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  1. Queen Mary University of London
  2. About us
  3. Sustainability
  4. Sustainable development goals
  5. Goal 1: No Poverty
  6. Education

Education

Sanctuary Support Fund and Scholarship

Queen Mary University believes that education should be accessible to all, regardless of background. The Sanctuary Support Fund relies on donations and provides additional financial assistance to Queen Mary’s students who are asylum seekers or have a temporary immigration statues awarded as a result of a claim for asylum.

The Sanctuary Scholarship offers tuition fee and maintenance support for up to two undergraduate students. Students must be asylum seekers or have a temporary immigration status, awarded as a result of a claim for asylum but outside of the immigration rules and be studying on degree programmes in the Faculty of Science & Engineering or the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Successful applicants will be awarded a full tuition fee waiver and maintenance support.

Asylum Seekers Fee Concession

Queen Mary offers a tuition fee concession to all asylum seekers or children of asylum seekers who meet the eligibility criteria. While the student’s asylum application is under consideration by the Home Office, they will be entitled to pay the ‘home’ rate of tuition fees. This fee concession is available to all undergraduate students on all programmes, except those courses offered by the School of Medicine and Dentistry that lead to qualified status as a doctor, dentist, or dental hygienist or therapist.

Widening participation 

Queen Mary is the most successful Russell Group university at recruiting students from backgrounds usually under-represented in higher education. In 2021, the Sutton Trust, working with the Institute of Fiscal Studies, ranked us first in the country for social mobility. Of our domestic undergraduate students, 94 per cent are from state schools; 73 per cent are BAME, 45 per cent are first into higher education and 37 per cent are from households where the total family income is less than £35k per year, which automatically entitles students to a Queen Mary bursary.

An important component of Queen Mary’s widening participation approach is our contextual admissions policy. The policy aims to mitigate both educational disadvantage and individual circumstances, ensuring that anyone who is able to flourish at Queen Mary can join us, irrespective of background. 

Access and Participation Plan 

Queen Mary is a sector leader in attracting students from groups typically under-represented in research-intensive universities. Of our domestic undergraduate students, 94% are from state schools, 73% are BAME, and 45% are first into higher education. We have the best record of all the Russell Group universities in England for recruiting undergraduate students from state schools and from lower-income families. In 2021, a Sutton Trust report named us as the best university for social mobility in the country.

Our Access and Participation Plan outlines our approach to improve the equality of opportunities available  for underrepresented groups to access, succeed in, and progress from higher education. The Plan includes a full assessment of our performance, an overview of the measures in place and the targets we have set for improvement The 2020-2025 Report shows that 30% of Queen Mary home students come from households earning less than 15,000. Over 50% of our home undergraduate students are from within 15km of campus, mainly from East London.

Ensuring every student has the opportunity to succeed is built into our DNA.

Access to Queen Mary

Access to Queen Mary supports the entrance of students under-represented at Russell Group universities to study at Queen Mary, the most inclusive university of its kind.  

Through an 18-month programme of activities, we help students become more prepared for and successful in, higher education. Students who successfully complete the programme will not only have benefited from tailored academic and pastoral support but will benefit from consideration for a contextual offer to Queen Mary.

Advancing Access

In partnership with Advancing Access, a national collaboration of 24 universities, we support schools and colleges with CPD for teachers and advisers, with the aim of aiding progression to selective universities, particularly those from under-represented groups. Queen Mary is a member of the Advancing Access steering group, helping to inform the future direction of the partnership.

Realising opportunities

Via Realising Opportunities Queen Mary University jointly support over 1,500 participants per year to access the information, guidance and skills required to succeed at a research-intensive university. Through a shared commitment to change the dial on fair access, we aim to reduce the national gap in entry rates at higher-tariff providers between the most and least under-represented groups. The programme is underpinned by robust evaluation, undertaken by independent evaluators, ensuring a regular review against targets.

Global development

Queen Mary offers a range of courses supporting students’ understanding and facilitation of global development:

Queen Mary’s Legal Advice Centre

Our award winning Legal Advice Centre (LAC) provides free legal advice to members of our local community. Queen Mary is based in Tower Hamlets, one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in London, and many local residents do not have the means to access legal advice. The LAC is staffed by our students (supervised by staff) and is an integral part of our curriculum for law degree students, thereby providing hands-on experience for our students of working with clients, and a fantastic and very well-used service for the local community.

Without Borders

Affiliated with the international non-governmental and non-profit organisation ‘Lawyers Without Borders’, this student society focuses on improving access to justice, promoting human-rights awareness, and mobilising pro-bono legal activities. Through workshops, speaker events and collaboration with other student societies, it enables students to engage with real-world legal challenges and develop advocacy skills.

By strengthening student capacity and encouraging equitable legal access, the society contributes meaningfully to community engagement and inclusive professional pathways, promoting human rights across the world.

BL Friend of MSF Society

The BL Friends of MSF Society at Queen Mary supports Médecins Sans Frontières through student-led advocacy, fundraising, and awareness initiatives focused on humanitarian aid and global health equity. By engaging students in campaigns and events that highlight healthcare access in poverty-affected regions, the society fosters understanding of the links between poverty, inequality, and health outcomes. Its activities empower students to contribute to real-world relief efforts and promote social responsibility.

 

 

 

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