Applying for an education grant?
Hear from recent beneficiaries about their experience of receiving an education grant
Whether you are established in your nursing career or just starting out, we offer a range of education and professional development grants for nurses, midwives, healthcare support workers, and those aspiring towards a career in nursing.
We offer different types of grants to support your educational and professional development so that you can have a longer lasting impact on patient care. You do not need to be a member of the RCN to be eligible for an RCN Foundation grant.
For more information about our grants programme, including funding available and eligibility, visit here.
Open grants
To keep up to date and find out when our grants open, sign up to the RCN Foundation email newsletter.
Please note, a few applicants are seeing a ‘permissions error’ when trying to start their application. If you see an error message, please email a screenshot to grants@rcnfoundation.org.uk and our team will assist you.
We have one research grant open:
- The RCN Foundation LV= Quality Improvement Project: open to applications from nurses and midwives wishing to undertake a quality improvement project that improves patient care and safety. Funding of up to £2,500 available. Applications close at 5pm on 28 April 2025.
We currently have six education grants open, and each have different funding and eligibility criteria attached:
- RCN Foundation Leathersellers Foundation Grant for CYP nurses: open to non-mental health registered nurses working with children and young people who are experiencing challenges with their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Grants of up to £1,600 available.
- RCN Foundation LV= Education Grant: specific to healthcare support workers, nursing support workers, healthcare assistants, care home assistants and maternity support workers, with grants of up to £1,600 available to support with professional development.
- RCN Foundation Mair Scholarship: open to nurses working in occupational health in Scotland only. Grants of up to £500 available for continuous professional development.
- RCN Foundation Marcia Mackie and Rae Bequest Grants: eligible to nurses registered in the UK and working in Northern Ireland in any sector wanting to undertake a course or programme that will improve patient care and develop practice. Grants of up to £1,600 (Rae) and £1,000 (Marcia Mackie) available. Please note, there is no deadline for this grant.
- RCN Foundation Next Generation Grant: up to £1,000 available to support with living costs. This is open to graduates (in any discipline) wishing to become a nurse or midwife and direct entry nursing associate students undertaking a foundation degree. Please note: degree apprenticeship nursing students, degree apprenticeship midwifery students and foundation degree nursing associate apprenticeship are not eligible to apply.
- RCN Foundation Professional Bursary Scheme: grants of up to £1,600 available for continuous professional development. Open to UK registered nurses, midwives, healthcare support workers, nursing associates and maternity assistants.
Please note: once you start an application it will automatically save and you can return to complete it at any time, however once you reach section 9 you will no longer be able to go back to your application so please make sure you complete all sections before progressing to section 9.
Sign up to the RCN Foundation email newsletter.
Find out how an education grant from the RCN Foundation can help you and your patients:
Watch our education grants webinar for advice on how to apply or hear from our Head of Grants and Impact, Sarah McGloin, as she explains what makes a good application, including useful hints and tips.
