The Opportunity Bursary fund, supported by JP Morgan Chase, will make available grants of between £2500 and £5000, to support with accessing opportunities which boost employability. Each year around 50 students will be awarded this bursary. Launched in 2021, this bursary is aimed at giving Sutton Trust alumni the opportunity to benefit from experiences and opportunities outside of their studies, to help them build skills and help them become more employable. Students should apply with a proposal of how they would use the funds e.g. internship, activity or volunteering.
Applications will first be prioritised on social mobility criteria, to ensure those who would benefit the most from the funding are being reached. Longlisted applicants will then be invited to produce a written application which will be assessed through our selection process. For examples of what you could use the funds for, please see our applicant guidance document. Scroll down to find the link to apply.
Who is it for?
Who is it for?
Applicants must have completed a Sutton Trust programme, OR have completed the Aspiring Professionals Programme by JPMorgan Chase and the Social Mobility Foundation.
Applicants must also:
- Have completed at least one year of undergraduate study
- Be enrolled onto a course (UG or PG) in the academic year that the bursary is issued
- Be based in the UK and studying at a UK university (please note the funds will be issued in GBP to a UK bank account)
How will successful candidates be selected?
How will successful candidates be selected?
There are two stages to the application process.
In stage 1, applicants will be prioritised in order of need. We will use the following criteria to sift applications and identify the 200 most eligible applicants:
- Social mobility scoring data – based on the existing information the Sutton Trust collects for its pre-18 programmes.
- Aspiring Professionals Programme alumni will be required to complete the same questions that Sutton Trust alumni complete for their programme – such as free school meal eligibility, postcode, and whether your parents have attended higher education
- Household income (as stated on your student finance application)
In stage 2, applicants will submit a written application. External application readers and interviewers will assess the candidates, looking at whether the application is clear and focused on achieving specific goals and skills, and whether the employability or experience of the student would be enhanced by this.
Additionally, we have committed to ensuring that a minimum of 60% of our applicants being from a Black or minority ethnic background, within which at least 30% will be Black students. This will be collected in stage 1 as contextual information. Our alumni community tends to meet these proportions naturally and so it will only be considered in selection decisions in the unlikely event that these proportions are not initially met.
Please read our applicant guidance document for further details.
According to our research
of employers say that life skills are more important than academic qualifications.
of grads said university did not give them the necessary skills for the jobs they wanted.
working-class grads could not afford to undertake a work placement.
Click the link below to start stage 1 of your application. Applications will close at 9AM on Monday 16th September.
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