UCL200 Laws MSc Law and Finance Opportunity Scholarship

Application Form Guidance Notes 2025-26

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The guidance is designed to help you complete the application for the UCL200 Laws MSc Law and Finance Opportunity
Scholarship.

Please note:
 The deadline to submit your scholarship application is Monday, 14th April 2025. Prior to submitting your
scholarship application, you must have already submitted your complete application for the MSc Law and
Finance programme for the 2025-26 academic year to be considered for the scholarship.
 UCL200 Laws MSc Law and Finance Opportunity Scholarship will provide support for prospective students from
low-income families and who have experienced other hardships. To assess your financial circumstances, you will
be asked to provide information on several financial factors, including details of your household income and
other available funds. You may need to provide evidence of this.
 In assessing your application for the UCL200 Laws MSc Law and Finance Opportunity Scholarship, account will be
taken of your answers to each of the questions related to your financial and personal circumstances.

NAVIGATING THE FORM

 In order to move through the form, you will need to scroll down after each question is answered.
 You will need to answer all required questions to move forward with the application – if you have not answered
anything an error message will appear informing you of this and you will need to go back and answer those
questions.
 We have highlighted the mandatory questions in the question guidance below. You will not be able to submit
your application unless you have completed all mandatory questions. Mandatory questions are indicated with an
asterisk (star) on the online application form.
 In order to complete the application, you will need to click the ‘Submit’ button on the final page (after the
declarations) and you will see a confirmation message that your application has been submitted.

ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS

Section 1: Eligibility Criteria

Have you submitted a complete application to study on the MSc Law and Finance programme for academic year
2025/26?
You must have submitted your complete application, including references, to be considered for the scholarship in the
2025/26 academic year.

Do you hold or are you currently studying towards a Master’s degree or equivalent?
In order to be eligible for the UCL200 Laws MSc Law and Finance Opportunity Scholarship, you must not hold or currently
be studying for a Master's degree or equivalent.

Section 2: Personal Information

Student/Application Number
We require this information to be able to accurately match your scholarship application with your application and offer to
study on the MSc Law and Finance programme.

Country of domicile
Please indicate your primary country of domicile (the country where a person has their permanent home or primary
residence). If you are financially dependent on your parent(s) or caregiver(s) your domicile will be that of your household.

Family Name (as in passport)

Please enter your family name (i.e. surname) exactly as it appears on your passport.

First/Given Name (as in passport)

Please enter your given name (i.e. forename) exactly as it appears on your passport.

Personal email address

Please provide a personal email address that you check regularly.
Section 3: Background and Education

What type of school you attended during your secondary education?

Please select the option that best describes the type of school you attended for the majority of your secondary education:
 Government-funded school: A school funded and managed by the government, where no tuition fees are charged
to students. This includes state schools.
 Fee-paying school with financial aid: A private or independent school where tuition fees are charged, but you
received financial assistance (e.g., scholarships or bursaries) to help cover those fees.
 Fee-paying school without financial aid: A private or independent school where tuition fees are charged, and you
or your family paid the full amount without receiving financial assistance.
 Home-schooled: You received your secondary education primarily at home, under the instruction of a parent,
guardian, tutor, or other non-school-based arrangement.
 Other: If none of the above apply, please select this option and provide additional information about the type of
education you received.

How was your undergraduate tuition funded?

For this question, select all options that apply to indicate the primary sources of funding used to pay for your
undergraduate education:
 Merit-based scholarship: A scholarship awarded based on academic achievement, extracurricular
accomplishments, or other merit-based criteria.
 Means-tested scholarship: A scholarship awarded based on financial need, typically assessed by your household
income or financial circumstances.
 Government bursary/grant: A financial award provided by the government that does not need to be repaid,
intended to support students from lower-income backgrounds.
 Government loans: Financial aid provided by the government that must be repaid, often with interest, after
graduation.
 Private loans: Loans from private banks, credit unions, or other financial institutions that must be repaid.
 Savings: Funds saved by you or your family to pay for your tuition fees.
 Work during your studies: Income earned through part-time or full-time work during your undergraduate
programme, used to contribute to tuition fees or living costs.
 Other: If your tuition was funded through other means not listed here, please select this option and provide
further details.

