Exeter’s provision of financial support, including grants, scholarships and bursaries, is among the more generous in Oxford. Information on financial support for both academic and non-academic purposes can be found below.
Grants for Academic Purposes
College Academic Grants
The college has funds to assist with academic matters, such as travel and accommodation costs incurred while attending conferences and conducting research towards coursework or your thesis.
The college aims to support as many students as possible with contributions towards such costs. The amount available to each student is based on their fee liability, with £300 available for each year a student is liable for fees. Further details are available on the application form. Please note that funds available in any academic year are limited, and no awards can be made after the funds for the academic year have been fully allocated.
As well as college funding, there may be funding available from your faculty or department, the central University, and external sources. We encourage you to make use of all funding opportunities, and the college does not normally fund the full cost of any activity,
Application forms must include a statement of support from your college Tutor (in the case of enrolled undergraduates) or your thesis/dissertation Supervisor (in the case of enrolled graduates).
Click here to download an application form.
Preclinical medics (i.e. students reading for the 1st BM, in Years 1 to 3 of the undergraduate medical course) are able to apply for College Academic Grants as per the normal criteria for undergraduate students.
Clinical medics (i.e. students reading for the 2nd BM, in Years 4 to 6 of the undergraduate medical course) are offered the following College Academic Grants in place of those normally available to other undergraduate students:
- grants for books, equipment (including stethoscopes) and attending conferences or training, etc up to £250 per annum. This amount, if unspent in one year, cannot be claimed for in a subsequent year during the 2nd BM.
- Academic grants (for electives) up to £500 per annum. This amount, if unspent in one year, can be claimed for in a subsequent year during the 2nd BM, but any application of this kind will require additional justification, and will only be approved where the electives are judged to offer outstanding learning opportunities.
Note that the above funds for clinical medics may not be transferred between grants for books/equipment/conferences/training and those for electives.
Additional Research Grant Fund for DPhil students
The college has an Additional Research Grant Fund for DPhil students. Awards (up to a maximum of £750 per application) will be given to help fund primary research that is necessary for the completion of your doctorate (including, but not limited to, fieldwork, visits to archives, and so on).
Applicants must seek to secure matching funding from their Department/Faculty, or other sources, where available. However, should these applications be unsuccessful, your application for the Additional Research Grant will not be automatically rejected.
Please note that this fund is not intended to fund the dissemination of research, attendance at conferences, or for activities not related to your degree. (For financial support for those activities, please see College Academic Grants (above), and Grants and Prizes for Non-Academic Purposes (below).) Moreover, Additional Research Grants will not be awarded to fund living costs in Oxford, the purchase of personal IT equipment (i.e. spare monitors, general-purpose hardware, laptops, or printers), furniture, or consumables of any kind.
There are two rounds of funding awards each year: one in Hilary Term and one in Trinity Term. Further details, and instructions for applicants, will be e-mailed to graduate students in advance of those deadlines.
Grants and Prizes for Non-Academic Purposes
Sports and Arts Grants
A limited amount of funding is available to enrolled graduates or undergraduates who wish to undertake a sporting or arts activity. Applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis until the funds are fully allocated. Click here to download an application form, and eligibility criteria for application.
North America Travel Grant
The college offers funding to enable a current student (undergraduate or graduate) to travel in North America during the Summer Vacation. The North American Travel Grant provides funding of £2,500 to help cover the cost of flights and accommodation. Your trip should have a theme or purpose, which can be related to your academic studies or to other interests or pursuits. For example, grants have been awarded in the past to students working for charities, community groups or teaching in local schools, as well as supporting those on internships or academic-related study programmes. Applicants will be required to outline how they would use the funding. Recipients are expected to write a report about their trip which may be shared through various college publications and online. This opportunity will be advertised by the Development Office in Hilary Term.
East Asia Travel Grant
The East Asia travel grant, generously funded by Friend of the College Peter Thompson, provides an opportunity for undergraduate or graduate students to explore East Asia usually for at least four weeks. The trip should have a purpose, preferably not closely linked to your academic studies, but to other interests or pursuits. Previous recipients of the grant have worked for educational and medical camps, improved language skills and learned about different cultures. The East Asia Travel Grant provides funding of £2,700, which will be available in advance to help cover the cost of flights and accommodation. Recipients are expected to write a report about their trip which will be sent to the donor and may be published by the college if appropriate. This opportunity will be advertised by the Development Office in Hilary Term.
Ashok Ranganathan Travel Grant
Funded by alumnus Ashwin Ranganathan (1991, PPE) in honour of his father Ashok, this grant provides funding to enable students to study or work in India during the Summer Vacation, or to take up a placement at an NGO in an Asian or developing country. A recent recipient of this grant taught at a school in India and explored urban and rural parts of the country. The Ashok Ranganathan Travel Grant provides one award of £1,000 or two awards of £500 each. Recipients are expected to write a report about their trip which will be sent to the donor and may be published by the college if appropriate. Undergraduate and graduate students can apply for the grant, provided they are not in their final year of study. This opportunity will be advertised by the Development Office in Hilary Term.
Internship Bursaries
A small number of Internship Bursaries are available to students undertaking internships during the Summer Vacation. Preference is given to those undertaking unpaid positions, and those who will have unusually high living costs as a result of the placement. These bursaries are currently funded through gifts to the Annual Fund. Details on how to apply are sent out from the Academic Office by email, in Trinity Term.
Language lessons (where not strictly required for a student’s degree)
The college will pay half the cost of ‘Fast Track’ courses (specifically from the Fast Track pathway, within the ‘Languages for All’ programme provided by Oxford University Language Centre) that are successfully completed by undergraduates and graduates of the college, on provision of receipts and the graduation certificate. You must seek a signature of approval from the Senior Tutor at the beginning of the year, prior to commencing the course, and the College will reimburse half the cost at the end of Trinity Term (upon successful completion of the full course).
