Care Experienced and Estranged Student Bursary

The Care Experienced and Estranged Student Bursary has a value of £1,000 per year, for a maximum of 4 years of study.

The Care Experienced and Estranged Student Bursary does not need to be repaid to LSE and is offered in addition to any other LSE financial support you are awarded.

To support with the costs associated with starting at university, you will receive £500 of your first year bursary payment in advance of the start of the academic year.

To be eligible for the Care Experienced and Estranged Student Bursary, you must be:

• Assessed as a ‘home’ student for fees purposes
• Enrolling on an undergraduate degree programme at LSE
• Currently in care or previously in local authority or kinship care at some point in your life or estranged from your parents or carers.

If you have a question about your eligibility for this bursary, please email financial-support@lse.ac.uk. 

When you complete your UCAS application form, you will have the opportunity to share with your chosen universities whether you have been in care, or are estranged from your parents or carers. 

The question for care experienced students is ‘Have you been in care?’ and for estranged students ‘Would you consider yourself estranged from your parents?’

The LEAPS website contains video guides to locating completing both the care experienced and estranged student declarations.  

If you answer ‘Yes’ to either of these questions, the information will be shared with LSE and you will automatically receive the Care Experienced and Estranged Student Bursary when you enrol at LSE.

If you are eligible for the Care Experienced and Estranged Student Bursary, you should consider applying for other financial support offered by LSE. More information can be found on our fees and funding pages.  

For more information about additional support given to care experienced students at all stages of the higher education journey, please visit our Care Experienced Students page.