Deaf Education bursaries

Bursaries are available to eligible applicants to our MSc Deaf Education course.

  1. Birkdale Bursary
  2. The Lawrence Werth Bursary for Teachers of the Deaf
  3. PGDip bursary for home students

1. Birkdale Bursary

The Birkdale Trust for Hearing Impaired Ltd is pleased to offer student bursaries of £3,000 (the Birkdale Bursary) for up to four individuals per year enrolling on the PGDip courses to become qualified Teachers of the Deaf at The University of Manchester.

The vision for the Birkdale Bursary is to create new Teachers of the Deaf to ensure continuing specialised education for future generations of deaf children, enabling them to fulfil their potential.

Birkdale School

Eligibility criteria

The Birkdale Bursary is looking to attract students who have a passion for deaf education and can demonstrate the following criteria.

Applicants must:

  • Be a qualified teacher, qualified to teach in the UK and resident in the UK.
  • Have a commitment to raising standards in deaf education and the drive to achieve this.
  • Be committed to entering the profession and ensuring ongoing specialist provision for deaf children in the UK.
  • Have an unconditional offer of a place on the Teacher of the Deaf training programme at Manchester (PGDip).
  • Have qualified as a teacher in the UK after 1 September 2010.

Applicants must not:

  • Be a teacher already employed on a permanent contract as a Teacher of the Deaf.
  • Be in receipt of another source of training funding (such as Local Authority funding or the Con Powell Scholarship).
  • Have previously undertaken training on an MQ Deaf Education programme in any institution and failed to complete it.

How to apply

Applications must be made in writing and be no more than 800 words in length.

Please apply using a Word document in standard font outlining how you meet the above criteria. Please also include your name, address, telephone number and email address.

The deadline for application is Friday 17 May 2024 at 12pm. Applications should be emailed to lindsey.jones@manchester.ac.uk. You will receive an email confirming receipt.

All applications will be considered by a panel. The panel’s decision on awards is final. There is no process of appeal against the decision.

More information about the Birkdale Bursary

Becoming a recipient of the Birkdale Bursary

Successful applicants must begin the programme in September of the awarding year. It is not possible to defer the award to future years. Up to four bursaries each year will be awarded.

The bursary can be applied to any mode of study (such as part-time or full-time), but only one bursary of £3,000 can be awarded per student, and this will be deducted from the overall fees.

If another form of bursary is secured by the applicant after confirmation of the Birkdale Bursary, the student must contact Helen Chilton, Programme Director, to rescind the Birkdale bursary.

Your commitment as a recipient of the Birkdale Bursary

As part of the ongoing relationship with the Trust, we expect that award holders update the panel as to their progress and learning at regular intervals.

Recipients will be required to submit an introductory profile and an end-of-year report – both will be shared with the Trust.

Award holders are expected to be ambassadors for the Birkdale Bursary and The University of Manchester. This arrangement is quite flexible so that we can make the best use of your skills and opportunities, but it may include some of the following examples.

  • Writing a blog to enable others to understand more about training as a Teacher of the Deaf.
  • Supporting future learners once qualified (for example allowing a trainee to shadow or visit a teaching setting).
  • Providing some training about the role of a Teacher of the Deaf to a mainstream school, initial teacher training provider or other parties.
  • Making a video to help mainstream teachers understand more about the role of a Teacher of the Deaf.
  • Writing a BATOD article about your experiences in training.
  • Your own ideas! We really want to secure the field for the future and encourage those with the potential to be outstanding Qualified Teachers of the Deaf to apply.

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2. The Lawrence Werth Bursary for Teachers of the Deaf

The University of Manchester is pleased to offer student bursaries of £3,000 for up to two individuals per year enrolling on the MSc/PGDip Deaf Education course.

The bursaries are in memory of Lawrence Werth, who was a respected figure in the international audiology industry. Our course is the oldest deaf education course in the UK, and is at a university that has been developing expertise in this area for nearly 100 years, so it is fitting to be able to offer this bursary scheme in memory of such an iconic figure in UK audiology.

The bursary can be applied to any mode of study (part-time or full-time), but only one bursary of £3,000 can be awarded per student, and this will be deducted from the overall fees. If you secure another form of bursary after confirmation of the Lawrence Werth Bursary, you must contact the Deaf Education course leader to rescind the Lawrence Werth Bursary.

Eligibility criteria

The University is looking to attract students who have a passion for deaf education and can demonstrate the following criteria.

Applicants must:

  • Be a qualified teacher and qualified to teach in the UK.
  • Demonstrate exceptional classroom practice.
  • Have a commitment to raising standards in deaf education and the drive to achieve this.
  • Have an unconditional offer of a place on the Teacher of the Deaf training programme at Manchester (PGDip/MSc Deaf Education).
  • Begin the programme the September after the award is offered. It is not possible to defer the award to future years.

Applicants must not:

  • Be a teacher already employed on a permanent contract as a Teacher of the Deaf.
  • Be in receipt of another significant source of funding (e.g. Local Authority funding or Con Powell Scholarship).
  • Have previously undertaken training on an MQ Deaf Education programme and failed to complete it.

How to apply

Applications must be made in writing and be no more than 800 words in length. Please apply using a Word document in standard font, stating your name, address, mobile and email address.

The deadline for applications is 12pm on Friday 17 May 2024.

The Word document should be sent by email to lindsey.jones@manchester.ac.uk. You will receive an email confirming receipt.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a remote interview over Zoom.

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3. PGDip bursary for home students

All PGDip home students for 2024 entry will receive a £400 bursary to be discounted from the fee.

After the bursary is applied, the PGDip fees will be as follows:

  • Full-time PGDip: £8,400 
  • Part-time PGDip: £4,000 in Year 1, £4,400 in Year 2