What was your undergraduate student loan debt when you graduated or anticipated to be at the point of graduation?
Please indicate in GBP your actual or anticipated student loan debt at the point of graduation from your undergraduate
degree. You may be requested to provide a student loan statement as evidence.

Section 4: Household Income

Are you financially independent from your parent(s) or guardian(s)?

Applicants are considered dependent if they receive significant financial support from parent(s), guardian(s), or others for
housing, living expenses or education fees.
Please note: UK applicants who are under 25 (as of 1st March 2025) are considered financially dependent on their parent(s)
or guardian(s) unless they have lived independently, without financial support, for at least three years outside the family
home. Please refer to https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance/household-income.

[If applicable] Please briefly explain your circumstances, including how long you have supported yourself and
your living arrangements (including outside of term-time if you are currently a student).
Please use this space to describe how long you have supported yourself, if financially independent.

Please provide your household's gross annual income as of 1 st March 2025.

Please provide the total taxable income of your household, including all sources. You may provide figures from the most
recent fiscal year period.
 If you are financially dependent on your parent(s) or guardian(s): Include your income (if applicable) and the
combined income of your parent(s) or guardian(s).
 If you are financially independent from your parent(s) or guardian(s): Include your income and, if applicable, your
partner’s or spouse’s income.
Note: Shortlisted applicants may be required to submit evidence such as bank statements, tax returns, or P60s (or
equivalents) to verify this amount.

How many people depend on this income, including yourself?

This should include all members of the household who are dependent on the amount indicated. This should include the
money earners themselves, and anyone else who lives in the household and is dependent on those earnings in some way.
This should include yourself.

Please provide details of any significant assets owned by your parent(s), guardian(s), or others who supported your
upbringing; this may include property, land, savings, or investments.
This information may be used to assess your financial circumstances in context. Please include brief details about the type
and approximate value of these resources in GBP.

[Optional] If you would like to provide additional information about your household income or financial circumstances,
please do so here.
Please briefly (up to 50 words) include any details that may not have been covered in your previous answers but that you
believe are relevant for assessing your financial need. For example, you may wish to highlight specific economic challenges
in your country (e.g., inflation, currency devaluation, political instability), debt or financial obligations, or other unique
factors that are not immediately apparent from the information provided in earlier sections.

Section 5: Financial Resources

Please specify in UK £ Sterling (GBP) the amount of funding that you will have during the programme from the following
sources.

In this section of the application, we are looking for an honest and accurate appraisal of your financial situation beyond
what you may receive through this scholarship application. As these are means-tested scholarships, it is important that
accurate information is provided. Please use numerical values only (e.g. 1500, no commas or symbols). If a particular
funding option is not applicable or available to you, please simply enter 0.

Please note: We may request evidence or further details. For example, you may be asked to provide details on any funding
sources for which you are eligible but have not utilised (e.g. any government loans, bursaries, or scholarships available in
your country or region which you have not declared).

Government Loans (i.e. PGL) – any funding you intend to apply for from a government postgraduate loans scheme (UK or
elsewhere).
Other Loans (family, private, etc.) – any other loans that you may be intending to take for your year of study whether from
banks, family or other sources. If you are attempting to secure some other form of loan, please provide details in question
20.
Scholarships/Awards/Bursaries – any scholarships, awards, bursaries, or similar that you intend to apply for, have applied
for, or have secured for your studies.
Personal savings – any personal savings.
State benefits – any state benefits you will be in continued receipt of during your studies.
Any other funding – this is a place to declare any other funding you may have for your studies which you do not feel was
appropriate to include in any of the categories listed above. If you include a number other than 0 in this field, please
provide details.

Section 6: Personal Circumstances

Have you ever experienced housing insecurity or displacement?

Please indicate "No" if this is not applicable to you. If this applies, briefly describe the nature of the situation you
experienced. For the purposes of this application, housing insecurity or displacement refers to circumstances in which you
lacked stable, secure, and adequate housing or were compelled to leave your home due to external factors or crises.

