King’s College London (KCL) announced an increase to the King’s Living Bursary from a maximum award of £1,600 per academic year in 2024/25 to £2,000 per academic year in 2025/26 for new undergraduate students who begin their studies this year.
The award remains at a maximum of £1,600 for continuing undergraduate students who started their studies in 2024/25 or earlier.
Undergraduate students with a household income of £25,000 or below, as assessed by Student Finance England (SFE) or its devolved nation equivalents, are eligible for the full award – £2,000 for new students and £1,600 for continuing students who began their studies in 2024/25 or earlier.
While this represents a significant increase in the bursary for new students from low-income households, the bursary remains significantly lower than those offered by other London universities such as Imperial College London (Imperial) and University College London (UCL).
Among London universities, Imperial offers the most generous bursary, awarding £5,000 per year to undergraduate students with a household income of under £16,000.
This means that two siblings raised in the same household could receive significantly different levels of financial support – with one attending Imperial potentially receiving £3,400 more in bursaries than the other, studying at KCL, simply due to their choice of university.
At Imperial, undergraduate students with a household income between £16,001 and £50,000 receive £4,400 per year, with support extending up to £70,000 in income, albeit at reduced amounts.
In contrast, the King’s Living Bursary will offer new undergraduate students in 2025/26 between £1,600 to £2,000 annually to students with household incomes up to £42,875.
While UCL offers a larger bursary to students from the lowest-income households, KCL provides more generous financial aid to those in higher income brackets.
King’s has faced criticism over the restrictive eligibility criteria for its Living Bursary. Access to the King’s Affordable Accommodation Scheme (KAAS) – which offers reduced rent in King’s Residences – is also determined by the same criteria.
A recent KCLSU campaign has reignited attention to these concerns, prompting the launch of the ‘Halls for All’ campaign.
Currently, students with a household income above £42,875 do not qualify for the King’s Living Bursary or KAAS, regardless of whether the level of active financial support they receive from their family.
Since maintenance loans are assessed on the basis of the household’s income in the previous year, students whose parents face unforeseen circumstances, such as redundancy, can be left with a significant financial shortfall.
A student who previously spoke to Roar for an investigation into housing insecurity said that working three days a week to cover rent and other household outgoings took a severe toll on their health, despite appearing to manage.
They told Roar, “Working until past midnight and then going to a 9am isn’t normal, nor should it be normalised.”
King’s spent around £7.42 million on the Living Bursary in the academic year 2024/25, according to figures obtained by Roar through a Freedom of Information request in March, awarding bursaries to 4,789 students.
Newly-elected KCLSU Vice-President Welfare & Community Fatima Hire told Roar:
“I’m really encouraged by the uplift in the Living Bursary. It’s a welcome step, especially in light of KCLSU’s Halls for All campaign, which has always pushed for fairer access to housing and more support for students during the cost-of-living crisis.”
Fatima continued, “However, the income threshold for bursaries hasn’t been updated for inflation in over a decade, leaving hundreds – if not thousands – of students who once qualified now ineligible. As a priority, we’ll keep working towards equitable housing and cost-of-living support for students.”
“There’s still work to do, but this increase shows that sustained student pressure can and does make a difference,” she added.
A spokesperson for KCL told Roar the University works with KCLSU to address living costs and has “increase[d] the amount of accommodation… as part of the King’s Affordable Accommodation Scheme to 23%.”
They added that the King’s Living Bursary “supports around 5000 students yearly”, with a focus on supporting students from widening participation backgrounds with other targeted bursaries.
Students need not apply for the Living Bursary and will be contacted by King’s if they meet the criteria, based on the assessment by SFE or its devolved nation equivalents.
