music excellence applicants must provide a music CV and video link or audio file before the deadline. Please email music@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Student financial information

If you would prefer not to disclose any financial information, please see the advice in the application form. You will not be eligible for any financial needs-based scholarships if you do not provide this information.

Household Income evidence must total the value stated in your scholarship application as "total household income". Provide all relevant forms of income for the current or most recent full year.

Acceptable documents include: employment, wages, salary statements (most recent three months), tax certificates or returns, confirmation letters from department of work and pensions, letters from local government, FAFSA, Council Tax statement, Tax credits, PIP, DLA, dividends, pension, annuity. Where evidence is not available please provide bank statements or e-statements (most recent three months) to show receipt of income. Documents must be PDF or similar small file size format (maximum 2MB) and in English.

Sources for socio-economically disadvantaged areas: developing nations, Scotland, England, London.

References

You are required to provide one academic reference and one personal reference.

The academic reference may be the same as one of the academic references submitted with your study application. If you do not have access to those references, instead please upload a holding document (e.g. Word) with the name of the referee. The reference will then be uploaded by us after you have submitted the scholarship application.

The personal reference should be written by someone who knows you well (but not a family member) who can vouch for either your non-academic qualities that you write about in the application form, or your financial situation (if that is relevant to your application). For example, this could be an academic advisor who is aware of your personal attributes, a current or former employer, or a senior staff member in an organisation where you have volunteered.

If your referee(s) would prefer to send the reference(s) directly to us, please ask them to email the reference to pgscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk, and to include your name and the name of the scholarship for which it is intended, before the scholarship deadline date. When you apply for the scholarship, in place of the reference, please upload a holding document with the referee's name, and a note that the reference will be sent directly by them. The document will then be added after you have submitted the application, as long as we receive it by the application deadline.

Please note: We do not recommend using an academic reference in place of the personal reference, as this may not meet the requirements of the scholarship and may be detrimental to your application. Please only do this if you are sure that it can serve as a personal reference, e.g. if it is written by an academic who is familiar with and refers specifically to your non-academic qualities.

How to apply

This scholarship is available for application through the ‘Scholarships and Funding catalogue’ in the Scholarships and Funding section of My Application.

• If you are applying for a postgraduate taught Masters programme (MLitt, MSc, MRes) for the 2025-26 academic year, after applying you must allow 2 working days for processing and issue of your log in details before you can apply for this scholarship.
• If you are applying for a research Masters programme (MSt (Res), MSc (Res), MPhil (Taught) or an MFA) for the 2025-26 academic year, after applying you must allow for up to 3 working days for processing and issue of your log in details before you can apply for this scholarship.
• If you are a current student at St Andrews, you can access Scholarships and Funding through MySaint. However, you should wait until after you have applied for your intended postgraduate programme before doing so to ensure that the scholarship application is linked to the correct course.
• In the Scholarships and Funding catalogue, apply for the St Leonard's Masters Scholarship (UK).

Scholarship application form guidance

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions (opens in new tab)

No offer of funding will be issued before a conditional or unconditional course offer has been made. 

All St Leonards Masters sport scholars are expected to agree and follow the conditions stated in the Sports Scholar Agreement. Failure to meet the conditions can result in the loss of the scholarship. See the Saints Sport website for more details.

Reserved University accommodation is not funded. Applicants are expected to fund their accommodation from the maintenance part of the scholarship. Applicants will still need to apply for University accommodation. If the applicant does not apply for accommodation within the timescale specified in the award email or they do not meet the conditions of the course, the reservation may be lost.

Recipients of the Scholarship will have access to funding support for employability opportunities, such as: internships, placements, summer research and/or applicable workshops or conference attendance. The funding is flexible and may be taken at different stages of study, depending on individual circumstances. Awardees may be required to apply separately for employability funding. The allowance must be used during the Masters programme and awardees must remain registered to receive funding.

If you wish to be considered for donor-funded awards, please be aware of the following requirements:

• Core personal details may be passed to the benefactors of your scholarship. Your name, the name of your town of origin, school/college and subject of study will be passed to the donor of the scholarship with your consent.
• Your scholarship award in subsequent years of study is conditional upon your successful completion of the academic requirements to progress in your proposed subject of study at the University of St Andrews. If your scholarship is subject-related then your award is usually also conditional upon your continuing to study that specific subject.
• Attendance at Development related scholarship events (including invitations to meet the donors) is strongly encouraged. You will be invited to these as appropriate by the Development Office.
• Submission of reports throughout the period of scholarship support. You are required to submit an Introductory Biography at the start of your award period and the Development Office will contact you towards the end of the academic session for a report on your time at St Andrews to share with the donors of your award. This will be an annual cycle for the duration of your award.

When will I know the outcome?

The outcome of your scholarship application will be available on "View my applications" in the Scholarships and Funding section of My Application by late May 2025.