Your Brighton Boost 2027

Brighton Boost helps eligible students make the best possible start at university, with funding and support worth up to £1,000.

Going to university is a great investment, but managing the cost requires planning. Brighton Boost is here to help with the cost of living and provide university services that make everyday things that little bit easier throughout your time here. Depending on your circumstances, if you apply to Brighton, make us your firm choice and start your course in September 2027, you could get support from Brighton Boost towards first-year study, accommodation or travel costs.

Got a question?

Our friendly enquiries team is ready and waiting to help you. Call us on 01273 644644.

Be sure to also check out our scholarships, bursaries and all the benefits and resources covered by your tuition fee at Brighton, what extras to budget for, support you can call on when you need it, how to boost your income with great student employment opportunities and how our flexible, personalised approach to admissions can work for you.

If you’re an international student, find out what financial support is available to you.

£2.4m+

in Brighton Boost halls and travel support has been provided to eligible students across 2024 and 2025, helping with the costs of starting university to those who need it most.

1,700+

eligible students have received Brighton Boost halls support, with over 4 in 10students in halls receiving support this year.

900+

eligible students have received Brighton Boost commuter support, helping with the cost of getting to campus and making the most of student life at Brighton.

The Brighton Boost 2027

Check your postcode to find out what you could get

£1,000 help with halls costs

Overview

If your household income is under £25,000, or you currently live in an eligible English postcode you could receive Boost support worth up to £1,000 to help with the cost of University of Brighton halls. You may also be eligible for University of Brighton bursaries and other support in your first and subsequent years of study.

Mithras Halls interior with three students chatting

How it works

The Brighton Boost for halls is worth up to £1,000.

You will receive your Boost in the form of a reduction to your second and final rent payments. We will confirm details with you during the first term.

University of Brighton halls rents are paid in three installments in October 2027, and January and April 2028.

You do not need to make a separate application to be considered for Brighton Boost. We will assess your eligibility based on information you have provided during your application to the university and online registration. Once you have started your course, we will email you by the end of November to confirm whether you are eligible to receive Brighton Boost funding.

Who is eligible

Students who are eligible for a University of Brighton bursary and/or
Students who are starting the first year of a full-time undergraduate course at the University of Brighton in September 2027 whose home address is in an English IMD Q1, 2 or 3 postcode area*.
You also need to:
be classed as a home student for tuition fee purposes and paying the standard regulated fee which is currently £9,790 a year
be studying for your first undergraduate degree
firmly accept your course offer by the specified deadline.

University of Brighton bursary + Boost

If you are living in University of Brighton-managed halls and you are eligible for the University of Brighton bursary you will receive support of up to £1,500 in the first year of study. This is made up of a rent reduction worth up to £1,000 and a £500 cash bursary. You will also receive the £500 bursary in each subsequent year of full-time study.

University of Brighton Care leaver and Estranged student bursaries + Boost

If you are living in University of Brighton-managed halls and you are eligible for the University of Brighton Care leaver or Estranged student bursary you will receive support of up to £2,000 in the first year of study. This is made up of a rent reduction of up to £1,000 and a £1,000 cash bursary. You will also receive the £1,000 bursary in each subsequent year of full-time study.

*IMD Q1, 2 and 3 postcodes – these are neighbourhoods where historically not as many people go to university. We use the latest postcode data released in 2025.

Up to £1,000 towards travel costs

Overview

Eligible students who are not living in University of Brighton-managed halls can get help with their first-year travel costs through Boost. You could receive either £500, £700 or £1,000 depending on where you live and the length of your daily journey to study.

You are free to use your Boost support to fund your preferred form of transport, but the best way to make our help go further is by combining it with student discounts offered by the Unizone train ticket, TFL 18+ Student Oyster scheme and local bus companies*.

25 bus with the destination: Universities

How it works

Eligible students who are starting full-time undergraduate courses in 2027, who are not living in halls and who are travelling more than 30 miles from their term-time address to study are eligible for up to £1,000 to help them meet first year travel costs.

£700 is available for eligible students living between 15-30 miles from university and eligible students living within 15 miles of campus receive £500.

You will receive the Travel Boost in the autumn term after you have completed registration.

