Cowrie Foundation Scholarships

The University of Leicester, courtesy of the generous support of the Cowrie Scholarship Foundation (CSF), are providing a scholarship to support applicants with Black African or Caribbean heritage from socio-economically challenged backgrounds. Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the UK and commencing a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Leicester in September 2024.

Awarding of the Cowrie Foundation Scholarship furthers an initiative of the Cowrie Foundation to fund 100 Black British students through UK universities in the next decade.

Award

The Cowrie Foundation Scholarship will provide one successful applicant with a full tuition fee waiver and an award of £8,000 per year.

The scholarship is intended to support a successful applicant from a socio-economically challenged background. To this end, priority will be given to applicants who have verified household income of £25,000 or less, as indicated by information from the Student Loans Company or alternative evidence produce upon request.

Applicants must consent to use of information from the Student Loans Company or alternative evidence to confirm their eligibility for the scholarship; without this consent, their application cannot be progressed.

Eligibility

Applicants must satisfy the following criteria to be considered for this scholarship:

1. Applicants must identify as belonging to one of the following categories of ethnicity:
   • Black African
   • Black Caribbean
   • Any other Black, Black British or Caribbean background
   • Mixed or multiple ethnic groups including White and Black African, White and Black Caribbean, or any other mixed or multiple ethnic background that includes Black African, Black Caribbean, Black, Black British or Caribbean background
2. Be in receipt of an offer from the University of Leicester to study your first undergraduate degree course, and start your course in September 2024
3. Be studying full time and campus based
4. Have been assessed for fee status as a 'Home' student.

How to apply

Applications for this academic year have now closed. Starting from late Spring 2025, we will begin accepting applications from applicants who are commencing study at Leicester from September 2025.

Please check your eligibility before making an application. Awards may be withdrawn if we later become aware that successful applicants have not met eligibility criteria or have provided false information.

As part of your application, you will be asked to provide a personal statement of between 600 and 900 words, which should explain:

• i) how the Cowrie Foundation Scholarship will be beneficial to your studies
• ii) how the Cowrie Foundation Scholarship will help you to achieve your academic goals
• iii) how your university education will benefit yourself, your community and/or society in the future?
• iv) what achievements, academic and/or personal, are you most proud of? There is no right or wrong answer; we are just keen to hear your own story.

The deadline for applying for this bursary is 11.59pm BST on Monday 30 September 2024. Applications made after this date will not be considered.

Notification

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications by mid-November 2024.

Questions

If you have any questions about this scholarship, please contact the Development and Alumni Relations Team by email at stewardship@leicester.ac.uk.