SHU Progress is generally available to all undergraduate applicants with a Home fee status. We also support applicants from a refugee or asylum seeking background who are in the UK applying for undergraduate or postgraduate courses.

To join the scheme, you must meet one or more of the criteria below:

• You are a care leaver
  You have spent three or more months in local authority care while at school, from Year 10 onwards. You will also be 25 or younger when you start your course.
• You are estranged from both your parents
  Being estranged from your parents means you’re no longer in contact or on friendly terms with both of them. This would mean you are not supported by either of them, and this isn’t likely to change.
• You are care experienced
  You have had experience of care in the past, but do not fall into one of the above categories (care leaver, or estranged).
• You are a carer
  You care for a family member or friend which could be due to illness, disability, mental health condition or addiction. You may or may not be in receipt of carers allowance. Please note parental responsibilities do not automatically mean you have caring responsibilities, unless you are providing care for somebody with additional needs.
• You have a disability
  You have a disability which affects your everyday life. This could include learning difficulties like dyslexia and dyspraxia, mental health issues, or ongoing medical conditions.
• You have experienced circumstances which have affected or interrupted your L3 studies
  You have experienced a serious, recent event which was outside your control and has significantly affected or interrupted your level three studies (i.e. had a negative impact upon your ability to prepare for or take a level three assessment).
• You are experiencing financial difficulty or hardship
  You come from a household with an annual income of less than £25,000, or you are experiencing financial hardship which affects your choice of places to study.
• You are unable to move away from your home area to go to university
  You have circumstances that mean you need to be able to study close to home, these could include cultural reasons or family commitments.
• You are a mature student
  You are aged 21 or over and are returning to learning after a break. We can also support mature students wanting to return for postgraduate studies.
• You are homeless or risk of homelessness
  You may be homeless/risk of homelessness if you:
  • are sleeping rough
  • are staying in a hostel or night shelter
  • are staying with friends or family on a temporary basis
  • are forced to live apart from your family or someone you would normally live with because your accommodation isn't suitable
  • live in unsuitable housing
  • don't have rights to stay where you are

  If you are if you are homeless (or at risk of homelessness) and have no contact with your parents, we consider you to be estranged, see above criteria.

• You are from a refugee or asylum seeking background
  You are unable to remain in your home country due to trauma or persecution and cannot return for safety reasons.
• You are from a military family
  You are from an armed forces family and your parents/carers served in the armed forces during the first 25 years of your life.
• You are a military veteran or service leaver
  You have experience of serving in the armed forces.
• You are from a Black British Background
  Sheffield Hallam is working hard to increase the number of Black British students studying at our university and therefore we encourage Black British* people applying to the university to join our SHU Progress Scheme. To be eligible to take part in the scheme you will be:
  • a Black British person (either African descent, Black African-Caribbean, or another Black background or a Black British person with dual heritage).
  • paying ‘Home’ (UK student) fees.

There is no age restriction, and the scheme applies to all full-time undergraduate subjects.

If you feel a student needs additional support in applying to Hallam but they don’t fall in to one of these groups, such as a young person who you believe may have suffered from serious Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), then please contact us to discuss their circumstances.