Funding for Nursing Students
Scottish Nursing, Midwifery and Social Care students are funded by a non-means tested, non-repayable, NHS bursary.
Nursing and Midwifery Discretionary Fund
Nursing and Midwifery Discretionary Fund is now closed for the 23/24 academic session. Please look out for Student Communications regarding the fund re-opening in September 2024.
Please note that this does NOT apply to Veterinary Nursing Students who are funded by a student loan.
Students from the rest of the UK should apply for a student loan from the awarding body relevant to their country of ordinary residence.
Childcare Funds
A childcare allowance for parents is available from SAAS to Scottish student parents who are eligible for the NHS bursary. Student parents from the rest of the UK should refer to the awarding body relevant to their country of ordinary residence.
Other funding sources
Nursing and Midwifery Discretionary Fund
The Nursing and Midwifery Discretionary Fund is allocated by Scottish Ministers and is intended to help eligible students who are in financial difficulty to attend their programme of study.
Awards can be made to assist UK nursing students with general living costs, accommodation, essential course costs and, in some circumstances, help towards childcare costs.
To apply for the Nursing and Midwifery Discretionary Fund, please submit your application via our Find a Fund system.
Before you make your application, please refer to our Funding Application Top Tips page and check out our Funding Application Support Document. This will give you useful information on how to complete your application and what supporting documents you may need.
If you are a student from England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Republic of Ireland you may also want to consider your eligibility for the bursaries below, these are also applied for via Find a Fund:
Access Bursary for Students from England, Ireland and WalesMerit Bursary for Students from England, Ireland and Wales
When applying through Find a Fund the system will automatically match you to any other philanthropic funding opportunities that are available and that you are eligible for.
External funding sources
If you want to try looking for trust funds or charities yourself, you may find it useful to check the following places first:
- Directory of Grant Making Trusts published by the Charities Aid Foundation
- Grants Register published by Palgrave Macmillan
- Charities Digest published by the Education Grants Advisory Service
The above can usually be found at larger public libraries and possibly at some university libraries.
- Student Cashpoint
- Register of Educational Endowments - maintained by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) and contains information on Scottish trusts.
- SAAS can search the register for you if you fill in an application.
- Scholarship search websites are the Scholarship Search and the Scholarship Hub
What if I need help urgently?
Nursing, Midwifery and Social Care students cannot apply for financial help from the University’s Discretionary and Childcare Funds. This is because the money for these funds is provided by the government department which manages funding for non-nursing students.
If you are in urgent financial difficulty, ENSA Advisers at Edinburgh Napier Students Association (ENSA) can help you with benefits, budgeting, and accessing essentials and local services.
Contact us
For further information email studentfunding@napier.ac.uk