Who is eligible

Students who are eligible for a University of Brighton bursary and/or
Students who are starting the first year of a full-time undergraduate course at the University of Brighton in September 2027 whose home address is in an English IMD Q1, 2 or 3 postcode area*.
You also need to:
- be classed as a home student for tuition fee purposes and paying the standard regulated fee which is currently £9,790 a year
- be studying for your first undergraduate degree
- firmly accept your course offer by the specified deadline

Local students - Brighton

We define students who are not living in halls and who are living between 1–15 miles from their campus of study in Brighton as local students.

If you’re a local student starting a full-time undergraduate course in 2027 and you live in an English IMD Q1, Q2 or Q3 postcode, you can receive £500 to help with your first-year travel costs.

University of Brighton bursary + Boost

If you are a local student receiving the Travel Boost and you are eligible for the University of Brighton bursary, you will receive total support of £1,000 in the first year of study. This is made up of £500 support for travel costs and a £500 bursary. You will also receive the £500 bursary in each subsequent year of full-time study.

University of Brighton Care leaver and Estranged student bursaries + Boost

If you are a local student receiving the Travel Boost and you are eligible for the University of Brighton Care leaver or Estranged student bursary you will receive total support of £1,500 in the first year of study and a £1,000 bursary in each subsequent year of full-time study.

Find out more about student travel options.

Commuting students – travelling to Brighton

We define students who are not living in halls and who are travelling over 15 miles to their campus of study in Brighton as commuter students.

If you’re a commuting student, living more than 30 miles from campus in an English IMD Q1, Q2 or Q3 postcode and you are starting a full-time undergraduate course in 2027 you can receive £1,000 to help with your first-year travel costs.

If you’re a commuting student, living between 15-30 miles from campus in an English IMD Q1, Q2 or Q3 postcode and you are starting a full-time undergraduate course in 2026 you can receive £700 to help with your first-year travel costs.

University of Brighton bursary + Boost

If you are a commuting student receiving the Travel Boost and you are eligible for the University of Brighton bursary, you will receive total travel and bursary support of either £1,500 or £1,200 in the first year of study and a £500 bursary in each subsequent year of full-time study.

University of Brighton Care leaver and Estranged student bursaries + Boost

If you are a commuting student receiving the Travel Boost and you are eligible for the University of Brighton Care leaver or Estranged student bursary you will receive total support of either £2,000 or £1,700 in the first year of study and a £1,000 bursary in each subsequent year of full-time study.

Find out more about student travel options.

Living in halls

Our Boost support with travel costs is for eligible students travelling from their term-time address to university each day. It is not payable to students living in halls.

If you are living in university halls, you may be eligible for our help with halls rent costs.

Our halls are either on or very close to our campuses in Brighton. They all have excellent public transport links and, depending on your circumstances, you could be eligible for a campus parking e-permit.

Extra support available at Brighton

BSU Essentials

BSU Essentials is a brilliant Brighton Students’ Union initiative. BSU Essentials helps make sure that every Brighton student can access free grocery and household essentials if you need them, so you can focus on what really matters – your studies and making the most of your uni life.

Find out more about BSU Essentials

Brighton Student Jobs Hub

Our Student Jobs Hub can connect you with flexible employment opportunities across the university and with local employers – and you can sign up before you start your course.

Options on campus include regular part-time work in our libraries, sports centres and cafes, project work in different university departments and representing the university as a student ambassador. You could earn over £80 for helping at an open day, for example. We can also connect you with hundreds more part-time jobs with local employers in Brighton and beyond.

Find out more about the Student Jobs Hub

Free technology loan scheme

If you don’t have access to a suitable computer, or your personal laptop breaks down, we can lend you one for free for up to a month.

There are also over 2,500 PC and Mac workstations on our campuses and a range of media production facilities which are free for you to use.

Additional support

We have a lot of resources to help you out, including:

What’s included in your tuition fee
Student budgeting guide
Our flexible and contextual admissions policy
Financial support for international students.

Free student parking on campus

Overview

If you are not in living halls and your term-time address is 30 miles from campus or more than 45 minutes away by public transport, you can apply for a free campus parking e-permit to help make your journey to uni easier.

All Blue badge holders, students with health issues, caring and childcare responsibilities, and students living in halls who need a car to attend placement are also eligible for a campus e-permit and free student parking.

