The allowance is a payment that helps students living with certain health conditions and disabilities, covering the cost of study-related expenses
Some students could receive as much as £27,783 in financial support to assist with their studies. The Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is a payment designed to aid students living with certain health conditions and disabilities, covering the cost of study-related expenses. The allowance doesn’t need to be repaid and can be claimed alongside any additional student finance.
However, the amount you receive from the allowance and the type of support you receive will be entirely dependent on your individual needs, rather than your household income.
Full list of eligible conditions for DSA
DSA is only available to claimants who live in England and have a disability or health condition that may affect their ability to study. This can include:
- physical disability, for example if you have to use crutches, a wheelchair or a special keyboard
- mental health condition, for example anxiety or depression
- long-term health condition, for example cancer, chronic heart disease or HIV
- specific learning difficulty, for example dyslexia or ADHD
- sensory disability, for example if you’re visually impaired, deaf or have a hearing impairment
To also be considered, your course must be one of the following:
- a Higher National Certificate (HNC)
- a Foundation Degree
- a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE)
- a level 4 or 5 course with Higher Technical Qualification approval
- Initial Teacher Training
- a first degree, for example BA, BSc or BEd
- a Higher National Diploma (HND)
- a Certificate of Higher Education
- a postgraduate course
- a Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE)
How to apply for DSA
When you apply for DSA, you will need to provide proof that you’re eligible. This can include submitting evidence from a doctor or consultant or a copy of a ‘diagnostic assessment’.
You may also need to fill in a disability evidence form which will ask you to fill in details of a medical professional supporting your claim as well as your own personal details and details of your situation. Once you have this evidence on hand, you can send it through your online Student Finance England account or by emailing [email protected].
If you’ve not yet applied for student finance, you can send in an application for DSA at the same time. However, if you don’t need student finance and only want the support from DSA, you can fill in the DSA1 form.
Generally, you will receive a confirmation fo your application being successful within six weeks. However, it can take up to 14 weeks for DSA support to be implemented as this is a separate process.
Further details on DSA can be found here.