For 2022 entry onwards, the College will offer up to ten undergraduate Beacon bursaries per year. All eligible undergraduate students who are admitted to the College in the usual way will be considered for a Beacon bursary. These bursaries will be available in all subjects in which the College admits students, and they can be held for the duration of a student’s undergraduate studies.

The value of the bursary will be £4500 per year. An additional £1500 per year will be available to bursary-holders who undertake an approved internship or academic placement which is either unpaid or modestly paid. Priority will be given to students whose household incomes are below £51,999 (the current upper limit of eligibility for other college bursaries).

Key points:

• Beacon bursaries are available to British students with Black African, Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi or Pakistani heritage, refugees, asylum seekers, those who have humanitarian protection, those with limited or discretionary leave to remain, students who are care-experienced, and members of the Traveller community.

• All eligible undergraduate students who are admitted to the College in the usual way will be considered for a Beacon bursary.

• Beacon bursaries will be available in all subjects in which the College admits students, and they will tenable for the duration of the student’s undergraduate studies (including the full six-year BM BCh).

The value of the bursary will be £4500 per year.

• An additional £1500 per year will be available to bursary holders who undertake an approved internship or academic placement which is either unpaid or modestly paid.

• When assessing candidates for a Beacon bursary, priority will be given to students whose household incomes are below £51,999 (the current upper limit of eligibility for other Univ bursaries).

• Beacon bursaries may be held alongside other means-tested maintenance bursaries such as Oxford University’s Crankstart Scholarships. Beacon bursaries may not be held alongside full-fees bursaries.

Application process

Upon receipt of their offer, all new Univ offer-holders, including students who originally applied to other colleges, will be invited to submit a short pro forma statement of eligibility. All eligible students will be assessed, and bursaries awarded no later than March. All bursary holders will be required to apply to the Student Finance agency in their home region for an assessment of their household income.

For 2022 entry onwards, the College will offer two fully-funded graduate Beacon studentships at any one time to British students with Black African or Black Caribbean heritage. One will be a fully-funded master’s degree studentship (for a one- or two-year course), covering full fees and maintenance. The other will be a fully-funded doctoral studentship, again covering both fees and maintenance. An additional £2000 per year will be available to holders of Beacon studentships who undertake an approved internship or academic placement which is either unpaid or modestly paid, so long as it is compatible with their academic commitments.

All eligible graduate students who are admitted to the College in the usual way will be considered for a Beacon studentship. Priority will be given to applicants who do not have alternative funding. In the first instance, the doctoral studentship will be awarded in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Black Academic Futures programme.

Key points:

• One fully-funded master’s studentship per year will be available to British students with Black African or Black Caribbean heritage.

• In addition, one fully-funded DPhil (PhD) studentship at any one time will be available to British students with Black African or Black Caribbean heritage. In the first instance, the DPhil studentship will be offered in collaboration with the University’s Black Academic Futures initiative.

• Both studentships will be available in any degree to which the College admits students.

• As with all other graduate studentships, only candidates who have been made an offer by the admitting department will be eligible.

• £2000 per year will be available to holders of Beacon studentships who undertake an approved internship or academic placement which is either unpaid or modestly paid, so long as it is compatible with their academic commitments.

• Priority will be given to students admitted to the College who are not otherwise in receipt of funding.

Application process

In the case of the master’s studentship, all Univ offer-holders will be invited to submit a pro forma statement of eligibility. Priority will go to offer-holders who are not otherwise in receipt of funding.

In the case of the D.Phil. studentship, in the first instance selection of students will be coordinated by the University’s Student Fees and Funding Department in collaboration with participating colleges and departments.

The College will establish a new three-year Junior Research Fellowship targeted at early-career British scholars with Black African or Black Caribbean heritage.

A Junior Research Fellowship can be a hugely important step in an academic career. It is an opportunity to undertake a significant body of research work and to establish an impressive academic profile. Univ’s Junior Research Fellows have an extraordinarily high success rate in securing permanent academic posts at research-intensive institutions. This speaks very highly of them as individual scholars, but it also indicates the huge boost which an extended period of funded independent postdoctoral research can give to a burgeoning academic career. The Beacon JRF is the perfect means to leverage future opportunities at prestigious institutions, and to widen the pipeline into the academic profession.

