The social dimension of higher education is a key element in university-wide policies and procedures at international level. Amongst measures to improve student retention, grants and bursaries promote equity by making financial assistance available for study purposes to children of low-income families. Within the framework of the Spanish government's University Strategy 2015 programme, the purpose behind the introduction of study bursaries was to provide economically disadvantaged social groups with access to, and the possibility of completing, higher education studies. From a study of 642 undergraduate students awarded a study bursary in the 2010-11 cohort at the University of Barcelona, a profile of the study bursary holders and their academic performance during their first year at university was defined. The projected results indicate that study bursaries lead to higher levels of student dedication in the pursuit of study and that they offset the difficulties faced by students from low-income families.