The  gives students the opportunity to study for a degree while receiving generous financial support and over a year of work experience.

EY is teaming up with Lancaster University Management School, Warwick Business School and the University of Bath to offer the scholarship to 60 students across the three universities.

Students studying for the BSc Accounting & Finance or BSc Accounting & Finance (Industry) at Lancaster will be eligible to apply. The scholarship is worth £5,000 a year and students will also benefit from a paid summer work placement at one of EY’s UK offices in their second year, and a year-long industrial placement in their third year of study.

Hywel Ball, EY’s Managing Partner for Assurance in the UK & Ireland, said: “Our Assurance Scholarship programme is designed for those who are focussed on starting a career in accountancy, but who don’t want to miss out on the university experience. We already offer school leaver, graduate and undergraduate programmes, but we are expanding the range of career entry routes in response to growing demand. It’s a great opportunity for students to earn while they learn.”

£40,000 on offer before graduation

The EY Assurance Scholarship will provide students with up to £40,000 in financial support. This is broken down into £15,000 over the three years of study, in addition to earning a salary during both the summer and industrial placements.

A further £1,000 per year will be offered to selected students who meet the criteria for widening access to higher education.

Mr Ball added: “Many of today’s graduates enter the workplace with sizeable student loan repayments that last for a large part of their working lives. The EY Assurance Scholarship will give students a financial leg-up, to ensure they are able to focus on making the most of their time at university.”

Building employability skills

During the scholarship’s two work experience placements, students will have an opportunity to put their academic theory into practice on real client assignments and projects. Successful candidates will join EY’s Assurance practice, which covers a broad range of services such as audit, financial reporting, fraud and corporate crime.

Students will also study towards becoming an ICAS or ICAEW qualified chartered accountant and will qualify faster than if they had entered EY through the graduate programme.

Mr Ball said. “Employability skills are essential for today’s graduates and work experience is now considered to be pre-requisite for many graduate employers. Combined with the academic qualifications, skills such as team working, time management and real-life client interactions, will help graduates of the EY Assurance Scholarship scheme to stand out in a competitive jobs market.”

The Dean of Lancaster University Management School, Professor Sue Cox, said:

“We’re delighted to be further developing our relationship with EY with this generous bursary scheme. This initiative offers 25 students £5,000 per year of study on our BSc in Accounting, Auditing and Finance programme. And it provides work placements at EY with a view to a permanent role upon graduation. This is a great opportunity for students to develop both the academic knowledge and the practical skills they will need to develop their future careers, as well as a business network to help them on that journey.”

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