Financial Support

Travel Grants for Fieldwork and Conference Presentations 

**Please note: Travel Grant applications are now closed until September 2023**

The College awards travel grants to the value of about £50,000 annually. Funding to support travel is available each academic year to Wolfson students presenting at conferences related to their studies or undertaking fieldwork in the UK or abroad. In light of the travel restrictions imposed by the covid-19 pandemic, we may also be willing to consider applications for other research related costs, such as registration fees for digital conferences and the cost of software necessary for your research. The Travel Grant application form is available to download below, and this contains full details of the scheme. 

Students may apply for up to a fixed maximum amount per year, depending on programme of study and fee liability status. You should plan to submit your application as early as possible, and ideally before the conference or fieldwork is to take place. Any travel or research must take place before thesis submission (for research students), or final exams or assessment (for students on taught courses) and during the period of fee liability. Please note that funding is limited, and not all applications will be successful, though we hope the additional flexibility provided by this revised system will allow more students to access funding. 

Completed applications should be sent by email to the Academic Office. The Academic Office will aim to provide an outcome within four weeks.

The University also offers some support for travel and research abroad. Details can be found on the International Opportunities page under the Fees and Funding section of the Oxford website.

Academic Conference and Seminar Account

This account has been established to support workshops, conferences, colloquia, lectures and seminars oganised by Fellows and Students of the College, which will be held for the most part at Wolfson.

In cases where the exact number of delegates is known, the Governing Body has agreed an amount based on £10 per day, per delegate, up to a maximum of £600 per application. Open meetings and lectures where numbers of attendees are unknown may also receive support up to a maximum of £600 per application. 

All applications will be approved subject to budget, and it is expected that external funding will also be sought. Funds may be spent as required by the convener, e.g. for catering, guest rooms, travel expenses, etc. 

A document with details on the Academic Conference and Seminar Account is available here, and this contains full details of the scheme and how to apply. 

Language Courses

The College can provide some financial assistance towards the cost of completing fast track language courses where this is required for your Oxford programme of study. The Academic Office will reimburse up to £150 on receipt of the course completion certificate. You should also provide a statement from your supervisor which confirms that the course is necessary to your studies, as well as proof of payment. 

College Hardship Fund

The College Hardship Fund is a discretionary fund intended to provide short-term financial support for students experiencing unexpected and unforeseeable financial difficulties. To be awarded a loan or grant students must be enrolled and be in good academic standing. Doctoral students who have submitted their thesis are not normally eligible for a hardship grant. All applications are considered on a case by case basis. Exceptionally, more than one application may be made, but the fund is not able to provide long-term recurrent support for students, rarely exceeds £1500 and is not intended as a substitute funding body for students without scholarships. Students considering making an application to the College Hardship Fund should review the information on the University Hardship Fund, and particularly the definition of unexpected circumstances. Students should also apply to the University Hardship Fund and speak to their department about any other funds they may be eligible to apply for. 

The College Hardship Fund is supplemented by the Joyce Bonnie Farley Award, which provides bursaries to current Wolfson students from under-represented backgrounds who encounter unforeseen financial hardship during their studies, and the Clive Foss Bursary, the Bestway Bursary, and the Merete Jakobsen Bursaries. There is no separate application process for this bursary; applicants to the College Hardship Fund will be automatically considered for the award. 

Students undertaking a nine or twelve month course are unlikely to be considered for hardship funding. 

Applications for hardship funds are considered by the Senior Tutor and Bursar on a termly basis. There is an appeals panel headed by the Vicegerent and including two other fellows. Further information about the procedure is available on the application form.

To apply, please complete a College Hardship Application Form and return it to the Academic Office by the end of Week 6. We strongly advise students considering submitting an application to contact the Academic Registrar in the first instance for further guidance, and/or if your situation is very urgent.

University of Oxford Hardship Funds

There are also University Hardship Funds to which you may be eligible to apply, with information available on the University of Oxford website.