The Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is a government-funded scheme that provides additional support to disabled students to enable full participation in higher education. The grant is available to pay for the additional costs of studying that cannot be met through reasonable adjustments provided by the university, as advised on the official DSA webpages.

DSA can be used to help pay for specialist equipment and software, as well as non-medical helpers such as one-to-one study skills support tutors, specialist mentors, sign language interpreters etc. It may also provide a general allowance for printing costs and travel costs. The DSA is not intended cover living costs, care costs or tuition fees, so it is worth exploring other opportunities for financial support. 

You can apply for the DSA from the February of year when you will be starting your course.

Eligibility Requirements

• have a disability, long term medical condition or learning difference (e.g dyslexia) that impacts on your ability to access your course;
• are a home domiciled student;
• are on a full time undergraduate or post graduate course;
• are on a part time course that is not less than 25% of the full time course equivalent;
• are on a course that lasts at least a year

Funding Bodies

Different funding bodies may have specific information or requirements to them. Follow the links below to find information about DSAs by the different funding bodies:

• Student Finance England
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland
• Student Finance Northern Ireland – Disability Support
• Research Council: If you are funded by a Research Council, please contact Disability Support & Inclusion for support with applying.
  
• NHS Bursary: if you are funded by the NHS, you will first need to apply for a student bursary via your BOSS (Bursary Online Support System) account. Once you have done so, you can apply for DSA online also via BOSS.