Student Support Fund

All enrolled Imperial College London students are able to apply.

Awards are not usually made within the first term of the academic year, unless exceptional circumstances have occurred after commencing study.

Please see full eligibility details on our Student Support Fund student guidance 2024-25.

Applications to the Student Support Fund must be made via the Blackbullion platform. You will need to set up two factor authentication for secure access and apply via the Funds section in the Blackbullion platform. Once you have applied you will also be asked to complete the ‘Budgeting 101' pathway within the Blackbullion platform.

Please note the Blackbullion Privacy Notice applicable to this data protection: Blackbullion Privacy Notice

The Disability Advisory Service offer subsidised needs assessments for students, with a gap of £95. Students can be referred to the Student Support Fund if you need assistance with this. The £95 can be awarded to students unless they appear to have substantial funds available.

Grants can be awarded to assist students with graduation costs, which will not need to be paid back. The maximum grant for these costs is £500, and awards are based off need for costs that would otherwise prohibit the student from participating in ceremonies. These costs may include tickets, gown hire, photographs, and travel and/ or accommodation where necessary (not international travel).

The Student Support Fund is a discretional hardship fund, funded by the College alongside generous donations from our students, staff, alumni and other supporters. Additionally, support has been made available from the College’s COVID-19 hardship funds. The aim of the fund is to help current students who face unexpected financial hardship with their cost of living and excludes any support towards tuition fees or (new) visas. All students are able to apply.

All applicants will be assessed by a single mechanism to ensure transparency and fairness. The assessment mechanism is based on a set of values associated with the Cost of Living in London (CLL). The CLL framework is intended to identify the cost students would normally have during their studies.

Grants

A grant does not need to be paid back. The value of these can be up to £5,000 and on average we award about £1,000. Awards are based on what we can see that you need to ensure you can pay for your rent and food. In certain situations where it may not be appropriate to award a grant. We will however always consider whether an emergency loan may be available alternatively.

Loans

You can apply for a loan, or we may offer you a loan instead of a grant, if you are experiencing cash- flows issues which will need to be paid back. The value of our loans are up to £5,000 and are interest free, you will need to demonstrate how you will repay in your application.

If your application is successful we will ask you to accept the value of the award and any associated conditions before we process the payment to the bank account stated on your application form.
• Payments will usually take between 3 and 5 working days to reach your bank account.
• In cases where the funding is needed urgently a same day payment can be arranged.

All students have different levels of income and expenditure. We will apply a cap (based on the Cost of Living in London values) for all general living and household costs, such as rent, food, travel and utility bills. This will enable us to ensure that the Fund does not reward lifestyle choices.

As part of the assessment of your application, we will consider any information provided through your supporting statement alongside a financial surplus/shortfall calculation. We will assess each application on its own merit.

Students who have children and require financial support with their childcare will be assessed in the same way.  If assessed to be in significant financial need, you may be eligible for up to £4,000 of support towards childcare arrangements in addition to any grant, but not exceeding any financial shortfall. Such applications will be assessed on an ad hoc basis and evidence of formal childcare arrangements will be required.

Applications are closely examined by two administrators who may also ask to meet with you in person to discuss your application. The administrator will make an initial assessment and recommend action based on their findings to a senior member of the Student Financial Support team who will review the recommendation and make a formal decision on the application.

We aim to have an outcome of your assessment within 10 working days providing all the relevant documentation has been provided.

• Most recent 3 months bank statement. This includes statements for ALL of your accounts, including non- UK and savings accounts. We use this to confirm your current bank balance and to assess your spending habits.
• Pay slips if applicable so we can confirm your income
• Scholarship and/ or loan confirmation so we can confirm the terms of this income
• Proof of outstanding debts like a credit card statement so we can confirm your expenditure.
• Household utility bills so we can confirm your expenditure
• Accommodation tenancy agreement so we can confirm your expenditure and your living arrangements, including evidence of housing benefits if applicable.
• An email from your personal tutor supporting your application. They will need to confirm your attendance and that you are performing well academically.
• If you are living with your partner you will also need to send us their bank statements and confirmation of any financial commitments
• If you are apply for assistance due to childcare costs we will need to see your child’s birth certificates and confirmation of their nursery costs or any child tax credits or maintenance payments.
• In addition you may send us any other documentation which you feel may support your case such as a doctor’s letter or bailiff’s letter.

We accept scanned copies of these documents which are kept securely. If you send us hardcopies you can collect these from the Student Hub or we will destroy these once they are no longer needed using our confidential waste disposal. 

We cannot accept exported bank statements for Audit purposes, as these are editable and can be amended. Applicants can be asked to provide their bank statements as print screens as long as the transactions follow on from each other.

We reserve the right to request further documentation not listed here in order to  carry out a full assessment.

Please note that you must register with the Blackbullion free online financial education platform and complete the Budgeting 101 pathway as part of your application to the Student Support Fund. You will likely find the Budgeting resource useful in identifying and calculating your income and expenditure.

Below is an example of the income table you will need to be complete.

Example: If you are in receipt of a £4,000 Imperial Bursary you will enter this as below:

We are always available to discuss your situation confidentially and assist with completing the application form.  Please contact us by email at student.funding@imperial.ac.uk if you have any further questions.

You can appeal decisions by writing to sfs.feedback@imperial.ac.uk, who will consider your original application alongside any additional information you provide.