About the fund

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The Scholarship:

Nationwide Building Society is providing scholarships of £4,200 per year to students who will be starting an undergraduate degree related to financial services (e.g., Accounting & Finance, Business, Communications, Computing & Technology, Humanities, Law, Marketing & Management, Mathematics, Psychology, and Social Sciences) in Autumn 2026. The scholarship is to be used to support students towards their cost of living, study materials, and maintenance.

Scholars may access work-based opportunities at Nationwide during their degree course. Giving them exposure to financial services and setting them up for the world of work.

Requirements:
To be considered for the Nationwide Building Society scholarship, applicants must:

• Have the right to work in the UK
• Meet the social mobility requirements for the programme
• This is that you have been eligible for free school meals during your school years (must have finished school after 1980)
• Be enrolling on a 3-year degree in one of the following subject areas:
• Accounting & Finance
• Business
• Communications
• Computing & Technology
• Humanities
• Law Related Degree
• Marketing & Management
• Mathematics
• Psychology
• Social Sciences
• You are not eligible for the scholarship if you or a member of your household is currently or a former Nationwide Building Society employee

How to apply

The Nationwide Scholarship application process is divided into two parts. The first step is completing your application on Blackbullion’s website. If you meet the eligibility requirements, Nationwide will share a link inviting you to complete an online assessment (personality questionnaire) designed to help us understand your working style and behaviours. There are no right or wrong answers; what matters most is that you respond honestly.

What to Expect:

• All applicants must complete the online application form on Blackbullion
• Shortlisted applicants will then be asked to complete an online assessment
• Applicants who successfully complete the online assessment will be invited for interview
• If offered a scholarship, students will be required to successfully complete Nationwide’s background vetting checks

Only applicants who successfully complete both parts of the process will be considered for the scholarship. Good luck!

For tips from the Nationwide team, check out their application guidance page for expert advice on submitting a strong application!

Timelines:

• Applications open: 24 April 2026
• Applications close: Week 01 May 2026
• The application window may change due to demand
• Shortlisted applicants will be invited to take an online assessment. Candidates who successfully pass the online assessment will be notified and invited to a final interview stage
• Successful student notified:By 01st September 2026

Why is Nationwide offering a Scholarship:

Social mobility is the link between a person’s occupation or income and the occupation or income of their parents. Research shows that someone’s socio- economic background (e.g. where they grew up, social class, the financial resources of their family, the type of school they attended, etc) can affect their career opportunities.

Research shows there is underrepresentation of people from working class backgrounds in Financial Services. We believe this scholarship programme will help contribute to addressing this and give individuals who may not have considered a career in financial services a high-quality experience and open up opportunity.

Please note that successful applicants may only accept one scholarship and cannot receive multiple awards

Eligibility criteria

This fund is only available to people in the categories listed below. Please do not apply if you are not in one of these.