The Student Experience Grant supports extra-curricular activities which aim to enhance the student experience both on and off campus. We encourage applications where the number of students who benefit is as large as possible. Typically grants range from £500 - £1,000, although grants of up to £3,000 will be considered.

In the past the grant has been used to fund equipment for some of the societies here at the Student Union, such as UWE’s Paintballing, Polo, and Pole Dancing societies, increasing the capacity of each of their events and activities.

In 2023/24, the grant was used by UWE’s British Sign Language Society to fund a BSL course for over 240 student nurses, paramedics, midwives, radiographers, optometrists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.

In 2019 the grant was used to open the zero-waste section in the U Block shop on Frenchay Campus, The shop offers a plastic-free shopping experience for a number of household items. Students are invited to bring their own containers, jars or cloth bags to the shop to fill them with food or household liquids. October marked 6 years since the zero-waste section was created and it is still used daily by the UWE community, showcasing the impact the UWE Student Experience Grant can have.

Eligibility

Applications must fulfil the following criteria:

• be submitted by a current UWE Bristol student
• enhance the student experience focussing on extra-curricular activities and services 
• benefit students’ extra-curricular activities, academic studies or career prospects
• demonstrate financial need and the difference receiving funding will make 
• impact on the wider student community (a minimum of 15 students) 
• utilise the full funding with the academic year.

We actively encourage applications which:

• widen access to higher education
• look after the welfare of students
• demonstrate how the project will contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 
• are financially sustainable and will leave a legacy
• are start-up initiatives or new activities which will become self-funding or achieve alternative funding or support in the future
• create or improve links with the local community
• promote UWE Bristol on a national and/or international scale
• substantially benefit a large number of students or the University as a whole, rather than a smaller group.

We do not fund:

• projects which have already taken place
• projects that provide funding for a single student to undertake activities or acquire resources (including PhD studentships)
• social events (eg end of year dinners)
• the setting up of new student business, or projects where students will receive personal financial gain, which do not directly impact a larger number of UWE students
• projects not linked to the UWE Bristol 
• staff posts or staffing costs (but we will consider external speaker fees and travel expenses for events).

The 2025/2026 fund is now open for applications until Friday 28 November 2025.

For any queries, please contact sucommunity@uwe.ac.uk.