The Robertson Trust Scholarship

SHEP Partnership

This year we are piloting a partnership approach with the Schools for Higher Education Programme (SHEP) to support our nomination process and help to support schools to identify young people who would benefit the most from the scholarship programme and would be most likely to be successful in applying. This is for school nominations only. Schools should reach out to their relevant SHEP Lead (Focus West, Aspire North, LEAPs, or Lift Off) for additional support.  

Applicants must meet all Essential Criteria, outlined below, in order for us to consider their application. Our Priority Groups, also outlined below, highlight the groups we aim to support through the Scholarship programme. Once we receive a nomination, we send the nominee the application form and other resources to help them apply and ask our nominators to complete a reference, telling us a little about their candidate’s background and why they meet our essential criteria. 

When considering each application, we acknowledge the difficulty some candidates may face in describing personal challenges, but these should be balanced with examples of resilience, positive outlook and connectivity with their local community as a celebration of their abilities.   

Please refer to the Application Infographic for more information on our process in 2025 - please note: our processes may change each year.

Essential Criteria

All applications must be nominated by one of our partner schools, colleges or universities according to the following guidelines: 

• Resident in Scotland at the time of application. As a Scotland-wide funder, we can only consider applicants who have attended school in Scotland and are resident in Scotland at the time of application 
• Have made an application to a university in Scotland. As a Scotland-wide funder, we provide support to students at universities in Scotland.   
• 16-25 year old accessing a programme of undergraduate study. Our programme focuses on young people accessing undergraduate study, but we also acknowledge the articulation route through college. 
• First degree. We cannot consider applicants who have already obtained a degree. 
• Eligibility for SAAS support. Our financial support is intended to complement other sources of statutory support and not replace it. Candidates must be eligible for bursary support (Young Student Bursary, Independent Student Bursary etc.) and tuition fees as a minimum requirement through the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.  

Please note, that we are unable to consider any nomination that does not meet all the above essential criteria. 

Our Priority Groups

We are particularly interested in supporting students who face financial barriers to accessing and participating at university and face other barriers to accessing university (for example belonging to an under-represented population group or having faced life events that could make going to university less likely). 

Indicators of Financial Need: 

The Robertson Trust Scholarship aims to support young people who experience significant financial barriers to accessing university. Experiencing financial barriers means not having enough money to cover essential living costs, such as rent, bills, food, and clothing.  

In our application process we are looking for strong evidence of financial need from the young person applying. The following are examples of financial circumstances that might indicate financial need in young people accessing university: 

• Having parents or carers who are in a low-income job or who are unemployed 
• Having parents or carers who are eligible for income-assessed social security, such as Universal Credit, Scottish Child Payment, Carer Support Payment (formerly Carer's Allowance)
• Being eligible for education-related financial assistance, such as Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), Free School Meals, School Clothing Grants 
• Being eligible for Universal Credit, Scottish Child Payment, Carer Support Payment (formerly Carer's Allowance), or Young Carer Grant
• Being eligible for other income-assessed scholarships and bursaries
• Having parents or carers in receipt of income-assessed scholarships and bursaries including SAAS  
• Other examples of living in a low-income household

Other barriers: 

The Robertson Trust Scholarship aims to support young people who have experienced other barriers to accessing university, in addition to financial barriers. This could include belonging to an underrepresented population group and/or having faced life events that make accessing university more difficult than it would otherwise be. 

Being under-represented in higher education means certain groups of students have lower rates of participation because they experience systemic barriers not experienced by the majority of the student population. As such, these groups may be less likely to attend and stay at university without additional support.

