Fund your studies

Welcome to our quick guide to finding a part-time job while studying at the University of Edinburgh. Let's just start by considering the benefits of part-time work. One obvious benefit and a core reason students undertake part-time work is to earn money. But part-time work offers you so much more which can benefit you in both the short and longer term. Part-time work offers you the chance to build experience to support future career goals or to demonstrate to employers your capability of working in a professional setting. There is an example of this in the top picture where a student is working for the University's Centre for Research Collections, and this provides a great basis for a career in archives. While your part-time job may not directly relate to your future ambitions, the transferable skills you develop will be hugely valuable in your graduate career and very appealing to graduate employers. We see here a student working in a cafe. The communication skills and provision of excellent customer service provides a great demonstration of skills required in client-focused roles such as consultancy. For those with English as an additional language, this experience can offer a really great way to develop your English language skills outside of an academic environment. 

There can also be strong social benefits of having a part-time job. It can allow you to get to know students from outside of your course and friendship groups and also enable you to meet people from the wider Edinburgh city community. Edinburgh is a major city with a wide range of employers offering part time work. This graphic gives you just a few examples of the roles that we see regularly advertised to students. The Careers Service has a vacancy database called MyCareerHub, which students can use to search for part-time work. In some cases, using other sources such as local job sites, recruitment agencies, and a proactive approach can be successful. There's more detail on this on the Careers Service website. From there, you can also access application support, details on your rights at work, and specific advice for international students. Staying informed is important. These are a few points I wanted to highlight to you. If you are able to work during your studies, the University advises that you do not work for more than 15 hours if you are a full-time undergraduate or postgraduate student. PhD students are recommended to work for 9 hours or less per week. 

This is advised to ensure you are able to balance study with work, but everyone will differ in what they are able to manage. Do what's right for you. Ensure you are informed about your rights at work. Where you need additional help, the University can support and advocate for you. While the majority of students undertake part-time work without issue, we strongly advise that you take sensible precautions to safeguard yourself at work and to be alert to potential scam employers. Our online advice provides more detail on how to stay safe. A National Insurance number is required if you will be working in the UK. The Careers Service website provides more detail on how to apply for this. Finally, please do use our resources and ask for help from our friendly team.

Hello,  and  welcome  to  the  session on  funding  for  UK  students. My  name  is  Rona,  and I  work  at  the  Advice  Place. We  are  a  free,  impartial and  confidential  advice service  and  are  part  of Edinbgh  University  Students  Association. We  provide  a  range  of  advice  on topics  such  as  money  and  housing, as  well  as  university  processes like  complaints  and  appeals. In  this  session,  we'll  briefly  cover the  government  funding  available  from the  national  governments  of  the  UK  and the  scholarships  and other  funding  opportunities you  might  be  entitled  to. Finally, I'll  go  through  the  types  of  students  who may  be  able  to  claim  benefits whilst  they're  studying. So  in  Scotland, home  domiciled  students  can  apply  to SAS  to  have  their  tuition  fee paid  and  may  be  eligible  for  a  bursary. All  full  time  students  can apply  for  a  living  cost  loan, and  the  amount  you  receive is  dependent  on  your  household  income. Similarly,  England,  Wales,  and Northern  Ireland  provide maintenance  loans  to  students. But  a  tuition  fee  loan is  given  rather  than  a  grant. In  order  to  get  the most  funding  available  to  you, it's  important  to  allow  them to  assess  your  household  income. Your  household  income  will normally  be  the  income  of your  parents  or  parents  that  you live  with  if  you're  under  25, and  they  will  be  asked  to  complete a  form  to  declare  their  income. It's  usually  from  the  last  complete  tax  year, which  will  be  2022  to  2023. You're  over  25,  don't  have parents  are  restrained  from  your  parents, care  experienced  or  of  a  partner  or  children, the  way  you  are  assessed  will  be  different. The  advice  place  can  answer  any  questions you  have  about  the  funding you  might  be  able  to  receive. If  you  have  submitted  your  income to  SAS  or  Student  Finance, then  you  could  be  eligible to  receive  the  A  scholarship. So  the  access  scholarship is  a  scholarship provided  from  the  university. And  when  you  complete  your  application to  the  student  funding  body, you  need  to  tick  the  box  which states  share  information  with the  university  for  bursary  purposes  so that  the  university  are  made aware  of  your  household  income. If  your  household  income  falls below  the  required  threshold, you  should  receive  a  scholarship. University  will  normally  send  you an  email  around  the  end  of  September to  let  you  know  you're rewarded  and  when  they  will  make  payment. For  those  who  receive  student  finance, however,  Student  Finance, England,  that  letter  will  be uploaded  to  your  student  finance  portal. You  can  also  search  for scholarships  on  the  university  website, but  most  of  these  will  have  a  deadline that's  already  passed  as  they  need  to be  applied  for  before  you  start. As  well  as  this,  the  advice  Place  has an  extra  funding  page  which  lists further  places  to  search  for  support. For  those  students  who  experience financial  difficulty  during  their  studies, the  advice  Place  has  sorry, the  university  has  a  financial  support  fund. To  apply  to  this,  you will  need  to  provide  bank  statements, evidence  of  your  rent, evidence  of  the  funding  you  receive, and  any  other  things  that  may  be relevant  such  as benefit  payments  you  receive. So  some  students  might  be  eligible  for benefits  whilst  they  are  studying. The  main  benefit  you  can  apply to  would  be  universal  credit, which  can  top  up  your  income  even  if you  do  work  or  receive  student  funding. Most  full  time  students cannot  receive  this  benefit. However,  you  might  be able  to  get  it  if  you  study  part  time, if  you  have  children,  if you  live  with  a  non  student  partner, or  you  receive personal  independence  payment  or adult  disability  payment  in  Scotland, and  have  been  assessed  as  having limited  capability  for  work. Think  you  might  be  eligible, do  get  in  touch  with  us. And  there  is  our contact  details,  our  website. We  have  a  funding  section  on  our  website  has much  more  information  on  the topics  covered  in  this  video. And,  of  course,  you  can  get  in  touch  with us  at  any  time  if  you  have  questions.