Apply for up to £3,500 to support you while undertaking an international placement.

Launched in 2017, the Bath Spa Global Horizons Award was established to assist students wishing to embark on international placements, research or study trips that are related to their undergraduate degree course.

The Bath Spa Global Horizons Award is available for 2025/26.

If your application is successful, you will need to do the following once you have returned from your trip:

  • Submit all receipts
  • Submit a 1,500 word reflective piece

Criteria 

To be eligible for this award, you must be:

  • Currently enrolled on an undergraduate course as a full or part-time student at Bath Spa
  • Making use of the funding prior to 31 May in your final year of undergraduate studies
  • A home student whose country of domicile is within the UK
  • Using the funds to support a study, research, or work placement abroad of at least 10 days or more, which will have a direct impact on studies, research and/or career
  • Assessed by Student Finance as being from a household with an annual income of below £42,875. Students need to have applied for Student Finance for the academic year in which the mobility is to take place. When making your application to Student Finance, give consent for your household income details to be shared with Bath Spa. Your household income figure will then be automatically sent to the University and used to assess your eligibility for the award.

If you're uncertain if you fall under any of these categories, or you have any questions about this award, please contact our Go Global team by emailing BSUexchange@bathspa.ac.uk.

Please note:

  • Applications for retrospective funding will not be considered
  • The proposed travel should not begin within six weeks of the application deadline
  • Due to limited funding, once the funding from the stream two pot has been used up, we cannot supplement it with funding from stream one
  • Applications will close once funds are depleted, or at 9am on 1 July 2026, whichever occurs first.

Stream one is applicable to students whose annual household income is below £42,875 and whose postcode is either a Quintile 1 or Quintile 2 area, according to the POLAR/TUNDRA young participation classification. Check your postcode classification by following the link and clicking ‘search by postcode’.

Stream two is applicable to students on an undergraduate programme whose annual household income is below £42,875 and at least one of the following:

  • Disability declared to Bath Spa University
  • Disability with no DSA (Disabled Students’ Allowance)
  • Young adult carer
  • BME (black and minority ethnic) background
  • Parents not in higher education
  • Mature undergraduate (over 21 on September 30 on year of entry to Bath Spa University)
  • Non-private school background
  • Care leaver
  • Categorised by the Student Loan Company as estranged from parents
  • Armed Forces background
  • Who entered their undergraduate programme with vocational level 3 qualifications only (e.g. BTEC/Access to Higher Education Diploma)
  • Have refugee status in the UK.

Successful recipients of the Global Horizons Award will be subject to the following conditions:

  • Awards must be used for the purposes stated in your application form.
  • If, by reason of any emergency or other circumstance, the Award holder is unable to complete the project, they will be required to refund all or part of the Award as may be considered reasonable in all the circumstances.
  • Recipients may be publicised on the University website and in the media; recipients will be expected to provide appropriate feedback (reports, blog posts, pictures and/or videos) to support this.
  • Recipients must supply the Go Global team with a reflective piece of writing on how the funding has supported their academic studies and will help their future career. This information will be used in literature to promote the value of, and provide feedback, to those who support the fund and the University.
  • Recipients must provide the Go Global team with receipts for the mobility to cover up to the value of the Award given. Any funding for which no receipt or proof of payment is produced must be repaid to the University.
  • Recipients may be interviewed by the press office and/or be invited to attend events with donors who support the fund, partners in the project, other successful recipients and the wider University community, allowing discussion about the projects that have been carried out.
  • Recognition of the award should be made wherever possible. Wording such as 'Supported by Bath Spa University Global Horizons Award' would suffice, but please contact us if you need assistance.
  • This award is only available to students studying at Newton Park, Locksbrook and Bath Spa London campuses.

How to apply

Please apply by using the online application form on the AppHub (student login required). Select the 'Scholarship Applications' menu, then choose ‘BSU funds for International Travel’ from the Add Application drop down menu.

Please be aware that this is a shared application process with BSU’s International Travel Fund and Turing Global Placement Scheme. Applicants indicate their preferred fund when applying but will be assessed for all. If successful, only the most appropriate fund will be offered.

We recommend you access the application form in advance to check what is needed.

Applicants should be aware that the application requirements include:

  • A named referee. This must be your BSU tutor, course leader or other appropriate BSU staff member who can act as a referee to support your application. Before applying, you should discuss your plans with them and seek their agreement to act as your referee.
  • A supporting statement. In approx. 500 words, you should include a statement that describes what activities you will be undertaking during the trip and how these will benefit your current studies and future career plans.
  • Supporting documentation. Evidence to support the costs outlined in your application should be added to the online application as attachments.

Please ensure that you read the award Terms and Conditions, and that all sections of the form are fully completed before submission.