Funding Opportunities

The College has a number of funds to provide financial support to students to cover particular costs or to assist in cases of financial hardship.

Vacation Grant

Undergraduate students can apply for a Vacation Grant to help towards their vacation rent if they need to stay in Oxford for academic purposes such as revision and exams. Students can apply for a grant for up to 15 nights per academic year; for 2022-23 the rate of funding is £26.42 per night.

Application forms can be downloaded from the College Intranet.

Hardship Fund

St Peter's has a Hardship Fund to help with unexpected financial problems. Students are asked to make an appointment with the Student Finance Officer to discuss in detail their financial problems.

All information is kept private and confidential and students are assessed individually based on their circumstances. The College cannot award any grants or loans towards course fees.

The Student Finance Officer can advise students on applying to University Hardship Funds.

Student Support Fund

The Student Support Fund is available to assist students undertaking extra-curricular activities (such as sports and club activities) where funding is not in place or where students cannot afford the full costs without causing genuine financial hardship.

Applicants are assessed based on their individual financial circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the Student Finance Officer for more information and an application form. Your application will remain confidential.

Book grants for undergraduate freshers (supported by the Simpson Bequest)

Contact: College Registrar

New undergraduate students are offered £100 to spend on academic resources during their first year of studies. Award of the Book Grant is conditional on completion of an online course in Academic Good Practice. The Simpson Book Grants were first awarded in 2020-21.

Senior Tutor's Fund (supported by the Simpson Bequest)

Contact: Senior Tutor

A general fund to which students can apply for modest amounts of funding for activities with demonstrable academic merit, including undertaking foreign language courses at the Oxford Language Centre. Students seeking College contributions towards the cost of language courses must contact the Senior Tutor before signing up for a course.

Simpson Awards for research internships

Contact: College Registrar

A fund to assist undergraduate students with the accommodation or travel costs related to undertaking research internships in Oxford or elsewhere. Students will be invited to apply for funding in Michaelmas and Hilary terms each year and applications will be considered in two gathered fields with funding decisions announced early in Hilary and Trinity terms.

Blues Scholarship Award

The Blues Scholarship Award is available to students playing sport at University level, be that as a full blue, a half blue or another non-blue University sport.

This is available to all students of the College and the amount available relates to the costs incurred in relation to participation in the sport concerned.

Please contact the JCR or MCR sports reps for details.

German (Pearman Fund)

Thanks to the generosity of Paul and Kathy Pearman, who are keen to promote the study of German at St Peter’s, students of German at the College, including those taking Beginners German, are eligible to apply for financial assistance.

The Pearman Fund was launched in 2018 and has already benefited both undergraduate and graduate students immensely. In particular, the Fund has facilitated travel abroad for graduate research projects and conference attendance and has helped to offset travel costs for undergraduates during their year abroad. Additionally, first-year students have received generous book grants and prizes for exam performance at the end of the year.

With support from the Pearman Fund, St Peter’s students have travelled to Freiburg, Bonn, Switzerland, and South Tyrol, and have bought poetry anthologies and essential grammar books. Current students who wish to know more should contact Dr Joanna Neilly.

Theology (Rivington Fund)

The Rivington Fund enables the granting of funding to graduate students with a proven track record who are studying Theology or a closely-related discipline, at the discretion of the Official Fellow in Theology, for research-related purposes.

Current students who wish to know more should contact Professor Sondra Hausner.

Fund for Artistic Purposes

Contact: Prof Lionel Mason

A fund available to make grants or loans (of varying value) to support student artistic activity (e.g. Arts Week activities, dramatic productions, etc.).

Musical Purposes Fund

Contact: College Registrar

A fund available to support the College’s musical life and the musical activities of the College’s students.

Craythorne Scholarships

Contact: College Registrar

The College is usually invited by the Worshipful Company of Cutlers to nominate students for Craythorne Scholarships. Students in eligible subjects are contacted each year and invited to apply to be nominated. Financial need is a key criterion.

The final decisions about Scholarship awards are made by the Company not the College.

Medical Equipment Grant

Contact: Dr Huw Dorkins

Students studying Medicine may apply to this fund in relation to the costs of medical equipment required for their studies.

Medical Electives Grant

Contact: Dr Huw Dorkins or College Registrar

Students studying Medicine may apply for a grant of up to £500 in relation to the costs of undertaking medical electives. These grants can be applied for by completing a Travel Awards application form (available on the College Intranet); requests are considered by the College’s Tutorial Fellow in Medicine rather than by the Travel Funds Committee. Clinical medical students may also make additional applications to the Graduate Awards scheme for other activities but not for funding towards their electives.

