Student Performance Sport Scholarship Programme

The University of Bath aims to be the best environment to enable academic and athletic potential and was the first UK university to offer sport scholarships. Aligning with the Student Performance Sport and Breakthrough Programmes, Sport Scholarships add value by providing financial support to assist athlete development and rewarding an individual’s effort toward continual improvement.

Past top athletes to have received scholarship support are London 2012 Olympic silver medallists Michael Jamieson (swimming) and Samantha Murray (modern pentathlon), PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic bronze-medallist Dom Parsons (skeleton) and Tokyo 2020 champions Joe Choong (modern pentathlon) and Anna Hopkin (swimming).

Among those to have achieved international sporting success while supported by a scholarship is double Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion Tom Dean, who studies Mechanical Engineering and trains on campus with the Aquatics GB Bath Performance Centre. He tells us how scholarship support helped his sporting journey…

Support and eligibility

A scholarship is a non-repayable cash award. Scholarships are paid in instalments and there are no restrictions on how you spend any award. Scholarships come from a variety of sources and are funded through the generosity of alumni, corporate partners and other donors. The number and value of sport scholarships may therefore vary each year.

To be eligible for a scholarship, student-athletes must:

1. Meet the criteria of the Breakthrough Programme & Sport Scholarship Specific Criteria.
2. Be completing a minimum of 30 credits studying at the University of Bath
3. Not be serving a period of ineligibility as a result of an anti-doping rule violation
4. Nor have been found guilty of misconduct according to Student Regulation 7 – Disciplinary Regulations for Students.

For the 2024/25 academic year, we anticipate the following sport scholarships with their eligibility criteria to be awarded:

Scholarship	Number available	Funding offered	Eligibility
Bill Whiteley	Two	Up to £5,000 per year for up to four years	Click here
Trendell	One	£2,500 per year for up to three years	Click here
Goldsmith	One every three years	£1,250 per year for up to three years	Click here

Application and selection process

To apply for a sport scholarship for the 2024/25 academic year, individuals must complete an online form for the Breakthrough Programme that can be found here, providing information detailing how they meet the sporting criteria. To apply to a Sport Scholarship, tick “Yes” to question number 14 of the form. The online form will open on Friday 31^st May 2024 and close on Friday 27th September 2024.

Candidates will be shortlisted based on the selection criteria and supporting statements. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to an informal interview with the Performance Sport Officer and Head of Performance Sport in the week commencing 7^th October 2024. The final selection panel will then meet before the end of October with voting members including:

1. Pro-Vice Chancellor (Student Experience).
2. Director of Sport.
3. Deputy Director of Sport.
4. Head of Student Performance Sport.
5. Performance Sport Officer.
6. SU Sport Officer.
7. Scholarships and Bursaries Manager.
8. Philanthropy Manager (Sports Scholarships).
9. Donor Relations Manager.

Non-voting independent advisors, observers and note takers may also be present.

Scholarships will only be awarded to applicants who meet the selection criteria at the time of allocation. However, sports scholarships are highly competitive, discretionary and limited in number so even if you meet all of the criteria your application may not be successful.

Individuals who reach the panel stage will be emailed the outcome of their application following the panel meeting. The University cannot be responsible for any errors, omissions or delays in the information supplied to it and on which eligibility decisions are based. All award decisions are made at the University’s discretion. The University’s decision on the interpretation of eligibility criteria is final and there is no right of appeal.

Team Bath Athlete Agreement

Please note the terms and conditions of our Team Bath Athlete Agreement [click here for the current terms].