This scholarship is made possible by the support of an international alumnus, Chris K. Jones, who came to Northumbria from America as part of an exchange programme in the late 1980s. Chris has a passion for creative writing and entrepreneurship and valued his time at Northumbria so much that he now wishes to give something back and inspire others to follow their dreams.
The Chris K. Jones Scholarship will award two Undergraduate students studying either BA (Hons) English Literature and Creative Writing or BA (Hons) Business and Entrepreneurship at Level 4 (first year) on a Full-Time basis in September 2024 with £2,000 per year (to a total of £6,000) The award aims to enhance the overall learning and university experience.
Eligibility Criteria
Students who meet one of the following characteristics will be considered;
- You live in a neighbourhood with a low progression rate to Higher Education. Please use your main home address and not your term time address and use the Postcode Checker to check your neighbourhood progression rate
- You are a woman
- You are from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background
- You have declared a physical and/or mental health condition, long-term illness, or learning difference on your UCAS form**
*If your POLAR4 young participation quintile is identified as 1 or 2, you will be eligible to apply OR; After searching your postcode, click view detailed results and if your TUNDRA MSOA quintile is identified as 1 or 2, you will be eligible to apply (This only applies to applicants living in England)
**UCAS application data will be used to verify submitted information
The deadline to APPLY is 16:00 on Friday 25 October 2024.
Terms and Conditions
To be eligible for a Chris K. Jones Scholarship you must also:
- Be a UK/Home applicant - This includes students domiciled in Jersey, Guernsey, The Channel Islands, Ireland and Isle of Man
- Have enrolled to study on one of the eligible programmes mentioned above at Level 4 (first year) at the Newcastle Upon Tyne campus, starting in September 2024
- Be a self-funded student (ie. not in receipt of sponsorship or other funding for the payment of fees, such as employer funding)
- Applied for one or more elements of the Government Student Finance package (for example, Tuition Fee loan, Maintenance loan) in order for your application to be means-tested
- Registered with Student Finance England (SFE), Student Finance Wales (SFW) or Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI)
- As a Scottish student, registered with Student Award Agency for Scotland (SAAS) and apply to be means-tested for maintenance funding, in order that SASS can send your data to Student Finance England
- Agree to share consent via your Government Finance Provider with Northumbria University
Important Information
Applicants should also note:
- The student selected for a Chris K. Jones Scholarship will not be eligible for any other Undergraduate scholarships
- The scholarship is not open to current Level 5 (second year) or Level 6 (final year) students
- The scholarship is awarded as cash
- Payments will be made as 25% of total in November 2024, 25% of total in February 2025 and 50% of total in May 2025
- Funding is provided on an annual basis, on the condition the successful students progress to the next year of study
- *If you choose to undertake a placement year, the scholarship will not be paid in this year
- The successful student will be required to send a thank you letter to the donor
- Progress updates for the donor will be requested at the end of each academic year. Subsequent payments will not be made until these updates are received
- If you do not provide a thank you letter and progress updates to the donor, the scholarship may be withdrawn
- If you defer your place at Northumbria University before the scholarship has been paid, the scholarship offer will be withdrawn
- If you decide to leave your course after the scholarship payment has been made, the University will not make efforts to reclaim the amount
- The University's decision is final and cannot be challenged; there is no right of appeal
Selection Process
- There is a competitive selection process for this scholarship scheme. Applicants need to apply via online written application. In no more than 3000 characters; (500 words) - 'How will this Award support your aspirations to succeed in Higher Education?' - applications will be considered on the strength of response against a marking criteria.
- Applications close at 16:00 on Friday 25 October 2024
- We will let you know the outcome no later than Friday 01 November 2024
Read more about Chris K. Jones
Chris’ fascination with writing started as a boy when he could not get the vivid pictures out of his head onto paper because he couldn’t draw. But what he could do is describe what he saw and started writing them down. He enrolled in his first creative writing course where his teacher fostered his imagination and learned about telling stories and was selected for a Gifted and Talented program in creative writing. At University, Chris chose to study Accounting as his practical side won a hard-fought internal battle. But he never lost his love for writing and took writing courses wherever he could. During his time at Newcastle one of Chris’ projects was to write a continuation of Macbeth in Elizabethan English. After graduation his entrepreneurial roots took hold building several start-ups but all the while he would write whenever he could. Chris spent his days as the Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of a hyper-growth company and then nights writing plays, screen plays and stories. He won several screen writing contests including Best TV Pilot at the Satisfied Eye Film Festival in Surrey. After the sale of his company, on January 31st, 2020, he put his calculator down and picked up his pen and after a thirty-year career, to pursue his writing full time. In September 2020, Chris left New York for Barbados where he penned his debut novel Headcase and published the book March 2022. He has received several five-star reviews and won a gold medal from Literary Titans. Chris never gave up on his desire to be a writer. He credits his desire to bring his stories of overcoming trauma and mental health to the world as his motivating factor that kept him in a relentless pursuit to be a writer. Now he wants to share his good fortune with other young writers helping them on their way to pursing their dreams and bringing out their artist within to share their stories with the world.
Last updated: 25/09/2024