The College offers a modest annual bursary to students who have a household income under £60,000 but who are not eligible for an Oxford Bursary of £500 or more.

The University provides financial support to Home (UK) and EU students from lower-income households to help with living costs. Information about this financial support for current students can be found here.

The Simpson Bursary is an award made to Home and EU students who have a household income under £60,000 who are not eligible for an Oxford Bursary, or who are eligible for a £200 bursary only (2016 to 2019 starters).

Students will need to be income assessed via Student Finance England (or equivalent regional funding body). The information is then collected from the University and payments made after the fourth week of Michaelmas term by the College. You can still make an application to be income assessed even if you are not eligible for an income assessed maintenance loan from Student Finance or an Oxford Bursary if you believe your household income falls below £60,000.

Please contact the Student Finance Officer for further information.

Each term, the College invites graduate students to apply for funding to support their studies.

All graduate students at St Peter's are eligible to apply for Graduate Awards. There is, however, a limit to the amount for which any student can apply while on their course, as shown below:

• Postgraduate Research students can make applications for a maximum of £500 in an academic year with an upper limit of £800 being awarded to any student over the length of their course. Applications can be for any research-related expenditure, but are primarily expected to be for costs related to attendance at conferences, undertaking fieldwork, or other study-related travel.
• Postgraduate Taught students can make applications for study-related travel, fieldwork, or other exceptional costs related to undertaking their studies. The maximum award available is £500.

Applicants are expected to approach at least one other source of funds (these could include Faculty and Department funds, or external sources).

Graduate students are invited to apply for graduate awards each term. Although there are a number of different funds available (see below), there is one application form and students do not need to apply to a particular fund.

General enquiries can be sent to the Academic Office.

St Peter's College Foundation Graduate Awards

Value: Up to £400 per award

Purpose: To support graduate study.

Conditions: None

Emeritus Fellows' Travel Award

Value: Up to £400 (1 award)

Purpose: Research related travel, excluding travel to conferences.

Conditions: Students must be in the second or third year of graduate study.

J Bossanyi Bursary in Environmental Conservation and Resource Use

Value: Up to £400

Purpose: To support graduate research on environmental issues, particularly with respect to environmental and biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource use.

Conditions: Research undertaken should be interdisciplinary; should show sensitivity to diverse cultural, political, social, and/or technological environments; should aim, where possible to formulate strategies to promote action.

The College awards a variety of one-off prizes to students on the basis of academic achievement and for other reasons.

Information about these prizes can be found below. General enquires can be sent to the College Registrar.

Prizes for performance in the first year

Value: £50

Awarded to the best first-year student in each subject at the start of the following year. There is one prize for each subject and prizes are unlikely to be awarded to students who have not achieved a Distinction in their Preliminary Examinations.

In most cases, the prizes are supported by the Simpson Bequest, but there are named prizes in some subjects:

• Bailey Prize: Chemistry
• Houghton Prize: English
• Smith Prize: History
• Sutton Prize: PPE
• Rivington Prize: Theology & Religion (including joint schools with Theology)
• Pearman Prize (£125): German

Collection Prizes (supported by the Simpson Bequest)

Value: £30

Awarded each term on the basis of tutors’ recommendations, with the usual criteria being 1st class performance in at least one collection paper, and at least 2.1 standard performance in any other papers. Collection Prizes can also be used to reward and encourage outstanding performance in other types of academic assessment (but not for performance in University examinations or assessment).

St Peter's Society Prizes (JCR and MCR)

Value: £150

Two prizes are awarded each year to students for their contribution to the non-academic life of the college. The JCR and MCR each solicit nominations and arrange to vote for the winners.

Hoyland Sports Scholarship

Value: £150

A prize is awarded each year to a student for their contribution to the sporting life of the college. Student nominations are sought and these are voted on by the student body.

Carl Albert Prize (for finalists)

Value: £600.

Awarded to the most distinguished Finalist of the year (based on Finals results).

College Book Prizes (finalists and PGT students) (supported by the Simpson Bequest)

Value: £50.

Awarded to students achieving a First in their Finals, and to taught graduate students achieving a Distinction.

T W Mason Prize and Rivington Prize (finalists)

Value: £200 each

T W Mason Prize: Awarded to the student author of the best History FHS thesis in the year.

Rivington Prize: Awarded to the student author of the best FHS thesis/extended essay in Theology & Religion (or any joint school including Theology).

New Horizon Mathematics Prizes

Value: £200 each

Five prizes, one awarded to the best performing student in Mathematics and Joint Schools at Prelims, Part A, Part B and Part C, and (as a fifth group) in a taught MSc course in any of the Mathematical Sciences, including Computer Science and Statistics.

