**1. Introduction**

This chapter considers the relationship between inequalities in health with those in higher education, drawing on qualitative research undertaken with UK undergraduate students during the pandemic academic year, 2020–2021. Two sets of research were conducted at the same university – one by a lecturer and another by an undergraduate student – with a view to capturing the embedded inequalities in higher education, which was magnified, though not produced by, the situation of COVID-19. The chapter considers students' experiences and argues that embracing and supporting material and emotional needs are essential for overcoming racial and ethnic inequalities in higher education. Taking a whole person

approach, however, necessarily means redressing the structural racisms in society and in higher education, evidenced by the social determinants of health, so that all students, including those from ethnic minority groups, can have their potentials fulfilled as a matter of principle.
