Study with usUniversity of Strathclyde Disabled Applicants

How to Apply

If you are applying for an undergraduate course, this is handled via UCAS; you can read more about this on our How to apply for an undergraduate course page.

Postgraduate course applications are made directly to the University and there can be differences depending upon whether it is a postgraduate-taught or postgraduate-research course that you are applying to. We have more information on these processes via the How to apply for a postgraduate-taught course page; and How to submit a postgraduate-research proposal page.

Disclosing a Disability

We strongly encourage you to disclose a disability, long term health condition, neurodiverse condition, or specific learning difference. This will enable the Disability and Wellbeing Service to get in touch with you at an early stage in the application process to begin discussing and arranging the implementation of reasonable adjustments.

Each year a significant number of our applicants disclose a disability, so know that you are not alone.

Confidentiality & Disclosure

After you have disclosed a disability the information that you share is treated in the strictest confidence. The Disability & Wellbeing Service will discuss your needs and any reasonable adjustments with you and – with your consent – share these with relevant staff. This does not include the nature of your disability.

If you Disclose a Disability After the Application Process

We encourage early disclosure. If you did not disclose a disability during your application process, you can disclose a disability at any point in your studies.

The Disability and Wellbeing Service will then send you a disability referral email. This contains a personalised secure link to complete our questionnaire. Here you can disclose your disability and provide information about your needs. The disability referral email also includes a personalised link for you to upload evidence.

Admissions and Selection

Information related to your disability does not form part of the selection process. Your disclosure allows us to get in touch with you, should you be made an offer of a place, to allow us to identify potential support needs for you during your time at Strathclyde.

The other parts of your application – such as your qualifications to date; any qualifications you are currently undertaking; and your personal statement and reference – are sent to the relevant academic department and are considered by our selection team. Once a decision has been made on your application you will receive an email notification. Please note that for undergraduate courses this may be quite some time after you apply. We aim to communicate most decisions to undergraduate applicants by the end of May.

Challenging Circumstances

If you feel that your education has been adversely affected by your disability then we encourage you to speak with whoever will be writing your UCAS reference, asking them to include details of any challenging circumstances in their reference. This will allow our admissions selectors to take these circumstances into consideration when reviewing your application.  

If You Are Made an Offer for Entry

If you disclosed a disability on your course application, the Disability & Wellbeing Service will be notified and will contact you before or just as your course begins. We will ask you to complete our questionnaire to provide further information about your needs.

We aim to begin contacting applicants from May onwards and can only contact those who have disclosed a disability. We will begin with those who may need support arranged before starting, such as where personal support assistants and sign-language interpreters would be required.

Areas of Support

The University provides support to students with a range of physical disabilities, long-term health conditions, mental health conditions and specific learning differences including:

 

 

 

  • Autism
  • ADHD
  • Dyslexia
  • Long-term Health Conditions
  • Blind or Visual Impairments
  • D/deaf or Hearing Impairments
  • Mobility Impairments
  • Mental Health

Students can find support networks and advice from the Strath Union by clicking on each site's name:

External support networks can be found by clicking on each site's name:

Campus Access

The University is committed to ensuring that the campus is accessible for those with visible and non-visible disabilities. The University of Strathclyde is a city centre based campus with multiple buildings spanning the upper and lower parts of a large hill. Building access information is available via the AccessAble website.

Other support can include a campus tour tailored for students with visible and non-visible disabilities.

How We Support You

We offer a broad range of support to students with any disability, mental health, or wellbeing related needs. It includes but is not limited to:

  • One-to-one Disability Needs Assessments and Mental Health Assessments
  • General Health Support
  • One-to-one Counselling (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Person Centred Therapy)
  • Psycho-Educational Group programmes
  • Wellbeing Programmes relating to Mindfulness and Stress Management
  • Self-Help Resources and our online CBT programme, SilverCloud
  • Adjustments to learning, teaching, and assessment
  • Assistive technology provision
  • Personal, Communication, and Notetaking Support
  • Mentoring and Study Support
  • Support with a return to studies after periods of absence due to any disability or health-related issues

Resources and support available to you include:

Mental Health Support

If you have a disability and are having a hard time, don’t worry. It’s normal and okay. We offer a range of services that provide mental health support. Further information about mental health support can be found by clicking these links:

Financial Support

You may be eligible for further financial support such as the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) if you will incur extra costs when studying due to your disability. Disability & Wellbeing staff will support you in assessing your eligibility and processing your application after you have disclosed a disability.

Careers & Employability Service Support for Disabled Students

If you are successful in your application to study at Strathclyde, the Careers & Employability Service are a useful resource in facilitating personal and professional development whilst you are a Strathclyde student and beyond.

They provide an inclusive service that takes the needs of disabled students into account.

You can read some more information about the support that the Careers & Employability Service provide for disabled students on a padlet webpage.