Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)
Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) is a targeted grant for students that are on higher education courses for example HNC, HND, PGCE and foundation degree courses.
- Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)
What is the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)?
Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is a targeted grant for students that are on higher education courses for example HNC, HND, PGCE and foundation degree courses. It is administered by Student Finance, is not means tested and does not need to be paid back. Although you won’t get any physical money (unless you are re-imbursed for materials) as suppliers will invoice your funding body directly.
The DSA can pay for additional study related costs which are incurred due to a disability or a specific learning difficulty. You could be eligible to apply if you have a disability that affects your ability to study, such as a:
specific learning difficulty, for example dyslexia or ADHD
neurodivergent conditions including autism
mental health condition, for example anxiety or depression
physical disability, for example if you have to use crutches, a wheelchair or a special keyboard
sensory disability, for example if you’re visually impaired, deaf or have a hearing impairment
long-term health condition, for example crohns, sickle cell and multiple sclerosis, cancer, chronic heart disease or HIV.
You must also:
be an undergraduate or postgraduate student (including Open University or distance learning)
qualify for Student Finance from Student Finance England
be studying on a course that lasts at least a year.
If you are eligible to receive DSA you could receive support towards the cost of lots of things to make it easier while studying on a higher education course. These can include:
specialist equipment, for example a computer if you need one because of your disability
specialist 1-1 study skills tutoring
specialist software e.g. note-taking, subtitling, mind-mapping
specialist 1-1 mental health mentoring
specialist 1-1 autism / ADHD mentoring
British Sign Language interpreting
subsidised travel to attend your course or placement
other disability-related study support, for example having to print additional copies of documents for proof-reading.
How to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance
When applying for funding, student finance will require formal written evidence of a disability/difficulty for them to determine the extra support a student may require when studying at university.
Evidence needs to be from a professional that holds an appropriate professional qualification to make a diagnosis.
In general, any long-term health, mental health condition or disability will require a report or letter from your doctor or consultant. There is medical evidence form that the doctor or consultant can complete if you do not have a report or letter. Please be aware that GPs are entitled to charge for evidence.
For specific learning difference such as Dyslexia, a diagnostic report performed by a suitably qualified professional will be required. This is usually an Educational Psychologist or someone holding a specialist teacher assessor’s qualification.
You will need to send proof of a health condition or learning disability to student finance through your online account – if you have one. You can also send your proof by email or post.
There are no fixed deadlines for applying for DSA, however once the academic year has started you have up to nine months to apply for DSA for the current academic year.
If you need section 5 of your DSA application to be completed by the university you can bring this to student services and we can complete this for you. Alternatively, you can send it to your funding body directly unsigned and they will then email the university to confirm the missing information, allowing your application to be processed.
Once your application has been approved DSA will invite you to book a needs assessment. The needs assessment is an informal meeting to discuss with you how your health/disability may impact on your studies and suggest options for support with these.
The assessment is not a test of any sort, but an opportunity to discuss the most appropriate support options for you. Prior to the assessment, your assessor will review the disability evidence you supplied at the point of application to understand your needs.
The needs assessment is paid through your DSA, you do not have to pay for this yourself.
After your meeting, your assessor will write a report outlining what support they recommend. You will get a copy and it will be sent to your funding body for them to consider the recommendations.
Student Finance will send an entitlement letter (DSA2) either by email and/or by post outlining the recommendations of support that has been approved for you and what to do next in terms of ordering equipment and arranging any one-to-one support.
You will be advised to contact your non-medical help provider directly, the details will be on the DSA2 entitlement letter.
Equipment consists of products, equipment and systems that enhance learning for individuals with disabilities. The cost of these items is included in your DSA2, and you can place your AT equipment order (if you applied to Student Finance England or Student Finance Wales) with Capita or Study Tech.
If you receive equipment as part of your DSA, a programme of training is highly recommended to show you how to get up and running with specialist software or hardware.
Once your AT equipment is delivered (whether hardware or software or both) Capita or Study Tech will contact you to arrange a suitable date for your first Assistive Technology training session.