Medical Prescription Grant

Medical Prescription Grant


The UCSA Medical Prescription Grant aims to provide financial assistance to students who are not able to afford unexpected medical prescription expenses. This is for short-term emergency support only.

If your application is successful, you will be provided with a Medical Prescription Grant voucher. You can then present the voucher to the UC Pharmacy (located in the Undercroft, Puaka-James Hight Library), and UC Pharmacy will invoice UCSA Advocacy & Welfare for the prescription. No money is paid directly to students.

Students can apply for the Medical Prescription Grant twice per term. The maximum grant to any one student will not exceed $50 for each aplication. The prescription can be for any medication, regardless of whether it is ongoing or acute.

The Medical Prescription grant is accessible to both domestic and international students.

To enquire about the Medical Prescription Grant, please contact the Advocacy and Welfare Team.

Criteria

  1. A student must be fully enrolled at the University of Canterbury. Being “fully enrolled” here means that the student is enrolled in at least one course at the university, and final grades for that course have not yet been released.
  2. The Grant will only be approved if an applicant proves that their financial circumstance directly impacts their study at UC and is unexpected and temporary.
  3. Applicants need to demonstrate either:
    1. That the need for the medical prescription is unexpected and temporary; or
    2. That the financial hardship is unexpected and temporary.
  4. Applicants need to present their current valid medical prescription at the point of application of the Medical Prescription Grant.

Process

  1. Students must explain their situation to a staff member from the Advocacy and Welfare Team.
  2. If the staff member feels the student fits the above criteria, they will ask the student to fill out a Medical Prescription Grant application form. Students are required to be open, honest, and forthcoming with all information required for their application.
  3. The staff member will contact the UC Pharmacy and explain the grant has been approved.
  4. The staff member will give the student a voucher, which will entitle the student up to $50 credit for medical prescriptions at the UC Pharmacy in a single transaction.
  5. The student will then need to visit the UC Pharmacy to collect the prescription and present their voucher.

Documents Required

  1. Completed Medical Prescription grant application form
  2. UC Student ID Card
  3. Medical Prescription

Note: At the Advocacy and Welfare team’s discretion, the applicant may also be asked to provide bank account details outlining the last ten transactions, to demonstrate that they are in financial hardship.