Charles Caine Mathematics Prize (Finalists)

Value: £50

Awarded to the best Mathematics student in the year.

William James Clarke French Creative Writing

Value: £50

Contact: Prof Daron Burrows

All students studying French during their Year Abroad are asked to produce a short piece of creative writing on a theme selected from a list proposed by the benefactor (Canon Brian Macdonald-Milne).

Brandon Wilson Essay Prize

Value: £TBC

Awarded for the best 1,500-2,000 word essay, as judged by the Editors of the College Record. Entries are invited during Trinity term each year.

McKay Poetry Prize

Value: £TBC

Awarded for the best poem submitted each year. Entries are invited during Trinity term each year

The College awards scholarships to current students of the college, usually on the basis of academic merit. Scholars are invited to dinner with the SCR each year.

Information about these scholarships can be found below. General enquires can be sent to the College Registrar.

Anjool Maldé Scholarships

Value: c £750

Contact: College Registrar

Each year a number of scholarships will be awarded in memory of Anjool Maldé (Geography 2005). Scholarships will be awarded to undergraduates in their second year of study who have shown both academic excellence and an outstanding role in citizenship since arriving at St Peter’s. Awards may also be made, on exceptional occasions, to students in their third or fourth year of study.

Nominations for Anjool Maldé Scholarships, which are submitted by tutors to the Master and Senior Tutor, will be considered independently of recommendations for other scholarships and awards (i.e. a student may hold more than one scholarship or other award concurrently).

Malde Scholars retain their title in future years, but with no further payment.

Domus Scholarships

Value: £100

Awarded to all undergraduates achieving a Distinction or 1st Class result in the First Public Examination. Scholars retain their title (without further payment) in subsequent years.

Domus Exhibitioners

Value: £0; title only

Awarded on the recommendation of tutors to those narrowly missing a Domus Scholarship. Exhibitioners retain their title in subsequent years.

Barron Scholarships

Value: £100

Awarded to undergraduates at the end of their second year of studies with the specific objective of encouraging students who have shown a substantial improvement over the year, i.e. those who did not gain a Domus Scholarship at the end of the first year but have subsequently worked hard enough to be in contention for a first-class degree. Scholars retain their title (without further payment) in their fourth year (if relevant).

Steven Latner Scholarship

Value: £200

Awarded to the best first year English student at the start of the following academic year. The Scholar retains their title (without further payment) in their third year.

Michael Latner Scholarship

Value: £200

Awarded to the best first year Law student at the start of the following academic year. The Scholar retains their title (without further payment) in their third year.

Raisaa Kaur Kandhari Scholarships

These scholarships are awarded each year to two students studying on the FHS in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) to recognise excellent performance in Politics and Philosophy. Recommendations will be made by tutors based on performance in collections during year two with Scholarships being awarded at the start of year three.

Pidaya Wattapalanon Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded each year to a student studying on the FHS in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) or Economics and Management to recognise excellent performance in Economics and/or Management. Recommendations will be made by tutors based on tutorial reports and performance in collections during Y2 with Scholarships being awarded at the start of Y3.

Macartney Sabah Scholarship

Value: up to £1000 per year

A bursary, preferably for an undergraduate student, with a permanent address in Sabah, during their studies at St Peter’s. In the event that there are no students from Sabah studying at the college, the funds are used to support students studying History.

The College has a small number of scholarships for postgraduate students.

Information about these scholarships can be found below. General enquires can be sent to the Deputy College Registrar.

Gustav Born Scholarship in Biomedical Sciences

The Graduate Scholarship in Biomedical Sciences established by the Gustav Born Trust is a scholarship open to students who will be in entering the second or third year of graduate studies (with a preference for those who will be entering their second year), and reading for a research degree of the University of Oxford. They may be engaged in research in any field of biomedical sciences. It is a condition of the Scholarship that recipients must migrate to St Peter’s if they are enrolled at another college.

The value of the award will be up to £5000 per annum. Subject to satisfactory progress, it may be renewed during the period in which the student is liable for Course fees. The Scholarships are not awarded every year.

The Hrothgar Singaporean Clarendon Scholarship

Value: Full course fees plus other financial support.

Applicants must be Singaporean citizens and preferably resident in Singapore at the time of application. The applicant must have the intention of using their experience at St Peter's College to contribute to the development of the academic and intellectual environment of Singapore. This scholarship is part-funded by a generous anonymous donor.

Only one Hrothgar Clarendon Scholarship is funded at a time; a scholar started on course in October 2022 so we do not expect to elect another for several years.

St Peter's College Bushell History Scholarship

Value: TBC

This scholarship is awarded to a student entering the College to study history at either postgraduate taught or postgraduate research level. The award is made for one year in the first instance.

This award will next be available for a student entering in October 2023.

Edith Sim's Studentship (MSc in Pharmacology)

One funded place on the MSc in Pharmacology has been awarded for 2022-23.

The College offers financial support to students who contribute to the musical life of the College.

Learn more about our music awards and how to apply on our Music and Choir page.

Organ scholarships

Allen Senior Organ Scholarship

Siraj Singh Kandhari Junior Organ Scholarship

Choral scholarships

Bernard Rose Choral Scholarship

Helen Williams Choral Scholarship

Jatinder Singh Uppal Scholarship

John Bain Choral Scholarship

Jonathan Arnold Choral Scholarship

Karan Singh Uppal Scholarship

Kirtan for Causes Scholarship

Manika Kaur Kandhari Scholarship

Narankar Singh Uppal Scholarship

Raveena Kaur Uppal Scholarship

Roy Burgess Choral Scholarship

Other music awards

Paul and Fiona Geddes Awards for Musical Excellence

Jacob Barnes Instrumental Scholarship

Christopher Ross Instrumental Scholarship

Usher Instrumental Scholarship

The College aims to support students wishing to undertake travel during the vacations, particularly where the activities undertaken will have a positive impact on students’ academic studies.

There are two funds that make relatively small awards which undergraduate students can apply to at any time, namely the fund for Compulsory Fieldwork Grants and the St Peter’s College Foundation Travel Fund. Further details are in the relevant sections below.

All other travel funding for undergraduate and visiting students is allocated by the Travel Funds Committee in two gathered fields. Students will be invited to apply for travel awards during Michaelmas and Hilary terms. The deadline for applications is Friday of week 9 of each of those terms. The application form and related guidance note can be found on the College Intranet.

Information about the various travel award funds overseen by the Travel Funds Committee can be found below.

Graduate students can access travel funding via the Graduate Awards scheme (see the Graduate Awards tab above). Clinical medical students can access grants of up to £500 in relation to the costs of undertaking medical electives from the Medical Electives Fund (see the Grants tab above).

General enquires about travel funds can be sent to the College Registrar.

Arabella Travel Fund

Value: varies

This fund is intended for undergraduate students who would otherwise find the possibilities for travel very limited (for financial reasons). Funding is allocated by the Travel Funds Committee and applications should be submitted by Friday of week nine in Michaelmas or Hilary term.

Stephen Latner Travel Fund

Value: varies

The fund is intended in the first instance for applicants studying English and then any student at St Peter’s. Funding is allocated by the Travel Funds Committee and applications should be submitted by Friday of week nine in Michaelmas or Hilary term.

Michael Latner Travel Fund

Value: varies

The fund is intended in the first instance for applicants studying Law and then any student at St Peter’s. Funding is allocated by the Travel Funds Committee and applications should be submitted by Friday of week nine in Michaelmas or Hilary term.

Christian Deelman Travel Fund

Value: varies

The fund is intended particularly for applicants whose proposals combine a sense of adventure with the traditional desire to broaden the mind or effect some immediate scholarly aim. Funding is allocated by the Travel Funds Committee and applications should be submitted by Friday of week nine in Michaelmas or Hilary term.

Durham and Simpson Awards

Value: varies

This fund is intended to assist undergraduate students in Geography, Earth Sciences and Archaeology and Anthropology to undertake study abroad in the Long Vacation, in a field related to their degree course. Students may also apply for funding from the Compulsory Fieldwork Grant fund.

Funding is allocated by the Travel Funds Committee and applications should be submitted by Friday of week nine in Michaelmas or Hilary term.

McKinsey Travel Bursary

Value: varies

An annual award funded by McKinsey & Co Inc. which can be awarded to one or more undergraduate students reading Modern Languages, to facilitate foreign travel for study purposes during their Year Abroad. Funding is allocated by the Travel Funds Committee and applications from those who are travelling abroad the following year should be submitted by Friday of week nine in Hilary term.

Compulsory Fieldwork Grand (supported by the Simpson Bequest)

Value: up to £350

Contact: Student Finance Officer

Undergraduate students who are expected to undertake compulsory field work as part of their course are eligible to apply for a fieldwork grant of up to £350. Forms can be found in the Finance Office and on the College Intranet.

St Peter's College Foundation Travel Fund

Value: up to £200

Contact: Student Finance Officer

The College is aware that many students undertake extra work relating to their course during vacations such as field trips or unpaid internships, and that modern languages students who are on their year abroad are given reduced loans from Student Finance. The College can provide a small grant towards this, but funds are limited and will be awarded based on a first come first served basis.