Univ is committed to ensuring that the students it admits can focus on their academic studies and get the most out of College life without undue anxiety about making the financial sums add up. Our students benefit from one of the most generous financial support packages for undergraduates anywhere in the UK.
For the generation of students entering the College in October 2022, we aim to offer bursaries to all UK undergraduate students whose annual household incomes are lower than around £52,000. These bursaries extend support beyond the government thresholds for maintenance grant support.
Scholarships at Univ
Dr Andrei Klein Czech Scholarship
Univ is proud to offer the Dr Andrei Klein Czech Scholarship. The Scholarship offers financial assistance for two on-course students who normally reside in the Czech or Slovak Republics. It supports the cost of studying in Oxford through providing a grant of up to full on course academic tuition fees.
Bara Cihlova, an MSci Biochemistry student at University College Oxford, shares how the Andrei Klein Scholarship has benefited her.
“My advice would be, for everyone thinking about applying to Oxford, to just give it a go, to try it, because you never know how it is going to end.”
Hana Bernhardova (2020, Biochemistry) – Gymnázium Františka Palackého, Valašské Meziříčí
To find out more about the Scholarship please contact Joshua Newman, Admissions Manager, University College, High Street, Oxford, OX1 4BH – E: Joshua.Newman@univ.ox.ac.uk
Undergraduate Swire Scholarship
Established by The Swire Educational Trust for undergraduates tenable at University College.
Eligibility
• The scholarship is restricted to permanent residents of Hong Kong who have completed the majority of their formal education in Hong Kong. Applicants should have the intention of returning to Hong Kong after their studies to pursue a career in business, government, or in a recognised profession
Duration
- The full duration of the successful applicant’s degree course subject to satisfactory progress
- Awarded annually
Value
- The award covers the scholar’s University and College fees, plus a maintenance grant (£15,096 per annum at current levels)
- In addition, economy class air fares between Hong Kong and London will be provided to the scholars at the beginning and the end of the period of tenure
How to apply
- Applicants will need to apply to University College as an undergraduate student by completing a UCAS application online.
- Please read the details of the scholarship and the application procedure for programmes commencing in October 2025 carefully on the Swire Scholarship PDF
- The closing date for applications to the Swire Scholarship is 31 October 2025
Univ Beacon Programme
The College is proud to offer ten undergraduate bursaries through the Univ Beacon Programme.
This major new initiative was launched in October 2021 to drive participation and inclusion in education and research. Ten new undergraduate bursaries are offered through the programme to students who come from backgrounds and communities which are priorities for widening access at the University of Oxford. These include UK citizen (or Irish citizen or EU citizen with settled or pre-settled status) students with Black African, Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi or Pakistani heritage, members of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, care-experienced students, asylum-seekers, and refugees.
For full information about the programme, including eligibility and how to apply, please see our Univ Beacon Programme page.
Travel Grants
Thanks in part to the generosity of our Old Members, Univ offers a range of travel grants and scholarships available to assist our students – both undergraduate and graduate – in funding fieldwork and other trips linked to their studies.
Whilst the specifics of these awards can, on occasion, vary and in all cases eligibility criteria must be met, the grants and scholarships generally available include:
Roger Short Scholarships
The Roger Short Memorial Fund finances a travel scholarship programme to Turkey and neighbouring countries (particularly Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus, but with the emphasis on Turkey) in perpetuity.
“My time in Turkey provided me with a fundamentally unique experience, which I could never have experienced without the benevolence of a Roger Short Scholarship.” – Abigail Reeves (2012, Law)
Roger Short was educated at Malvern College and at Univ, where he was a Classics Scholar from 1963-1967. A fluent Turkish speaker he devoted much of his subsequent career in the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office to the country; he was serving as British Consul General in Istanbul when he was killed in a terrorist attack on the Consulate building in November, 2003.
Current students will find further information and application details on our Intranet.
A selection of Travel Reports can be found on our News and Features page or select one to read here:
The Roger Short Memorial Fund Newsletters detail those students who have benefited from the fund set up in Roger’s name which finances a travel scholarship programme to Turkey and neighbouring countries.
Select one of the RSMF Newsletters below to read or download as a PDF.
David and Lois Sykes Scholarships
The David and Lois Sykes Scholarships for travel to China were established through the gift of Univ Old Member David Sykes and his wife Lois.
Two awards for travel in mainland China are generally awarded and are available to both undergraduates and graduates (other than Chinese nationals).
Current students will find further information and application details on our Intranet.
A selection of Travel Reports can be found on our News and Features page or select one to read here:
Academic Placements & Research Trips
For students who wish to travel to a conference, undertake an academic placement or research trip, or embark on other travel relevant to studies, there are a variety of grants available. These include:
For undergraduates the Academic Opportunity Fund can assist with exceptional costs of additional training, experience, or opportunities that contribute to the quality of the applicant’s academic performance (for example academically-relevant internships, specialist courses or research work.)
