RTPI Michael Welbank Bursary

To be eligible, applicants must be:

1. a student member of the RTPI;
2. enrolled on an accredited undergraduate course at an RTPI accredited planning school in London (University of Westminster, London South Bank University or University College London);
3. a resident of the UK;
4. a UK national and eligible to work in the UK after graduation;
5. a student who meets one or more of the following:

• • is enrolled at the university via the university's Widening Participation Programme;
  • has a disability, impairment, medical condition or access needs;
  • comes from a low socio-economic background;
  • is of an African, Caribbean or Asian background;
  • comes from a minority community;
  • comes from a Gypsy or Romany background
  • has caring responsibilities in their domestic situation;
  • can demonstrate hardship resulting from any of the above.

Applicants for a Welbank bursary are asked to:

1. Ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria stated above.
2. Write a supporting statement (500 word maximum)

• • explaining how they meet the bursary's eligibility criteria;
  • explaining their experiences and the challenges they have encountered in achieving a university place, including any specific issues that they have had to overcome as town planning students;
  • indicating how a bursary could assist them in their passage to become a qualified town planner.

3. Complete the application form, attaching their supporting statement where indicated.

Successful recipients will be asked to write a 500 word blog on a topic related to planning in London for publication on the RTPI website.

Applications for the 2026 bursaries are now closed.

Applications for the 2027 bursaries will open in March 2027.

Application forms and supporting statements are reviewed by RTPI officers and trustees of the RTPI Trust.

Applications will be assessed for whether they meet the eligibility criteria. Supporting statements will be assessed on the presentation and quality of the writing, how well they have expressed their journey as a town planner to date; and their ideas for spending a bursary. 

Supporting statements should be the work of the applicant only and AI should not be used, nor any plagiarism of the work of others (acknowledged quotes are accepted).  If screening of the statement shows this, the application will be rejected.

The RTPI reserves the right to apply additional selection criteria if there is a high volume of submissions.

Successful applicants will be notified by the end of June in the year of application.