Underrepresented groups that may face barriers:  

• Are from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic groups
• Have a disability or long-term health condition
• Are formally or informally care-experienced (this can mean having lived in residential care, having lived with a foster family, having experienced kinship care with a member of your family etc.)
• Have or have had unpaid caring responsibilities for a close friend, family member, or guardian (such as being a young carer)
• Are estranged from their family
• Are from the Gypsy, Roma, and/or Traveller Communities

Life events that may form barriers: 

We will also aim to support individuals with current or past experiences that could act as barriers to entering university. This could include personal or family experiences of multiple disadvantages, such as homelessness, substance misuse, domestic violence, mental ill-health or other disruptive life events affecting their childhood or home life. This could also include those who have experienced deep poverty or very low income. We encourage our educational partners to nominate individuals who have faced such challenges for the Scholarship.

The Application Form:

While we recognise the complexity of the personal challenges and socio-economic issues many potential candidates may be experiencing, we will also ask them to provide the following information in the application form: 

• Financial need. We support young people who experience financial barriers to participation in higher education.
• Under-represented characteristics. We are particularly interested in supporting students who come from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in higher education. These include those listed above.
• Commitment to learning. We support young people who have a genuine passion and commitment to learning and for their proposed course of undergraduate study.
• Resilience. We support scholars who have shown resilience in the way they have addressed barriers in their lives.

Application Confidentiality

Please note that only The Robertson Trust Scholarship Team members have access to any information applicants share in deciding about their application. The Scholarship Team includes our external alumni assessors, who may review an anonymised version of an application as part of our assessment process. As former recipients of The Robertson Trust Scholarship, our external assessors bring their lived experience to the assessment process and are provided with training to ensure a rigorous and equitable assessment process for all applicants. For further information about how we handle this information please read our Privacy Statement.

How to Apply

If you are a staff member from a school, college, university or third sector partner and would like to find out about the application process, please refer to the updates on our landing page and email scholars@therobertsontrust.org.uk. 

To ensure we are targeting those most at risk of future poverty, we have developed a support package that moves beyond our current 16-25 undergraduate bursary and non-financial support.

We are aware that many who face challenges in their younger life, such as but not limited to, being care experienced, estranged and/or with caring responsibilities may take longer to access and complete higher education level study. As such, we have developed a Mature Student Support Package.

Applicants must meet all Essential Criteria, outlined below, in order for us to consider their application. Our Priority Groups, also outlined below, highlight the groups we aim to support through the Scholarship programme. Once we receive a nomination, we send the nominee the application form and other resources to help them apply.

When considering each application, we acknowledge the difficulty some candidates may face in describing personal challenges, but these should be balanced with examples of resilience, positive outlook and connectivity with their local community as a celebration of their abilities.   

Essential Criteria

All applications must be nominated by one of our partners according to the following guidelines: 

• 26-45 year old accessing a programme of undergraduate study. 
• Resident in Scotland for at least 1 year at the time of application. 
• Have received a conditional or unconditional offer to a university in Scotland. As a Scotland-wide funder, we provide support to students at universities in Scotland.   
• First degree. We cannot consider applicants who have already obtained a degree. 
• Eligibility for SAAS support. Our financial support is intended to complement other sources of statutory support and not replace it. Candidates must be eligible for bursary support (Independent Student Bursary etc.) and tuition fees as a minimum requirement through the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.  

Please note, that we are unable to consider any nomination that does not meet all the above essential criteria. 

Our Priority Groups

We are particularly interested in supporting students who face financial barriers to accessing and participating at university and face other barriers to accessing university (for example belonging to an under-represented population group or having faced life events that could make going to university less likely). 

Indicators of Financial Need: 

The Mature Support Package aims to support people who experience significant financial barriers to accessing university. Experiencing financial barriers means not having enough money to cover essential living costs, such as rent, bills, food, and clothing.  

We recognise the additional pressures faced by students trying to attend university while experiencing additional financial barriers. Because of the stress they can cause, these barriers can prevent students from participating fully in their education and getting the most out of their time at university. In addition, those who have experienced financial barriers earlier in life, especially during their childhood, can take longer to access and complete higher education.