Old Members’ Trust Conference and Academic Travel Fund – There are separate funds for both undergraduates and graduates for those who wish to travel especially to attend conferences, make trips to specific archives, or undertake other research trips.
The Leney Travel Fund (in memory of AM Leney, Univ 1919), and the Keasbey Travel Grants are available to undergraduates to assist with the costs of other travel relevant to courses of study during the vacations.
The Research Training Fund, available to our graduates, can assist with exceptional costs of additional training, experience or opportunities that contribute to the quality of the applicant’s research – for example specialist courses, research work opportunities in laboratories elsewhere, and fieldwork.
The Sylvanus Classical Travel Scholarship can be used towards funding academic travel for those undergraduates studying Classics.
Current students will find further information and application details on our Intranet.
A selection of Travel Reports can be found on our News and Features page or select one to read here:
Chalet Nethercott Fund
Thanks to the generosity of the late Dr Acer Nethercott the College has funds to support those who are offered a place in a Chalet party but who would be prevented from attending by cost. Both Undergraduates and graduates in receipt of an Oxford and/or OMT Bursary are eligible for support depending on their financial circumstances; whilst those not in receipt of bursaries may be considered on the basis of need, subject to availability of funds.
The video below is a lighthearted look at Chalet folklore, delivered by Dr Stephen Golding at New College on 9 September 2018, as part of the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Francis Urquhart.
Find out more about the Chalet.
University Student Awards
Several alumni groups in the UK make annual awards to students from their region currently studying at Oxford. Awards are used to support a range of opportunities including internships, long vacation projects and travel. Please visit the Oxford Alumni website for further information on each scheme and details of how to apply: alumni.ox.ac.uk
FAQs
How much will living in Oxford cost?
We estimate that the annual cost of living in Oxford (including rent, food, travel and reasonable entertainment costs) in 2022-23 will be between £10,935-£15,795 for 9 months (October-June). People often think that living and studying at the University of Oxford is more expensive than at other universities. We think that the various sources of financial support available means that this isn’t the case. For more information about estimated living costs and how they are calculated, see the University website: ox.ac.uk/uglivingcosts.
How will I pay for this?
There are three sources of funding available to UK/Republic of Ireland students who come to Oxford:
- Government support via the Student Loan Company: maintenance loans (UK students with home fee status only), and tuition fee loans (Home/Republic of Ireland students only)
- Oxford bursaries which are funded jointly by the colleges and the University (students with Home/Republic of Ireland fee status who meet residency requirements)
- Parental support: there is the expectation that parents or guardians will provide some level of support. The government makes some assumptions about how much parents and guardians should be able to contribute according to their “household residual income”
The Government and Oxford funding may also be available to EU students with settled or pre-settled status, eligible for home fee status who meet residency requirements. For more details see the University’s website.
What if the funding from these three sources doesn’t add up to £10,935
Students can reasonably be expected to take full advantage of all the financial support that is available to them. But we recognise that some students may still not have enough to meet the cost of living (£10,935) and so for students from households with annual incomes lower than around £52,000 we will aim to fill the gap with an Old Members’ Trust Bursary.
Is there any other support available from the College?
There are two other ways in which the College may be able to help. First, the government’s student support arrangements, added to the Oxford Bursaries, mean that some UK students will already have access to more than the £10,935 minimum 9-month cost of living. However, these students may additionally be eligible for support from the Old Members’ Trust Bursary scheme, which will help meet living costs during the Long Vacation (July-September). These supplementary vacation bursaries will allow students to spend more time over the summer on their academic work, or to undertake unpaid internships, rather than take on paid employment. Undergraduates in their final year, who already have access to the minimum 9-month cost of living, will not be eligible for an Old Members’ Long Vacation Bursary, but may be offered additional vacation residence during the Easter Vacation, allowing them to prepare for Finals. Secondly, both UK and non-UK students who run into unexpected and unforeseeable financial hardship are eligible to apply to the College for an award from the Student Support Fund.
How can the College afford these bursaries?
The College can afford to offer such generous levels of support because former students (known as Old Members) have donated money over many years to help students meet the costs of studying and living in Oxford. This money is looked after by the Old Members’ Trust, which takes decisions about the best sort of bursary to offer. One of the other goals of the Old Members’ Trust is to encourage pupils to apply to Univ from schools and communities that have not traditionally sent students to Oxford.
If you are a Univ Old Member who would be interested in establishing or contributing to a travel scholarship, further details are available on our Your Impact pages.



























