Our existing Sanctuary Fund was set up to establish the principle of sanctuary as a major focus for philanthropic fundraising at the University. Our Equal Access Scholarship are for students seeking refuge in the UK.
There are still no straightforward exit routes from Gaza and no special UK entry visa routes for refugees from Gaza. To support students through our Equal Access Scholarship, our first priority has been to reach out to students coming to York who are recorded as having Palestinian nationality on their applications (regardless of their citizenship or refugee status). This was to understand more about how they have been directly affected by the crisis and their financial needs.
To date, one Palestinian MSc student and one online student have accepted scholarship support. We have continued to offer Equal Access Scholarship funding to other students seeking asylum at York, as well as continuing our commitment to providing bursaries for refugee students and dedicated advice and support for all sanctuary-seeking students and applicants.
We have also been able to help an alumnus of York who is a PhD candidate affected by the crisis in Gaza. We have done this through working with the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA), who provide support to affected alumni and other at-risk academics.
We continue to identify resources and to raise support for the University of Sanctuary Fund, with colleagues working hard to secure even more support so that we can continue to offer funding where it is needed.
