In this series, we are going to look at the financial support available to athletes from different universities. Especially when following a sports career, it can be difficult to fund both studies and athletic pursuits. Therefore, many universities offer talented and promising student-athletes financial aid through scholarships. In this article, we are going to be looking at the University of Kent.

About

The University of Kent was established in 1956 and has gone on to be a leading UK university. The institution has been recognised for its teaching excellence and has been awarded gold in the teaching excellence framework. This is demonstrated by three of the university's subject areas ranking in the world's top 100.

It's not just the teaching that makes the university special. Kent has been recognised for publishing world-leading research – of which 97% has been judged to be of international quality. Whilst the research has been able to reach the international level, so has Kent’s campuses. The University has postgraduate centers based in Brussels, Athens, and Paris.

Facilities

As well as Kent's excellent array of societies and sports clubs, it also features excellent sporting facilities. Included are:

• Sports halls
• Indoor tennis courts
• Gyms
• Martial arts areas
• Dance and fitness studios
• Squash courts
• Artificial and natural football pitches
• Artificial rugby / hockey / lacrosse pitches
• Water sports: river, lake, and artificial facility

The University of Kent is also home to the library that hosts the British Cartoon Archive, which shows the history of British cartooning, extending to 200 years ago. The library features thousands of books and journals as well as giving students access to productivity tools such as; PCs, software, apps, and laptop loans. The library can be accessed 24 hours a day during key study time.

Scholarship

To be able to qualify for the scholarship, an athlete must compete at a national standard. To apply for the scholarships, students must go through an online form that will ask athletes to detail their current playing experience, teams they currently represent, a list of achievements, a link to competition footage, and two referees.

Both undergraduate and postgraduate students are able to apply for the scholarship. The university accepts any sport, provided the level they compete at is high enough to meet scholarship standards. International students are also welcome to apply, provided they are not completing a foundation year.

If selected for the scholarship, there is an expectation that athletes will represent and play for the University teams. In terms of the scholarship itself, athletes will be entitled to between £300 to £5000 per year. This is to cover things like the cost of equipment, training, nutrition, and any other sporting needs. Alongside the financial donation, the university offers scholarship holders access to sports science support, use of the university's facilities, fitness testing, and sports guidance.