Financial Assistance Fund (Undergraduate + Postgraduate)

What you get

You get a one-off grant of up to about 3,500 EUR (3,000 GBP) per academic year if you study full time, or up to about 1,700 EUR (1,500 GBP) if you study part time. You never pay it back. This is an emergency fund from the University of Cambridge for students who run into money trouble they could not have seen coming when they started. It is not a monthly payment: you apply when things go wrong, and you can apply once per term up to the yearly maximum. There are two versions of the fund, one for undergraduates and one for postgraduates, with the same amounts.

Who can apply

• Where you study: You are a current, enrolled student at the University of Cambridge and attached to a College.
• Level: You are an undergraduate (for example BA, MB BChir, VetMB, or an integrated masters like MEng or MSci) or a postgraduate actively working on your course.
• Course length (postgraduates): Very short courses do not qualify. This rules out a Postgraduate Certificate or Master of Studies under 9 months, diplomas, non-degree PACE courses, higher doctorates, and usually one-year courses.
• Nationality: Any nationality can apply, including students from conflict zones. There are no national restrictions.
• Unexpected hardship: Your money problem must be something you could not have foreseen when you enrolled, and it must have hit during the current or last term. Problems you could have predicted, or that existed before you started, do not count.
• Genuine need: You have savings of 1,000 GBP or less and no other funding that could cover the gap, such as a state loan, sponsor, College or department. You must use up all other sources first. If a student loan was available and you did not take it, or a sponsor already covers your fees and living costs, you cannot apply.
• Timing: You are past your first term, not on a break, and not in the last stretch of your course. Undergraduates must apply more than 6 weeks before the course ends. Postgraduates cannot apply in the final 6 weeks or after submitting the thesis.

How to apply

The fund is open from 1 October to 31 August and closed in September. Undergraduates apply through their College Tutor, who adds a supporting statement before the form goes in. Postgraduates submit the form after using up all other funding. A University sub-committee reviews each case by comparing your expected income against reasonable living costs. You normally hear back by the last working day of the month after you apply.

How realistic are your chances?

This is not a competitive award you win on merit. It is a needs-tested safety net: the decision turns on whether your hardship is genuinely unexpected and whether you have already used up every other source. If you clearly fit those conditions, are past your first term, and can document the shortfall, an award is realistic. If the problem was foreseeable, or you have savings above 1,000 GBP or unused funding available, expect to be turned down.