The Social Research MSc Scholarship 2025 entry

The Social Research MSc Scholarship aims to support students from a low-income or less advantaged background studying the MSc in Social Research.

About

The Social Research MSc Scholarship will be awarded to a student entitled to permanently live and work in the UK who will be starting on the MSc in Social Research course in September 2025 (full-time or part-time). The scholarship provides £10,000 for the duration of the course and aims to support a student from a low-income or less advantaged background who would otherwise struggle to fund their study.

The Scholarship is generously funded by an alumnus of the Sociology Department at the University of Surrey. The reason for funding this scholarship is the recognised quality of the MSc in Social Research course at Surrey and the national and international standing of the Sociology Department. In 2024, Sociology at Surrey was ranked 17th place in the world-renowned Shanghai Global Subject Rankings, placing it 3rd in the UK for Sociology.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

Be accepted on the September 2025 intake to study one of the following courses at the University of Surrey:
- Social Research MSc (Full-time – over 12 months)
- Social Research MSc (Part-time – over 24 months)
Have the right to permanently live and work in the UK
Meet at least one of the following criteria for widening participation as listed below:
- Students from Low Participation Neighbourhoods (LPNs, defined as POLAR4 Quintiles 1 and 2 by OfS*
- Students from an area of high deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation, IMD) Quintiles 1 and 2**
- Students from a low-income family (eligible for Free School Meals in last six years)
- Care leavers and students in local authority care
- From families where parents/carers are in non-professional households (NS-SEC groups 4-8)
- From families with no parental history of Higher Education participation
- Students classified as having a disability
- Young carers
- Mature learners
- Refugees and asylum seekers
- Students estranged from their families
- Students who have a parent/carer who has served in the armed forces or reserves
- Students from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic backgrounds
- Students from Gypsy, Roma or Irish Traveller (GRT) communities
- Students who identify as a New Traveller, Boater, Bargee or Showperson.