Key Points:

• There will be one Beacon Junior Research Fellow at any one time.

• The Beacon JRF will be tenable in any subject in which the College has Fellows.

• The JRF will be advertised in rotating groups of cognate subjects.

• The terms and conditions will be the same as all other JRFs in the College, with the exception that the Beacon Fellow will be asked to take on modest mentoring duties for the holders of Beacon bursaries and studentships.

We expect to advertise the first Beacon JRF in 2022.

Why has the College established the Univ Beacon Programme?

The Univ Beacon Programme is about driving change to achieve greater representation of currently under-represented groups in our community and in the professions to which we are a pipeline. Univ has a long history of innovation in widening access, and this new programme builds on strong foundations.

There is universal agreement that Oxford needs to make more rapid progress in diversifying its student and staff body. Diversity is important as a social good in its own right, and it is manifestly in Oxford’s self-interest – for the University to continue to thrive, we need to recruit the best people from all backgrounds. Greater diversity will strengthen the University’s intellectual vitality.

How have the eligibility criteria been defined?

The eligibility criteria for each component of the Univ Beacon Programme are set in response to the most marked patterns of under-representation in undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral study. We recognise that there are other under-represented groups who are not currently eligible for a Beacon award. In many cases, these groups are supported by other college and university initiatives, including Opportunity Oxford, Foundation Oxford, Crankstart Scholarships and Academic Futures.

I’m an applicant for undergraduate study. Am I eligible for a Beacon bursary?

Undergraduate Beacon bursaries are available to British students with Black African, Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi or Pakistani heritage, refugees, asylum seekers, those who have humanitarian protection, those with limited or discretionary leave to remain, students who are care-experienced, and members of the Traveller community. Priority will be given to students whose household incomes are below £51,999 (this being the current upper limit of eligibility for other college bursaries).

All you need to do is apply to the College in the usual way (see ox.ac.uk). If you’re made an offer then you’ll be invited to submit a short pro forma statement of eligibility. All eligible offer-holders will be considered for a Beacon bursary.

I’m an applicant for graduate study. Am I eligible for a Beacon studentship?

Beacon postgraduate studentships are available to British students with Black African or Black Caribbean heritage. One fully-funded master’s studentship will be available each year, and in addition, one fully-funded DPhil (PhD) studentship at any one time. Both studentships will be available in any degree to which the College admits students.

As with all other graduate studentships, only candidates who have been made an offer by the admitting department of the University will be eligible. All you need to do is apply in the usual way (see ox.ac.uk). If you’re made an offer then you’ll be invited to submit a short pro forma statement of eligibility. All eligible offer-holders will be considered for a Beacon bursary. Priority will be given to students admitted to the College who are not otherwise in receipt of funding.

I’m interested in applying for the Beacon Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Tell me more…

We expect to advertise the first Beacon Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in 2022, so keep an eye on our website!

How long will the Univ Beacon Programme run for?

The Univ Beacon Programme will run for ten years from 2022 entry. We are confident that in that time it will change our community for the better, and we hope very much that it will also be a time of change across the whole higher education sector. The widening access challenges of the future may well be different from those of the present, and future projects will look to those.

What else is the University of Oxford doing to promote widening access?

The University of Oxford, and all of its constituent colleges, do a great deal to address inequality and to promote fair access. There are dedicated staff in every college and every department who work with prospective applicants from under-represented backgrounds every day. We all know that more remains to be done. You can find out more about Oxford’s many access initiatives on the University’s website.

I’m interested in supporting the Univ Beacon Programme. How can I help?

The Univ Beacon Programme is funded wholly by benefaction, and we are extremely grateful to those benefactors whose great generosity has enabled its establishment. If you are interested in contributing to the future of the programme, please contact Development@univ.ox.ac.uk