Santander Career Support Award 2025-26
Terms & Conditions
Overview
The Santander Career Support Award 2025/26 is a new initiative designed to support students to develop skills, attributes and experiences that will help them to progress into their chosen careers. A contribution of £250 towards the cost of in person or online recruitment, work experience and employability development opportunities is available This includes activities such as internships, placements, volunteering, insight days, conferences, employability projects, professional attire costs and travel costs to undertake these opportunities.
The award will provide £250 to current full-time or part-time students who are enrolled in any year of study during the 2025/26 academic year in undergraduate or postgraduate study at a Santander Universities’ partner university (see a full list of partners on page 4). Any degree discipline is welcome.
There will be a minimum of 60 employability awards given by each university taking part in this opportunity and with some selected universities offering 120 employability awards. You can check the number of awards your university will be awarding by viewing the Santander Career Support Award 202526 landing page under the dropdown for the named university.
Before you apply for the award, please take the time to read through the Terms and Conditions and ensure that you meet all the criteria listed below.
Terms & Conditions
These Terms and Conditions apply to the Santander Career Support Award 202-26 (referred to as the “award”). By applying to the award, applicants agree to be bound by the following Terms and Conditions:
The Provider is Santander Universities UK (a division of Santander UK plc, 2 Triton Square, Regent’s Place, London, NW1 3AN, United Kingdom).
Eligibility criteria
1. You must be aged 18 or older at the time of applying
2. Applicable to applicants in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland: You must currently be enrolled at a Santander Universities’ UK partner university during the 2025/2026 academic year (see a full list of partners on page 4 and 5). This includes undergraduate and postgraduate students in fulltime or part-time study. Any degree discipline is welcome.
3. You must complete an entry form on Santander Open Academy which includes providing a valid student ID number and confirm which UK institution you attend.
4. Your applications must be for activity that is ongoing in the 2025/26 academic year or is yet to take place but will commence during the 2025/26 academic year. Retrospective applications for concluded activity won’t be considered.
5. Check the specific requirements for your university and meet any additional criteria as outlined on the Santander Career Support Award 2025/26 landing page under the name university
Submission criteria
1. Applicants must apply for the award via the Santander Open Academy platform any time from 09:00 (GMT) on 23/02/2026 until 23:00 (GMT) on 07/05/2026 Santander reserves the right to close the award early in exceptional circumstances (acting at its discretion).
2. Applications not submitted in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, or applications which are delayed, duplicated, incomplete, illegible, mislaid or lost through technical problems will be disqualified. No responsibility is accepted for such entries. Proof of submission online won’t be accepted as proof of submission.
Assessment and selection process
Your university is responsible for verifying that applicants meet the eligibility criteria using personal data available in its databases.
The university’s decision on the allocation of the award, in accordance with these terms and conditions, is final. There is no appeal process.
Your university may set additional requirements and follow their usual internal procedures for implementing the award including any prioritisation on awarding providing these don’t conflict with the general terms and conditions outlined.
If your university has outlined any additional criteria, you can find them on the Santander Careers Support Award 2025/26 landing page under the dropdown for the named university. Please look at them before completing your application.
Places will be assigned according to the following criteria:
• meet the admission criteria (set out in the eligibility of these Terms and Conditions)
• meet your university’s requirements as outlined on the Santander Career Support Award 2025/26 landing page under the dropdown for the named university (where applicable).
• If your university has not outlined their own requirements for selection, then they will randomly select winners (using an online random generator) from all valid applications received. If you wish to find out more about this process, please contact your university.
Terms and conditions for the award
1. It is your responsibility to ensure you read and understand the eligibility criteria and submit your application appropriately, on time and following the entry requirements as indicated on Santander Open Academy.
2. Each applicant can only apply to the award once.
3. Awards are available to home fee status and international students. If you are applying as an international student, please ensure that any funding requested to support any paid employment is in line with your Visa requirements
4. The award can be used to help with travel costs, professional attire costs or other expenses associated with:
a) In-person and online recruitment activities (includes interviews and assessment centres).
b) In-person and online/remote work experience (includes internships, placements (mandatory course placements as part degree and additional placement opportunities) and volunteering).
c) In-person and online employability development opportunities (includes networking events, conferences, insight days, employability projects arranged by your university and employer/opportunity provider workshops)
• Travel costs – includes travel, accommodation, fees and/or additional childcare to enable you to attend a secured opportunity.
• Professional attire costs – includes appropriate footwear and clothing to undertake a secured opportunity.
• Other expenses – includes any other costs incurred to undertake a secured opportunity This could include fees, equipment or other expenses associated with the secured opportunity.