We view financial barriers as including:

• Being in a low-income job or unemployed.
• Being eligible for income-assessed social security, such as Universal Credit (or legacy support such as Income Support, Housing Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance etc.), Carer Support Payment (formerly Carer's Allowance), or other relevant support.
• Having been eligible for education-related financial assistance during your childhood, such as Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), Free School Meals, School Clothing Grants.
• Being eligible for other income-assessed scholarships and bursaries.
• Other examples of living in a low-income household, such as historic low income i.e. parents or guardians in receipt of social security.

Other barriers: 

The Mature Support Package aims to support people who have experienced other barriers to accessing university, in addition to financial barriers. This could include belonging to an underrepresented population group and/or having faced life events that make accessing university more difficult than it would otherwise be. 

Being under-represented in higher education means certain groups of students have lower rates of participation because they experience systemic barriers not experienced by the majority of the student population. As such, these groups may be less likely to attend and stay at university without additional support.

Underrepresented groups that may face barriers:  

• Are from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic groups
• Have a disability or long-term health condition
• Are formally or informally care-experienced (this can mean having lived in residential care, having lived with a foster family, having experienced kinship care with a member of your family etc.)
• Have or have had unpaid caring responsibilities for a close friend, family member, or guardian (such as being a young carer)
• Are estranged from their family
• Are from the Gypsy, Roma, and/or Traveller Communities

Life events that may form barriers: 

We will also aim to support individuals with current or past experiences that could act as barriers to entering university. This could include personal or family experiences of multiple disadvantages, such as homelessness, substance misuse, domestic violence, mental ill-health or other disruptive life events affecting their childhood or home life. This could also include those who have experienced deep poverty or very low income. We encourage our educational partners to nominate individuals who have faced such challenges for the Scholarship.

The Application Form:

While we recognise the complexity of the personal challenges and socio-economic issues many potential candidates may be experiencing, we will also ask them to provide the following information in the application form: 

• Financial need. We support young people who experience financial barriers to participation in higher education.
• Under-represented characteristics. We are particularly interested in supporting students who come from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in higher education. These include those listed above.
• Commitment to learning. We support young people who have a genuine passion and commitment to learning and for their proposed course of undergraduate study.
• Resilience. We support scholars who have shown resilience in the way they have addressed barriers in their lives.

Application Confidentiality

Please note that only The Robertson Trust Scholarship Team members have access to any information applicants share in deciding about their application. The Scholarship Team includes our external alumni assessors, who may review an anonymised version of an application as part of our assessment process. As former recipients of The Robertson Trust Scholarship, our external assessors bring their lived experience to the assessment process and are provided with training to ensure a rigorous and equitable assessment process for all applicants. For further information about how we handle this information please read our Privacy Statement. 

To ensure we are targeting those most at risk of future poverty, we are interested in developing a financial support offer that moves beyond our current 16-25 undergraduate bursary and non-financial support.

We are aware that many who face challenges in their younger life, such as but not limited to, being care experienced, estranged and/or with caring responsibilities may take longer to access and complete higher education level study. In addition, for parents who are currently facing poverty, there are high barriers to access education which prevents not only the individual, but the entire family unit from moving out of poverty and poverty related trauma. As such, we have developed a Student Parent Support Package.

Applicants must meet all Essential Criteria, outlined below, in order for us to consider their application. Our Priority Groups, also outlined below, highlight the groups we aim to support through the Scholarship programme. Once we receive a nomination, we send the nominee the application form and other resources to help them apply.

When considering each application, we acknowledge the difficulty some candidates may face in describing personal challenges, but these should be balanced with examples of resilience, positive outlook and connectivity with their local community as a celebration of their abilities.   

Essential Criteria

All applications must be nominated by one of our partners

• 16-45 year old accessing a programme of undergraduate study. 
• Resident in Scotland for at least 1 year at the time of application. 
• Have a conditional or unconditional offer to study at a university in Scotland. As a Scotland-wide funder, we provide support to students at universities in Scotland.   
• First degree. We cannot consider applicants who have already obtained a degree. 
• Eligibility for SAAS support. Our financial support is intended to complement other sources of statutory support and not replace it. Candidates must be eligible for bursary support (Young Student Bursary, Independent Student Bursary etc.) and tuition fees as a minimum requirement through the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.  