You may have experienced housing insecurity if you:

 Were sleeping on the streets or in places not intended for regular habitation.
 Relied on friends, family, or others for temporary housing ("couch-surfing").
 Stayed in hostels, shelters, or bed-and-breakfast accommodations due to lack of housing.
 Lived in overcrowded or unsafe conditions.
 Were at risk of or experienced violence in your home, making it unsafe to stay.
 Resided in housing with unsafe conditions, such as structural hazards, lack of basic utilities, or environments
posing health risks.
 Occupied housing unsuitable for your needs due to chronic illness or disability.
 Faced eviction, foreclosure, or other legal threats to housing security, creating uncertainty about future stability.
 Frequent relocation or reliance on temporary accommodations due to circumstances beyond your control.
You may have experienced displacement if you:
 Were forcibly removed from your home due to conflict, persecution, or natural disasters, including experiences
as a refugee or asylum seeker.
 Lost access to stable housing due to financial instability, legal eviction, redevelopment, or catastrophic events
such as fires, floods, or earthquakes.
 Were dependent on temporary or emergency housing, such as shelters, transitional housing programmes, or
informal accommodations arranged through aid organisations.
 Faced involuntary relocation due to government action, such as eminent domain, forced resettlement projects,
or urban development schemes.
 Were unable to return to your primary residence due to circumstances outside your control, including legal
disputes, unsafe conditions, or restricted access.

Are you the first generation in your family to go to university?

First generation is defined as you are of the first generation within your family to attend university and that no parent or
grandparent has attended university. Cousins and siblings are not included in this category as you are of the same
generation as them within your family.

You count as first generation to go to university, even if the following have gone to university:
 brothers or sisters
 husband, wife or partner
 biological parents of applicants who have been adopted
 a parent with whom you have had no contact during your secondary and post-16 education (or
longer)
 foster parents
 care workers
 uncles, aunts and other members of your extended family.

You do not count as first generation if the following have gone to university or are currently doing
so:
 parents
 step-parents, a parent’s unmarried partner living in the household and adoptive parents who throughout the
three year period prior to the start of your university course have been living in the same household as you.
 grandparents

What was your highest earning parent's occupation when you were aged 14?
This should be the person who earned the highest earnings within your household at age 14. Please state the employment
category that best fits the main income earner in your household when you were 14 years old. Employment categories are
defined below; you can find information on what constitutes each category at https://tinyurl.com/ycoqfc6x/. Please try
and pick the category you feel most closely resembles the main earner’s occupation.
 Higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations
o Large employers and higher managerial and administrative occupations
o Higher professional occupations
 Lower managerial, administrative and professional occupations
 Intermediate occupations
 Small employers and own account workers
 Lower supervisory and technical occupations
 Semi-routine occupations
 Routine occupations
 Never worked and long-term unemployed

Are you a single parent?

Please answer Yes or No.

Are you from a single parent family?

Please answer Yes or No.

Have you ever lived in care?

Please answer Yes or No. Care leavers are specific category considered within the widening access guidelines and as such
the Faculty of Laws would like to help support the widening access policy of UCL.

For the purposes of this application, being care experienced means you will have spent time living with foster carers under
local authority care, in residential care (e.g. a children’s home), looked after at home under a supervision order, or
in kinship care with relatives or friends, either officially (e.g. a special guardianship order) or informally without local
authority support. If you are an international applicant, this question applies to any formal child welfare or protection
system in your country that resulted in alternative care arrangements, whether temporary or long-term.

[Optional] Is there anything else in your personal circumstances that the Panel should consider when assessing your
application?
This question provides an opportunity to briefly (in up to 50 words) share any additional information about your personal
circumstances that may help the Panel understand your situation more fully. It is optional but encouraged if you feel there
is anything not captured elsewhere in the application.

Section 7: Statement and Declaration

Please provide a (max) 500-word statement setting out how such an award would help you to pursue your goals and your
plans for the future should your application be successful. This will fit in the text box.

If you have any further questions not answered above, please email us at [email protected]
*NOTE: All scholarship and student funding schemes are subject to availability of funds, and details given here are
subject to change at any time. Potential applicants are urged to check information regularly to ensure they are aware of
current procedures, deadlines etc.