Chamberlain Award 2014 to 2019 entry

The information on this page relates to continuing undergraduate students who commenced their studies between September 2014 and September 2019.

If you are a prospective student looking to join the University in the 2020/21 academic year, please visit our Chamberlain Award entry in the undergraduate funding database. If you commenced your studies in the 2013/14 academic year or earlier and are still completing your first undergraduate degree at the University, please contact the Funding, Graduation & Awards team for further information about eligibility for a Chamberlain Award.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: Please note that the second instalment of the Chamberlain Award is scheduled to be paid as planned on Friday 1 May 2020.

What does the Chamberlain Award offer?

If your household income is below £36,000, you may be entitled to additional financial support from the University in the form of a Chamberlain Award. The value and criteria of the Chamberlain Award for students who commenced their studies in 2014/15 to 2019/20 is as follows:
Household income	Amount
£0 - £25,000	£2,000
£25,001 - £36,000	£1,000

Care Leavers are eligible to receive the Enhanced Chamberlain Award as an alternative to the standard Chamberlain Award. For 2019 entry this is offered as either a £6,000 accommodation fee waiver if living in University-owned halls of residence or, if living elsewhere, students can choose a £3,000 tuition fee waiver or cash bursary. These awards apply to all years of study. Care Leavers must complete an application form for each year of study before 31 May. Please note that if we do not receive an application form from you, you will be automatically assessed for the standard Chamberlain Award based on your household income. You cannot hold both an Enhanced Chamberlain Award and a standard one.

Am I eligible for a Chamberlain Award?

In order to remain eligible in continuing years of study you must:

be a UK-resident student continuing to undertake a first undergraduate degree at the University of Birmingham’s UK campus in September 2019
be deemed eligible for maintenance support by the Student Loans Company (SLC)
be means tested by the SLC and agree to share your household income information with the University (please note that whilst you do need to apply for a Maintenance Loan from the SLC to be considered for a Chamberlain Award, you do not need to take any Maintenance Loan offered to you by the SLC)
be liable for the full standard undergraduate fee
not be eligible to receive NHS funding
not be on an Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme
not be transferring from another institution
have a household income of £36,000 or less (as verified by the relevant SLC agency)
have academically progressed onto the next year of study of your course.

If you are a continuing student on the BA Social Work programme and have not been successful in obtaining the Social Work bursary, you may be eligible for the Chamberlain Award. Please contact the Funding, Graduation & Awards team and attach a copy of your correspondence from either the School of Social Policy or the NHS confirming your ineligibility.

The Chamberlain Award will be subject to annual and in-year reassessment to determine eligibility. We strongly recommend reading the Terms and Conditions for the Chamberlain Award.

View the Terms and Conditions for the Chamberlain Award (PDF - 46.8KB).

How do I apply?

You will not need to make an application for the standard Chamberlain Award. Provided you and your parents/guardians have consented to share your information on your Student Finance application we will assess you automatically based on your household income.

Awards are subject to annual and in-year reassessment; all awards will be finalised on 31 May for the previous year of academic study (e.g. 31 May 2020 for academic year 2019/20).

Notification

We will commence approving Chamberlain Awards for the 2019/20 academic year in late August 2019. You will receive notification if you are eligible for the award by 2 December 2019. If this has not been received by 2 December and you believe you may be eligible, please contact the Funding, Graduation & Awards team. Please wait until the 2 December 2019 before contacting us as not all notifications will have been sent before this date.

Once confirmed, you will be sent an email confirming that your entitlement notification letter is available to view online. You will need to login to your student finance account to view your letter. Notifications of entitlement are provisional and may be withdrawn if your circumstances change and you become ineligible for an award.

Please note, Student Finance England's secure sites start with 'https' and a small padlock icon appears at the bottom of the browser window. This padlock will confirm the certificate of the website and ensure you are not on a fraudulent site.

Payment

If you qualify for an award, payment will be made in two equal instalments: one in late January 2020 and one in early May 2020. Payment will be made directly into the bank account you have nominated for your Maintenance Loan, unless you have opted to divert your cash award to tuition fees or University-owned accommodation fees. More information regarding this option can be found on your Chamberlain Award entitlement letter.