Student Success Fund

UCL staff can bid for up to £10,000 to fund intervention projects. Deadline to apply: 5 August

About the Fund

UCL Departments can apply to fund intervention projects to enable the academic success, retention and continuation of underrepresented UK domiciled students. 

The Student Success team will provide financial support at three stages:  

Seed (up to £1000)

You have an idea which could improve the experiences of our student groups and can see the need for this intervention at an institutional level. Funding can be used for mapping and discovery e.g. student focus groups, support with data analysis, etc. 

Sprout (up to £5000)

You have started to make a difference, have evidence of initial success, and need funding to pilot this as a structured, scalable project. Funding can be used to buy out staff-time, cover capital costs such as equipment, etc. 

Grow (up to £10000)

You have been working on an intervention project for a sustained period of time and would like to scale it, perhaps in a different department or faculty. Funding can be used to buy out staff time, cover capital costs, or to hire external experts. Scale projects must show how interventions can be embedded in the department or faculty once funding ends.  

Funded projects will focus on applied interventions that are student centred with measurable outcomes focused on the following aims: 

• Create learning environments that acknowledge, validate, and celebrate our diverse student body  
• Create inclusive culture, policies, and operations  
• Establish an equitable approach to student support and co-curricular provision  
• Encourage varied forms of success that value our students’ strengths  

Projects should be evidence-based, scalable and seek to embed material change for the benefit of future students. As well as academic success, retention and continuation, projects should focus on culture change that will increase feelings of belonging for, and amplify voices of, underrepresented students at UCL. 

Who should projects aim to support?   

Projects and interventions must be aimed at increasing equity for the following UK-domiciled undergraduate student groups:  

• The Access UCL cohort   
• Care experienced and estranged students   
• Mature students   
• Disabled students 
• Black, Asian and minority ethnic students   

Previous examples include:  

• Centre for Engineering Education: Transition support for mature students of the Engineering Foundation Year. 

• Disability, Mental Health and Wellbeing: A scalable train the trainer model: in collaboration with Disability Rights UK, Disabled Students Network and Student Support and Wellbeing.  

• School of Management: Equitable student support for the BSc Information Management for Business students.  

How do I submit a proposal?  

Please download and read through our Student Success Fund guidance before filling out the proposal form. The guidance contains frequently asked questions and details of the support the Student Success Office can offer you. It has been updated for the 2023-24 academic year. Once you have read through the guidance, please fill in our proposal form and send it to smss.studentsuccess@ucl.ac.uk.  

Download application form (Word)
  Download application guidance (Word)