• Belong to one of our child poverty priority groups
  • Lone parents
  • Parent with child under one
  • Parent with three or more children
  • Parent who is under 25

Please note, that we are unable to consider any nomination that does not meet all the above essential criteria. 

Our Priority Groups

We are particularly interested in supporting students who face financial barriers to accessing and participating at university and face other barriers to accessing university (for example belonging to an under-represented population group or having faced life events that could make going to university less likely). 

Indicators of Financial Need: 

The Student Parent Scholarship aims to support parents who experience significant financial barriers to accessing higher education study. Experiencing financial barriers means not having enough money to cover essential living costs, such as rent, bills, food, and clothing.  

We recognise the additional pressures faced by students trying to attend university while experiencing additional financial barriers. Because of the stress they can cause, these barriers can prevent students from participating fully in their education and getting the most out of their time at university. In addition, those who have parenting responsibilities while studying can face additional financial and other barriers, which can mean it can take longer to access and complete higher education.

We view financial barriers as including:

• Being in a low-income job or being unemployed
• Being or having been eligible for income-assessed social security, such as Universal Credit (or legacy support such as Income Support, Housing Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance etc.), Carer Support Payment (formerly Carer's Allowance), Scottish Child Payment, or other relevant support
• Having children who are eligible for education-related financial assistance, such as Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), Free School Meals, School Clothing Grants (if you are under 25, this also includes your eligibility for EMA, Free School Meals, and School Clothing Grants)
• Being eligible for other income-assessed scholarships and bursaries
• Other examples of living in a low-income household

Other barriers: 

The Student Parent Support Package aims to support parents who have experienced other barriers to accessing university, in addition to financial barriers. This could include belonging to an underrepresented population group and/or having faced life events that make accessing university more difficult than it would otherwise be. 

Being under-represented in higher education means certain groups of students have lower rates of participation because they experience systemic barriers not experienced by the majority of the student population. As such, these groups may be less likely to attend and stay at university without additional support.

Underrepresented groups that may face barriers:  

• Are from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic groups
• Have a disability or long-term health condition
• Are formally or informally care-experienced (this can mean having lived in residential care, having lived with a foster family, having experienced kinship care with a member of your family etc.)
• Have or have had unpaid caring responsibilities for a close friend, family member, or guardian (such as being a young carer)
• Are estranged from their family
• Are from the Gypsy, Roma, and/or Traveller Communities

Life events that may form barriers: 

We will also aim to support individuals with current or past experiences that could act as barriers to entering university. This could include personal or family experiences of multiple disadvantages, such as homelessness, substance misuse, domestic violence, mental ill-health or other disruptive life events affecting their childhood or home life. This could also include those who have experienced deep poverty or very low income. We encourage our educational partners to nominate individuals who have faced such challenges for the Scholarship.

The Application Form:

While we recognise the complexity of the personal challenges and socio-economic issues many potential candidates may be experiencing, we will also ask them to provide the following information in the application form: 

• Financial need. We support people who experience financial barriers to participation in higher education.
• Under-represented characteristics. We are particularly interested in supporting students who come from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in higher education. These include those listed above.
• Commitment to learning. We support people who have a genuine passion and commitment to learning and for their proposed course of undergraduate study.
• Resilience. We support scholars who have shown resilience in the way they have addressed barriers in their lives.

Application Confidentiality

Please note that only The Robertson Trust Scholarship Team members have access to any information applicants share in deciding about their application. The Scholarship Team includes our external alumni assessors, who may review an anonymised version of an application as part of our assessment process. As former recipients of The Robertson Trust Scholarship, our external assessors bring their lived experience to the assessment process and are provided with training to ensure a rigorous and equitable assessment process for all applicants. For further information about how we handle this information please read our Privacy Statement.