You may be eligible for a teaching bursary or scholarship when training to teach. These are tax-free amounts of money you receive to train in certain subjects. You do not need to pay them back.
Scholarships are offered by independent institutions. They set their own eligibility criteria and you’ll need to apply through the relevant scholarship body.
You do not need to apply for a bursary. If you’re eligible, you’ll automatically receive it.
Postgraduate bursaries and scholarships
Postgraduate teaching bursaries and scholarships are only available for the subjects listed below. You cannot receive both a teaching bursary and a scholarship.
| Subject | Bursary | Scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Biology | £10,000 | |
| Chemistry | £24,000 | £26,000 |
| Computing | £24,000 | £26,000 |
| Design and technology | £15,000 | |
| Geography | £15,000 | |
|
Languages (including ancient languages) |
£15,000 | |
| Maths | £24,000 | £26,000 |
| Physics | £24,000 | £26,000 |
To be eligible for a bursary, you’ll need at least one of the following:
- a bachelor’s degree class 2:2 (honours) or higher
- a master’s degree
- a PhD
You’ll also need to meet the bursary scheme’s individual terms and conditions.
Find out more about your eligibility for teaching bursaries(opens in new window).
To find out if you’re eligible for a scholarship and to apply, you can visit the relevant scholarship body:
- the Royal Society of Chemistry(opens in new window) (chemistry)
- BCS The Chartered Institute for IT(opens in new window) (computing)
- the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications(opens in new window) (maths)
- the Institute of Physics(opens in new window) (physics)
Undergraduate bursaries
You may be eligible for a bursary of £9,000(opens in new window) if you do a secondary maths or physics course that leads to qualified teacher status (QTS).
You may also be eligible if you do an opt-in QTS course in secondary computing, languages, mathematics or physics. This is where you start a standard undergraduate degree but then opt-in to initial teacher training to get QTS.
The amount you receive depends on the year that you start your QTS course. You do not get a bursary in every year of an undergraduate course. Depending on the type of course you do, you may get the bursary in your final year or final two years.
Undergraduate bursary if you’re former military personnel
You may be eligible for a Troops to Teachers tax-free bursary of £40,000 if you’re:
- training to teach secondary biology, physics, chemistry, computing, maths or languages
- doing an undergraduate degree leading to QTS in England