The College has at its disposal a number of funds to help students meet expenses related to academic, sporting and cultural activities, including travel.
There are different application procedures depending on the nature of the finanicial need. In the first instance, students should consult the list of subject-specific funds below, and apply to the Director of Studies if their need is covered by one of these funds.
If there is no appropriate subject fund, then please scroll down the page for further information about sports bursaries, travel grants, supra-curricular course expenses, Friends of Queens' Music, Munro Studentships, arts and crafts, support with general living expenses and funding offered by the University.
The College also provides substantial funding for the relief of financial hardship, principally through the Cambridge Bursary scheme, with the College's hardship funds covering 50% of the amount awarded to Queens' students. All recipients of Cambridge Bursaries also receive an Additional Queens' Bursary. Beyond the Cambridge Bursary, students who encounter unexpected financial hardship may apply to the College for assistance.
Awards are normally made as credits to College accounts, so please do not send bank details with applications.
Subject Funds
Unless stated otherwise below, please use this generic application form to apply for an award from a subject fund. The form should be submitted to the Director of Studies in your subject. Graduate students who do not have a Director of Studies should send the form to the relevant undergraduate Director of Studies.
Architecture and History of Art
Students may apply for an award from the Seear Fund, which supports the academic and educational activities of students reading Architecture and History of Art.
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Undergraduates and postgraduates may apply for an award from the Nourhan Nassar Memorial Fund, which provides grants to support any academic or educational activities of students reading Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
Classics
Students may apply for an award from the James Diggle Fund, which supports the academic and educational activities of students reading Classics, including provision (where appropriate) of copies of the Cambridge Greek Lexicon and the Oxford Latin Dictionary.
Computer Science
Undergraduates and postgraduates may apply for an award from the Robin Walker Fund, which provides grants to support any academic or educational activities of students reading Computer Science.
Earth Sciences
Undergraduates and postgraduates may apply for an award from the Darlington Fund, which provides grants to support any academic or educational activities of students reading Earth Sciences.
Economics
Students may apply for an award from the Milgate Fund, which provides small grants to support the academic and educational activities of (normally) undergraduate students reading Economics.
Engineering
Undergraduates have access to the Queens' Undergraduate Engineering Learning Fund (QUELF). No application form is required, the Director of Studies in Engineering will advise how to go about making a claim. Undergraduates and postgraduates may apply for a Spearing Travel Grant, to promote technical and industrial visits abroad which are not part of normal coursework. Preference is given to students studying one of the branches of Engineering. Applications should be made using the standard travel grant application form.
English
Students may apply for an award from the Patterson Fund, which provides small grants to support the academic and educational activities of students reading English.
Geography
Undergraduates and postgraduates may apply for an award from the Geography Fund, which supports the academic activities of all Geography students at the College. They may also apply for a Pomfret-Pearson Award for Geography Dissertations, to help with expenses incurred for any aspect of students' dissertation work.
Law
Undergraduates and postgraduates may apply for an award from the Macpherson Fund, which supports the academic activities of Queens’ Law students. The fund provides small grants to cover certain additional costs arising from their law studies through, for example, the purchase of books or the binding of a dissertation. Please apply using this form.
Mathematics
Undergraduates and postgraduates may apply for an award from the Paul Barber Fund, which supports the academic and educational activities of students reading Mathematics, including support of the Mathematics Society.
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Medics and vets may apply for an award from the Barry Scott Fund, which provides small grants to support the academic and educational expenses of pre-clinical, clinical and postgraduate students studying Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Medics and vets also have access to the Nightingale Fund, to help purchase and access books, online subscriptions and any other learning resources. Medical students underaking medical electives may apply for support from the Pang Fund. Second year medics are eligible for the Armenian General Benevolent Union Global Leadership Programme, to travel to Armenia for an internship during the summer vacation. Enquiries regarding this programme should be sent to Dr Janet Maguire. Further information about the programme can be found on the AGBU website and in this report from Samuel Amey, a previous recipient of the award. This internship programme is generously supported by Grace Knadijan Davidian, in honour of her brother Dikran Knadjian (1970), who disappeared in 1972. Dikran came to Queens' from Kingswood School, Bath, to read Medicine.
Modern and Medieval Languages
Students may apply for an award from the Smith Fund, which provides small grants to support the academic and educational activities of students studying Modern and Medieval Languages. They may also apply for a Taylor Travel Bursary, which helps students with academic-related travel costs, including assistance with the year abroad undertaken as part of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos, and also more generally travel to countries relevant to students’ studies, especially European countries. Applications should be made using the standard travel grant application form.
Natural Sciences
Undergraduates and postgraduates may apply for an award from the Streetly Fund, which provides small grants to support the academic and educational activities of students reading Natural Sciences. This includes support for summer internships, provided applications are received before the end of Lent Term. Chemists may also apply for an award from the Haszeldine Fund, which provides assistance for academic-related travel, research projects, books, equipment, dissertation expenses, events and the Queens' Chemistry Society. Postgraduates studying at the Cavendish Laboratory may apply for a Grahame John Dickins Award, which assists with academic-related travel, research expenses, unforeseen funding difficulties and fourth year/overrunning PhD expenses.
Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion
Undergraduates and postgraduates may apply for an award from the Henry St John Hart Fund in Theological and Religious Studies, which provides small grants to support the academic and educational activities of students reading Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion, or any associated course.
Sports Bursaries
Queens' offers substantial bursaries to help meet the costs of elite level sports, as well as smaller grants for College sports and subscriptions to join University sports clubs. Please click here for further information about the bursaries and how to apply.
Friends of Queens' Music
This fund, which is available to any undergraduate or postgraduate student at Queens', supports the musical life of the College. Please click here for further information about Friends of Queens' Music and how to apply.
Language Courses
The College will reimburse the cost of all courses undertaken at the University Language Centre, apart from in-sessional English courses. Please apply for reimbursement using this form.
Travel
The College is able to provide funding to assist with travel, whether this be to support academic work or for personal development. Further details and an application form are available here.
Arts and Crafts
The Greta Maxwell fund supports arts and crafts in the College. Students may apply for an award using this form, which should be submitted to the Director of Studies in Architecture and History of Art.
Other
Applications for all other types of financial support should be made using this form. This includes assistance with general living expenses in cases of unexpected financial hardship or Covid-related PhD overruns. Please also use this form for assistance with the costs of any supra-curricular courses you wish to take (including online conference attendance), except for courses taken at the University Language Centre, for which there is a specific form (see above).
Funding offered by the University
- Hardship Funding for Undergraduate Students
- Hardship Funding for Postgraduate Students
- Cambridge Bursary Scheme
- Hawks' Charitable Trust
- Assistance with Medical Costs (Crane's Charity)
- The Donald Robertson Travel Fund, based in Trinity College, but open to undergraduates (other than final-year undergraduates) from any College. This fund is intended to help students take strenuous open-air holidays during the Long Vacation either in the UK or abroad, preferably among mountains. Application forms are available from the Great Gate Porter's Lodge, Trinity College. The closing date varies each year, but is generally in late April or early May. An example of a previous year's application form is available here.