The University of Southampton and The Cowrie Scholarship Foundation (CSF) are pleased to be accepting applications for eligible students commencing undergraduate study in the 2025-2026 academic year.
The University of Southampton and The Cowrie Scholarship Foundation (CSF) will offer a scholarship to support Black African and Caribbean heritage applicants from socio-economically challenged backgrounds. Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the UK and commencing undergraduate study in the academic year 2025-2026.
The Cowrie Scholarship Foundation wants to fund 100 Black British students through UK universities in the next decade. More information on the Foundation can be found here .
I am delighted that our University is partnering with the Cowrie Scholarship Foundation. As an institution, we are committed to fair access and participation in higher education and recognise the structural barriers which result in a lower proportion of Black UK students studying at Russell Group universities. More work is needed, not only to widen access, but also to ensure that students feel at home, achieve excellent results and progress to their chosen careers or postgraduate study. These scholarships will form part of our broader Widening Participation strategy.
The scholarship will cover home tuition fees in full and we expect the successful scholar will also qualify for a maintenance stipend of £8,000 per annum, which is tenable for the duration of their programme of study.
This award does not affect your eligibility for the University of Southampton Bursary or the Ignite Programme, however the additional funding will be taken into account resulting in a maximum award of £8,000 per year of study.
You must meet all of the following criteria to be considered for this scholarship:
1. Identify as belong to one of the following ethnic groups:
2. Have firmly accepted an offer of a place by the relevant UCAS deadline on a first undergraduate full time degree programme at the University of Southampton, commencing study in the 2025-2026 academic year.
3. Have been assessed for fee status as a 'home' student.
4. Have a verified household income of £36,200 or less, however those from applicants with a verified household income of £23,000 or less will be prioritised.
5. Made an application to your regional student funding authority for income assessed UK government financial support for higher education students.
6. Confirmation you will be in receipt of full financial support for the 2025-2026 academic year.
The regional student funding authorities are:
Please ensure you have given consent to share the information with the University, as this information will be used to determine eligibility.
Priority will be given to applicants whose household income is assessed as £23,000 or less. Applicants with a household income up to £36,200 may also apply.
Priority will also be given based on applicants area of residence and measures of educational challenges, often referred to as socio-economic metrics. Further information on widening access at the University of Southampton can be found here .
Your application will be assessed based on your personal statement of no more than 700 words, explaining:
Apply for this scholarship using our application form.
Please check your eligibility before making an application. Awards may be withdrawn if we later become aware successful scholars have not met eligibility criteria or to have provided false information.
As part of the application process you will be asked to confirm the following information:
All applicants will receive notification by the first week of September.
Do not contact the Foundation as all awards and notifications will come from the partner university.
If you have any questions please contact us on studentinclusion@soton.ac.uk .