Bursaries and Hardship Funding
Both the University and the College offer some bursaries to students throughout their course, and also have some Hardship Funding for which students may apply if hardship arises while they are on course. Please click on the links below for more details. You are also welcome to contact our Estates Bursar, kevin.knott@trinity.ox.ac.uk, to discuss financial concerns, in confidence.
Trinity College Financial Support
Trinity College Financial Support
Levine and Trinity Bursaries for undergraduates
If you are not eligible for an Oxford Opportunity Bursary (OOB), or if your OOB entitlement does not fully meet your financial needs, you may apply for a Levine Bursary or a Trinity Bursary on admission to Trinity. In 2012-13, the College will offer up to ten Levine and Trinity Bursaries (value £1,000-£5,000 each) to incoming undergraduate students with financial need. The bursaries will be awarded for the normal length of the degree course, subject only to continuing satisfactory academic progress and no material change in the student's financial situation.
The Levine and Trinity Bursaries are generously funded by Peter Levine and an anonymous Old Member of the College.
Further details can be obtained from the Estates Bursar, kevin.knott@trinity.ox.ac.uk.
Trinity College Bursaries for 4th-year Graduates
The Academic Administrator circulates all graduate students to invite applications in July of each academic year for Trinity 4th-year graduate bursaries, tenable from the following Michaelmas Term. These awards of up to £1500, funded by the generosity of Trinity alumni, are intended to provide support for postgraduates without other funding and with demonstrable financial need; applicants must be well on course to complete their DPhil as they enter their 4th year.
Senior Tutor's Discretionary Fund for Academic Purposes
The generosity of former members of Trinity allows us to run a small discretionary fund for demonstrable academic financial need. It is overseen by the Senior Tutor, to whom enquiries should be addressed (senior.tutor@trinity.ox.ac.uk); these will be treated in confidence. Both undergraduates and graduates may apply. Typically the fund is used in cases of financial need to provide small grants (£50-£200) meeting unexpected or urgent needs related to academic study, and which are not covered by any other relevant grants (e.g. vacation grant, academic grant).
University Financial Support
Oxford Opportunity Bursaries for undergraduate courses
These were established in 2006 to assist UK students from lower income households with the cost of undergraduate study at the University of Oxford. There is no application for the bursary scheme. When applying for UK government funding you and your sponsors/parents must agree to share the data relating to your household income assessment with the University. The University then uses the household income below £50,000 to calculate the level of bursary a student will receive. Please do not cross the box on the final declaration page of the PN1 Student Finance Direct Application Form. By leaving the box blank you give authority for information to be shared with the University and College, otherwise no payments under the Oxford Opportunity Bursaries Scheme can be made.
University-managed Student Financial Support Funds (ALF)
The University’s Student Funding and Access Office administers Government Hardship Funds, which are allocated to the University by HEFCE to assist eligible students (undergraduates and graduates) who face financial difficulties for whatever reason. The Access to Learning Fund (ALF) is for home-fees students (or those falling under other categories defined below) who need extra help to meet their living or course costs, whether because they have higher than normal costs e.g. student parents or disabled students, or because they fall into hardship unexpectedly.
The Fund can be used to meet course-related costs such as child-care provision costs not covered by the Childcare Grant or Parents’ Learning Allowance, travel, books and equipment. Payments can range up to £3,500 in exceptional circumstances.
Funds may be granted to undergraduates and postgraduates, both full-time and part-time, who are either (i) ‘home’ students who, at the start of their course, have been ordinarily resident in the UK for the three years preceding that date; (ii) refugees, their spouses/civil partners, children or step-children; (iii) persons granted exceptional leave to enter or remain or indefinite leave to remain (ELE/ELR), or Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave; (iv) nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) employed in the UK, their spouses and children, provided certain other conditions are met; (v) EU nationals who lived in the UK and Islands for the three year period before the start of their course. Before coming up to Trinity undergraduates should complete form PN1 available from their Local Authority (LA) and return it to them with a letter stating they wish to apply for tuition fee and maintenance support under the new rules. If the LA determines they are eligible, they will be eligible to apply to the Access to Learning Fund.
Channel Islands and Isle of Man students are not eligible to apply.
Before applying for a grant full-time undergraduate students must have taken out a student loan for maintenance, if eligible, and applied for the full amount to which they are entitled. This fund cannot be used to pay tuition fees. Please do not hesitate to apply if you need help.
Applications to the Access to Learning Fund should be made through the Student Funding and International Office. Forms are available from the Academic Administrator and at the Student Funding and International Office. Queries should be directed to student.funding@admin.ox.ac.uk or phone (2)70040/(2)80651, http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/io/hardship.shtml
University Hardship Fund (for Undergraduates and Postgraduates)
The University Hardship Fund is for home and international students. The Committee on Student Hardship makes awards on the grounds of unforeseeable hardship and may provide help in the form of a grant or loan, depending on the applicant’s circumstances. Awards to successful applicants are made on the basis of a comparison of a student’s finances for the current academic year with University estimates of finances required. The Committee meets on a termly basis but will not normally consider more than one application per student per year, unless there have been significant changes in that student’s circumstances. Awards generally do not exceed £3000. All students registered for a degree at the University are eligible to apply to the Committee.
You should collect a form from the College’s Academic Administrator and ask her advice before completing the application.
Deadlines: Monday of fourth week (Friday of second week in Trinity Term). All parts of the application form must have been received by these dates. These should be sent to the Student Funding and International Office, University Offices. The University Committee on Student Hardship meets in sixth week (fourth week in Trinity Term).
Other sources of financial support and general finance information are available from the University Student Funding website.