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.
Our education grants open twice a year - in Spring (March-May) and Autumn (August-September).
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.
The below grants are currently open, and each have different funding and eligibility criteria attached:
- RCN Foundation Professional Bursary Scheme (PBS): 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. Thanks to additional funding from Camurus, there is specific funding available for nurses’ undertaking education in addiction, substance misuse and mental health care. We also have dedicated funding from the Fort Foundation to support the ongoing development of nursing staff in North East Lancashire (at either the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital or Burnley General Teaching Hospital)
- RCN Foundation Olufunke Adeyeye Education Grant: for registered nurses, midwives, healthcare support workers, maternity support workers and care workers from the Global Majority. Grants of up to £1,600 available to support them as they undertake further training and development
- RCN Foundation Welsh Scholarships: two new scholarships available for nurses in Wales (Hettie C Hopkins Geriatric Scholarship: for nurses supporting and working with older people in any sector and Alun Islwyn Nursing Scholarship: for nurses in all sectors). Both offer grants of up to £1,600 for continuous professional development
- RCN Foundation Into Nursing Grant: up to £1,000 available to graduates who have obtained a previous degree in any academic discipline and wish to pursue a nursing degree
- RCN Foundation Needlemakers Grant: for graduates who wish to retrain to become a nurse, with up to £1,000 per year, for up to two years (total up to £2,000), with continuation into year 2 dependent on academic progress. Applicants must hold a previous degree and demonstrate passion for nursing as well as healthcare experience. There will be a focus on applicants living or working in areas of high deprivation in London and the home counties to address local health inequalities however, applications from throughout the UK are also welcome
- Quality Improvement Grants for Sustainable and Greener Nursing and Midwifery Practice: developed by Salt of the Earth Community Foundation and LV= General Insurance, grants of up to £2,500 available to support projects that improve healthcare quality whilst reducing environmental impact. Open to UK registered nurses, midwives, nursing associates, health and support care workers 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.
Writing a successful grant application
Bally Dhaliwal, Grants Manager, and Michelle Legaspi, education grant recipient and Grant Reviewer, discuss what makes a good application, including useful hints and tips for potential applicants. Watch the video in full here.
