Economics Skylark Scholarship and Economics Award

Thanks to the generous support of Rialto Metals Ltd, we will be awarding one Economics Skylark Scholarship and one Economics Award during academic year 2025/26.

The Economics Skylark Scholarship and Economics Award are intended for applicants with Black African or Caribbean heritage from socio-economically challenged backgrounds who will be commencing study of an Economics undergraduate degree programme (more information on qualifying degree programmes below) from September 2025.

The successful applicant of the Economics Skylark Scholarship will receive up to a maximum of £12,000 over three years. The scholarship will be paid in equal instalments in February of the first, second and third years of undergraduate study.

The successful applicant of the Economics Award will receive £2,000 in their first year of study only. This will be paid in February 2026.

Eligibility

To be considered for the Economics Skylark Scholarship and Economics Award, you must meet all of the following criteria:

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 Economics degree course, and start your course in September 2025. Specific degree courses which are eligible to apply for this scholarship and award are:
   • Economics BSc
   • Business Economics BSc
   • Economics and Accounting BSc
   • Economics and Data Analysis BSc
   • Financial Economics and Banking BSc
3. Be studying full time and campus based
4. Have been assessed for fee status as a 'Home' student
5. Have been permanently resident in the UK for the past three years in an area of low participation in higher education (POLAR 4, Quintile 1), or, have been permanently resident in the UK for the past three years in an area of socio-economic deprivation (IMD Decile 1-2)
6. Have a household income of £30,000 or below, as confirmed by the Student Loans Company, or alternative evidence produced upon request.

Awards may be withdrawn if we later become aware that successful applicants have not met eligibility criteria or have provided false information. 

No one applicant will be eligible to receive both the Economics Skylark Scholarship and the Economics Award simultaneously. When shortlisting, the awarding panel will award the Economics Skylark Scholarship that most closely meets the eligibility criteria, before then awarding the Economics Award to the applicant that next most closely meets the criteria, whilst taking into account any other successful applications for other scholarships and awards they have made.

How to apply

As part of your application, you will be asked to provide a personal statement of up to 350 words, which should explain:

• i) what difference will receiving the scholarship or award make to your university experience
• ii) what barriers have you already encountered or overcome in pursuit of your education
• iii) what ambitions do you have for your time at university and/or the future beyond university?
• 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 scholarship is 11.59pm BST on Sunday 6 October 2025. Applications made after this date will not be considered.

Apply for the Economics Skylark Scholarship and Economics Award

Notification

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications by mid-November 2025.

Questions

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