What you can’t apply for funding towards:
• living costs including rent, utilities bills, food, your usual commute to university, your usual Childcare costs to attend university
• university tuition fees
• Items or activities you have already paid for before applying for the award
• devices such as laptop, tablets, iPads
• internet, broadband or mobile data
5. Applications must be made for activity that is ongoing in the 2025/26 academic year or is yet to take place but will commence during 2025/26 academic year. Retrospective applications for concluded activity won’t be considered.
6. Successful applicants will receive a confirmation email (informing them that they been awarded) from Santander Open Academy on 21/05/2026 If you’re chosen as a winner, you must accept the award within 7 days (by 28/05/2026). You can do this by clicking on the link in the email. You can also accept from the ‘My Learning’ section in your profile menu once logged into Santander Open Academy. Failure to do this will result in the award being reassigned to another student from your university following the original process.
7. Once you have accepted the award, you can expect to hear directly from your university by email within 14 working days so they can confirm the award payment process Your university is responsible for making the award payment and determining when the award is paid to you as per their award payment process. The university will use their best endeavours to make payment to successful applicants in advance of the activity taking place, but this cannot be guaranteed
8. To ensure all awards are allocated, the university will select applicants for a waiting list. Being placed on the waiting list is not a guarantee of an award. These applicants may be contacted at a later date to offer an award should an award become available.
9. If successful, your university will contact you to inform you of your successful application and discuss further details regarding the award including payment.
10. If successful, you may be invited by Santander or by your university to provide a testimonial or case study. We won’t publish a testimonial or case study without your permission. This may include:
a) Sharing blogs, vlogs, or report about your award and how you have used it
b) Sharing a statement about your award and photograph of yourself
c) Participating in a film message or providing a case study to encourage further donations
d) Engaging with donors at a meeting or event
e) Sharing your award news on your social media channels
General terms
1. Santander reserves the right to withdraw any application to the award that is found to be in breach of any of the pre-established conditions and / or rules laid out in the Term and Conditions.
2. Santander reserves the right to update or amend these Terms and Conditions or foreclose the award without prior notice at any time.
3. Santander reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual that corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this award.
4. The award and these Terms and Conditions are governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.
5. To the fullest extent permitted by law and excluding death or permanent injury caused as a result of the grantor’s negligence, the grantor accepts no liability for loss or injury as a result of the award or receipt or misuse of any prize fund.
6. No cash or other alternatives to the award will be offered and the award is not transferable.
7. Santander accepts no responsibility for applications lost, damaged or delayed in transit.
8. The decision of Santander is final, and no other correspondence will be entered into.
9. The award will be provided by the Santander Universities partner university which the applicant attends.
10. Subject to these terms, Santander may disclose any information related to the applicants (i) to any person as required or requested by law/regulation, to any regulatory or supervisory body, or in connection with any claim, dispute or legal proceedings; (ii) to any partner business or partner
university or other UK university in connection with the award; (iii) to our affiliates, in connection with the award.
Data protection
For information on how Santander processes applicants’ personal data, please read Santander Universities Privacy Notice. You can also download and read from the Santander Career Support Award 2025-26 landing page
Santander Universities Partner Universities (eligible applicants must attend one of the following partner universities). For information on how the participating universities process applicants’ personal data, please read the privacy notices below:
Anglia Ruskin University
Aston University
Bath Spa University
Birkbeck, University of London
Birmingham City University
Bournemouth University
Open University University of Leicester
Queen Margaret University University of Lincoln
Queen Mary University of London University of Liverpool
Queen’s University Belfast University of Northampton
Sheffield Hallam University University of Northumbria at Newcastle
St Mary's University, Twickenham University of Plymouth
Brunel University of London Teesside University University of Portsmouth
Coventry University
De Montfort University
Durham University
Edinburgh Napier University
Glasgow Caledonian University
Heriot Watt University
Ulster University University of Reading
University of Birmingham University of Roehampton
University of Bradford University of Salford
University of Brighton University of Sheffield
University of Chester University of Southampton
University of Edinburgh University of St Andrews
Kings College London University of Essex University of Stirling
Kingston University
University of Exeter University of Strathclyde
Lancaster University University of Glasgow University of Sunderland
Liverpool John Moores University
London Business School
Loughborough University
Manchester Metropolitan University
University of Greenwich University of Surrey
University of Hertfordshire University of Sussex
University of Huddersfield
University of The West of England
University of Kent University of Westminster
Newcastle University
University of Lancashire
Nottingham Trent University University of Leeds
University of Wolverhampton
University of York