How it works

Everyone needs to have an e-permit before parking on campus. There are no parking charges for student e-permit holders.

If you are eligible you can apply for a permit after you have enrolled online in August.

Who is eligible

Students whose term-time address is 30 miles or more from campus
Students whose address is more than 45 minutes away by public transport
Students whose term-time address is under 45 minutes away but whose journey involves two modes of transport, e.g. bus and train
Students who live nearer to the university and who meet one or more of the following criteria are also eligible:
- blue badge holders/students with health issues (you will need to show us a letter from a medical professional)
- students with unpaid caring and childcare responsibilities for family or friends who cannot cope without their support
- students living in halls who need a car to attend placement
- students who can demonstrate their home or caring responsibilities cannot be met without access to campus parking.

Boost FAQ

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Postgraduate students are not eligible for Boost support with halls or travel costs but do receive all the other elements of Brighton Boost including free campus parking, the free technology loan scheme, BSU essentials and the student job hub. Postgraduate students may be eligible for a range of scholarship and other support. Brighton students who go on to eligible postgraduate courses receive a 20% alumni discount on their tuition fees.
Your fee status is assessed by the university based on your nationality, UK immigration status, and country of residence before your course start date.

You are likely to have Home tuition fee status if you are a British or Irish national citizen (or have a permanent right to live in the UK) and have lived in the UK for the three years before your course starts. For independent information and advice re: eligibility to pay the home rate of tuition fee, please visit www.ukcisa.org.uk
IMD stands for the Index of Multiple Deprivation. This is a UK government measure used to classify postcodes in England based on factors which include income, employment, education, housing, and crime rate.

IMD rankings range from 1 to 5 quintiles (sometimes extended to 10 deciles), where typically IMD quintile 1 indicates higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and quintile 5 indicates comparatively lower levels of disadvantage.

The University of Brighton uses this classification to target additional support for eligible students living in English postcodes only.
Our postcode checker uses the postcode you entered—which should be the one you’re using for your Student Finance England application—to confirm IMD quintile.

Once we determine your IMD quintile, we can show you what support you could qualify for at Brighton. This could include a reduced grade offer and financial help with accommodation, travel and study costs.
Students living in IMD Q1-3 postcodes outside England are not currently eligible for our financial support with halls and travel costs.

You may still qualify for certain elements of Brighton Boost and a reduced grade offer through our contextual admissions policy. You may also be eligible for maintenance grants and bursaries from your national student finance agency.

We consider every application individually and we would encourage you to provide information about any challenges you’ve faced that fall outside our standard contextual criteria in your application.
If you live in an eligible postcode and your household income is under £25,000, you may qualify for support from Brighton Boost in your first year and additional support in your first and subsequent years of study through the Brighton bursary.

The Brighton bursary provides £500 in each year of full-time study to eligible students.

We verify your household income and your bursary eligibility after we receive your official student finance information, this is usually in the first term.

*Terms, conditions and other important information

Postcode checker and government data

Our postcode checker tool uses the English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data supplied by gov.uk.

IMD categorises English postcodes according to various measures of socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage.

The classification of postcodes, and therefore your eligibility for support, may change.

We use the latest data available, released in 2025.

Eligibility and assessment

Offers of financial support or contextual admission are subject to confirmation of your eligibility as part of your official application.

We will make final checks on your household income and official postcode data after receiving information from Student Finance England (SFE) and/or other relevant bodies.

If there are discrepancies in the information provided, your offer or eligibility for bursaries and other support may change.

Costs and funding

Your tuition fee covers all teaching, access to a wide range of university services and other core resources.

Additional financial support is available for students on certain courses or in specific circumstances – for example, there are grants for students on NHS-funded courses and students with dependents as well as bursaries for students with lower household incomes. 

You will need to budget for living and study expenses which could include course materials, travel and accommodation.

See our Fees and financial support pages for full details.

Updates and changes

The information on this page, including eligibility rules and benefits, is accurate as of the time of publication. The University of Brighton reserves the right to amend or withdraw any offer or financial support at any time if it is deemed necessary or required by changes in government policy or regulations.

If you have any questions about your eligibility or the benefits detailed here, please email boost@brighton.ac.uk for clarification.

The university reviews the financial support provided to our students each year. Funding that is advertised for the current academic year cannot be guaranteed for future students.