Disability Support in the UK Universities for International Students

As international students, you might need to have support from your university or other places while you are planning to study in UK. There is disability support in the UK universities.

In the UK, they welcome everyone equally. They do not differentiate between the able and the disabled; they provide more opportunities for the disabled. In the UK, discrimination is illegal, so they strictly maintain their rules for everyone, and this law is the same for international disabled students in UK as well as UK citizenship students.

Though Education is a basic and fundamental rights to everyone and also for the disable students. So, UK universities always obliged the law under the equality act 2010 and the UN convention.

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International students can contact their disability advisor to get disability support for academic-related issues or can enroll at UCL to be eligible for the UCL fund for disabled international students. They strongly recommend courses and the best universities for disabled students in the UK and help the students get proper facilities in the country. For disabled students, UK universities provide special facilities, and it depends on student needs. Register with Student Disability services as well.

Every year, almost 60,000 students search the universities’ websites for an opportunity to study in the UK for disabled students. Though it’s very challenging to study abroad with a disability, nowadays universities in the UK are equally available for every student.

Disability supports for international students include

In the UK, disabled students get scholarship and financial support from UK or international governments, charities, businesses, or universities and colleges.

• International students with disabilities need an assessment of independence.
• Any special types of equipment you may need for your studies, such as:
  • Wheel chair
  • braille text book
  • special software or a voice recorder.

 University will help you to get disability support from UCL.

• Travel costs you may have to pay due to disability, but on buses and trains you will get proper facilities while traveling, and sometimes you have to pay less than other passengers if you are an international student with disabilities. In the UK, DSA (Disabled student allowance) covers the travel costs.
• If you want a note-taker, the funds can bear the cost. The university maintains a study-related fund which is spent on disabled students.
• Other costs relevant to your course of study will be provided by the university for international students with disabilities.
• Every university has a university’s office for the disabled. Students can reach him with different kinds of queries and problems and they will provide support.
• University staff make adjustments and pay extra care for disabled students.

Disable student allowance

• EU (European Union)-UK students, students who have British citizenship and students who have lived on the island for three years immediately before the first day of their first academic year.
• EEA (European Economic Area)-Swiss migrant workers who live in the EEA and EEA for three years immediately before the first day of their first academic year.
• If the students inform the universities about their condition, they will be helped to get housing service.
• For international students, many kinds of funds also help international students with living costs. But they need to have access to funding so they can inform university authorities for funding. If they apply for a scholarship for disabled students in the UK, they will definitely get one.
• All UK universities run joint with the UK government fund for scholarships and financial support for disabled students, and it’s called DSA (Disabled student allowance).

As a disabled student, you can claim DSA (Disabled student allowance) funds for a number of institutions.

1. Student Finance England (SFE)
2. Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)
3. Student Finance Wales
4. Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI)

Students are advised to apply early so that support can reach them on time.

What information you may need to get disability support

To get the disability support, you need to prove your disability. There are some lists of resources for students with disabilities, Such as-

• If you are physically disabled, you have to show them. Some universities provide wheel chair facilities for physically disabled students. You will get extra time for exams and library time, and they will provide you with full support during class time.
• For sightless students, they provide special textbooks, such as braille, recordings, and text-to-speech. You will get extra time for the exam and presentation if you apply for it.
• For deaf students, they use British sign language. If you are an international student, you have to learn British Sign Language. They will provide you with a printed copy of the lecture sheet if you request it, though their classrooms have an audio induction loop system for special students. Before registering, you have to check that you will get all the facilities you are looking for.
• For an international disabled student, you have to submit a medical certificate that you are disabled because, without the certificate, your disability is not required officially.
• Your scholarship and financial support also depend on your location and eligibility.

It may be a long-term health issue, mental health problems or learning difficulties such as dyslexia that may affect your studies in a way that you will have to bear extra costs.

Student Rights

• If any university rejects students because of their disability, it will be direct discrimination. But if the student does not apply to the university for disability or he is not eligible, such as if his previous minimum result is not good and he is not a fluent speaker and the university rejects him, it will be an indirect rejection. For indirect rejection, students cannot take any legal steps.
• When a professor shouts at a disabled student, it will be considered harassment, so students can take legal action for harassment.
• Any kind of discrimination, direct or indirect, or harassment, is not acceptable by law, so students who need disability support from UCI feel secure and safe while studying and working in UK.

So, those of you who are eligible for disability support, make the most of it. Don’t hesitate about your disability and don’t let your disability hamper your studies and confidence! If you need more guidance, feel free to contact our expert counsellors.

FAQs