If you’re eligible for the Social Work Bursary (SWB) and studying a postgraduate course, you may be able to get help with your living costs and tuition fees. This is a grant, not a loan, so you do not normally need to pay it back.
If you’re eligible for a bursary we’ll also pay a contribution of up to £4,052 towards your tuition fees per academic year.
Eligibility
Before you apply, we encourage you to read more about eligibility on our Social Work Bursary (SWB) page and in the SWB guidance booklet in the Guidance section of this page.
What you could get
The SWB for postgraduates is made up of a non means tested grant and a means tested maintenance grant. Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible for additional elements of SWB.
Non means tested grant
The 2025 to 2026 non means tested rates are:
- £3,762.50 if your university is in London
- £3,362.50 if your university is outside of London
These amounts include the Placement Travel Allowance element of SWB, which is £862.50 for full time students towards placement travel costs. If your placement provider also contributes towards your travel costs, this does not affect your bursary entitlement.
Rates are paid on a pro rate basis for eligible part time students.
Means tested grant
The 2025 to 2026 means tested rates are:
- up to £4,201 a year if your university is in London
- up to £2,721 a year if your university is outside of London
Rates are paid on a pro rate basis for eligible part time students.
The amount you’ll get depends on:
- your net unearned taxable income during the current academic year
- your partner’s residual taxable income from the 2024 to 2025 tax year, if applicable
We may also consider other dependants during our assessment where applicable.
If you do not want to apply for the means tested bursary, the postgraduate SWB application form lets you opt out.
Additional SWB elements
If your application for SWB is successful, you may also be entitled to additional SWB elements depending on your circumstances. The additional elements are:
- Adult Dependants Allowance (ADA)
- Childcare Allowance (CCA)
- Parents’ Learning Allowance (PLA)
- Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs)
Adult Dependants Allowance (ADA)
You could be eligible for ADA if you have an adult who is wholly or mainly financially dependent on you. This may include your partner but not your child or stepchild.
ADA is assessed using your adult dependant’s income during the academic year. If your partner is in full time higher education and they’re receiving a student loan, you will not be able to claim ADA for them.
The maximum ADA available in the 2025 to 2026 academic year is £2,757.
Childcare Allowance (CCA)
If you’re eligible for CCA, we can contribute a maximum of 85% of your childcare costs per week up to:
- £155.25 per week for one child
- £266.15 per week for two or more children
You may be eligible if you have dependent children under 15, or under 17 if they have special educational needs, and they’re attending registered childcare.
You’re not eligible if:
- you get the childcare element of Working Tax Credit or Universal Credit
- you receive Tax Free Childcare
- your childcare provider is not registered by Ofsted, or its equivalent depending on your location
To apply for CCA, complete the Childcare Allowance application form (PDF: 172KB) and upload it to your MyFunding account.
Confirming your childcare costs
If you're awarded CCA, we’ll check your childcare costs quarterly to make sure you’re receiving the correct amounts. Your childcare provider will be asked to complete a separate form each time.
How to confirm your childcare costs for the 2024 to 2025 academic year:
Or
If you still need to send us a form for Term 1, you can print and complete the Term 1 form: 26 August to 22 December 2024 (PDF: 180KB) using the same steps. You need to send this to us as soon as possible.
Parents Learning Allowance (PLA)
You could be eligible for PLA if you have a dependent child or children aged under 19.
We’ll assess your entitlement based on your dependant’s income.
The maximum PLA available in the 2025 to 2026 academic year is £1,573.
Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs)
You can apply for DSAs if you have a disability and need extra help to complete your course. It could help towards costs you may pay as a direct result of a disability, long term health condition, a mental health condition, or a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia or dyspraxia.
The amount of DSAs you could get is based on your individual circumstances.
The maximum rates for 2025 to 2026 are:
- up to £5,212 for specialist equipment
- up to £20,725 for non-medical helper’s allowance
- up to £1,741 for general allowances to cover other course related costs
You may also receive a travel allowance for reasonable and necessary costs. The amount is based on your individual needs.
If you’re recommended specialist equipment, you’ll need to pay £200 towards the cost of a computer or laptop. DSAs will then pay the rest up to the maximum amount.
Applying for DSAs
You can apply for DSAs through your MyFunding account any time before the end of the academic year.
You’ll need to upload evidence to support your application. This includes:
- an explanation of your disability, condition or specific learning disability
- a recent doctor’s letter or psychologist’s report explaining
- your disability
- how it affects you in daily life
- how it affects your ability to study
- whether you could recover from it
Based on the information you give us, we’ll decide if you need to attend an assessment of your study needs. We’ll send you a letter if we decide you need one.
Once you receive DSAs you do not need to reapply each academic year, unless your circumstances change and you need more support.
Guidance
Read our guidance booklet for more information about SWB.
Your guide to Social Work Bursaries 2025 to 2026 (PDF: 632KB)
For help with MyFunding, read our MyFunding guidance booklet.
MyFunding guide for students (PDF: 1.17MB)
