What is DSA?
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is a grant you don’t need to repay.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is a grant you don’t need to repay.
It funds support that will help you succeed in Higher Education by breaking down the barriers you may otherwise have faced, whether they’re related to your studies, physical access, or wellbeing.
Although referred to as an ‘allowance,’ you won’t receive money directly (unless you are a student from Scotland). For students outside of Scotland, once your DSA is approved, funding is allocated to your chosen support providers. This removes the need for you to handle the administrative tasks of contacting, paying for, and collecting receipts for your allocated support.
If you have a disability, mental health condition, neurodiversity, chronic illness and/or learning difference, you may be able to access the DSA.
If you’re unsure if you might be eligible, check out our Eligibility FAQs.
Students often ask if it’s really worth them applying for the DSA. Let’s unpack some of the key reasons you might choose not to apply and why we’d recommend applying.
'I’ve got through my life so far without any help, so why would I need support now?'
Studying in higher education brings its own unique set of challenges, experiences and opportunities. Accessing Disabled Students’ Allowance is one such opportunity. Even if you’re confident in your ability to study and live independently, the DSA can expose you to new strategies and ways of working and learning that you might find beneficial.
'I don’t need the support as much as other people; I don’t want to take resources from those who might need them more.'
There’s enough funding to go around. Everyone is deserving of the support that will enable them to participate and thrive, no matter your disability or diagnosis.
'I don’t identify as disabled.'
Don’t let the fact that you don’t call yourself ‘disabled’ hold you back from applying; many different diagnoses and long-term conditions might make you eligible for DSA. Check out our FAQ for more information to help you work out if you might qualify.
The DSA funds a diverse range of support types, so you can access the support that feels most right for you.
The support is broken down into the following areas. Although terminology will differ for Scottish students, the nature of the support remains the same:
This can include ergonomic equipment and assistive technology (AT) that provides suitable technical solutions to help you study more efficiently. Technology includes hardware, like a laptop, and software, such as advanced spelling and grammar checkers.
Providing specialist one-to-one support from a qualified professional in one or more of the following fields:
Covers day-to-day stationery costs, such as:
This allowance helps with extra travel costs you may have to pay to get to university or college due to your disability or chronic illness. It can cover taxi fares or mileage costs to and from your home address to your university or college.
Many different factors affect whether or not you will be eligible for DSA. If you’re unsure about your eligibility, you can:
Even if you’re not eligible for DSA, you may be able to access support through a similar scheme. Contact the Disability Support Services at your prospective or current university or college to discuss what support may be available to you.
The most important thing is that you apply. This starts the process and lets your funding body know you’re interested in accessing the DSA.
After that, your funding body will guide you through the process, contacting you with information at each stage. Once you've accepted your place on a course, your university’s disability service will also happily guide you through the process.
The process itself is straightforward. We’ll break it down into four steps: apply, be assessed, receive confirmation, take up support.
Here’s an overview of the four stages: