Financial support for overseas students

for Cambridge offer holders with overseas fee status who are in financial need

The Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust Awards are mostly part-cost awards (normally up to £10,000 a year) for international students in financial need. This one is university-wide: students holding an offer at any College can apply.

The application form is sent to all students with overseas fee status by email within a day or two after offers are made and you would need to upload this by a deadline in February (we will give you the instructions).

You will only be eligible for a scholarship if you have financial need. Further information is on the Cambridge Trusts website, and the scholarship search enables you to find awards that you may be eligible for. In most cases there are no additional application forms to complete.

For Christ's offer holders with overseas fee status

For 2025 entry, Christ’s will be offering up to five international awards to outstanding incoming undergraduates from outside the UK.

These awards may be held in conjunction with other scholarships, including those given by the Cambridge Trust, and consist of:

> An annual award of £10,000, for the duration of the undergraduate degree (3 or 4 years). 
> In some cases, depending on the financial need of the individual, the award will be accompanied by a full or partial waiver of the College Fee, currently £11,900 per annum (rate for 2025 entry), for the duration of the undergraduate degree.

The awards are not restricted by country or region; they are available to offer-holders resident in all countries outside the UK, although award-holders from Denmark and Eastern Europe may receive named international awards (Oscar Lewisohn Awards and Nelis Bursaries, respectively) while award-holders from other areas will simply receive a Christ's College International Award.

There is no restriction by subject for any of our awards, and we aim to distribute them across the Arts and Sciences.

We hope to make up to two awards to students who have been assisted by the international social enterprise Project Access (or in Hong Kong Access Abroad Hong Kong) and we encourage all prospective applicants from schools and regions without a strong tradition of Oxbridge application to contact Project Access or Access Abroad Hong Kong for advice and support.
 

Timing details: You do not need to do anything during the application process. If you receive an offer from Christ's College at the end of January, and you have overseas fee status, you will receive an email in February with the full information, inviting you to apply for a Christ's International Award. There is a form to complete and upload.

Award-holders will be invited to a celebratory ceremony during their first term at Cambridge.

This information will be updated for 2026 entry in due course.

For Christ's current students

Christ’s offers all undergraduates a flexible grant of £1,200 which can be used throughout your degree. Whilst there is a spending limit of £400 per academic year, it can be used across a range of activities including 

> Study aids 
> Academic activities  
> Vacation study 
> Language courses 
> Extra-curricular activities such as sports, music, theatre, art

We advise students to discuss how best to use the grant each year with their Tutor and/or Director of Studies. It can't be transferred to anything else so students are encouraged to use it. 

There are also separate small grants for specific activities / help such as

>Travel 
> Summer research projects 
> Sports participation 
> Hardship 
> Humanities and creative arts

Further information, including how to apply, will be made available after you have started your course at Christ's.

For 2025 entry Christ's College will be offering the Sukanya Rajaratnam Award for an outstanding international woman student. This award is for women resident in Sri Lanka (applying to study any subject) and women applying to study Architecture, Design or History of Art. 

The Sukanya Rajaratnam Award is worth £10,000 per annum. In some cases, depending on the financial need of the individual, the award will be accompanied by a full or partial waiver of the College Fee, currently £11,900 per annum.

You do not have to apply for this award - all Christ's offer-holders who are eligible for the Sukanya Rajaratnam Award will automatically be considered, and the award is tenable for the duration of the undergraduate degree.

for a Christ's offer holder resident in Hong Kong

For 2025 entry Christ's College will be offering the Li Ka Shing Foundation Lord Sandberg Memorial Scholarship. 

This award is for a student who is resident in Hong Kong, and is likely to be worth in the region of £8,300 per annum. 

All students who are eligible will automatically be considered, and the award is tenable for the duration of the undergraduate degree.

for Christ's applicants resident in Singapore who have previously studied at a SJI School. 

This award is for students resident in Singapore, who have previously studied at an SJI School, and who have applied to Christ's College to study Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Natural Sciences or Law. The award is worth up to SGD 36,000 per annum.

More information can be found on the SJI Foundation website. 

Prince Philip Scholarships for applicants from Hong Kong: These awards are for permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. 

If you applied for one of these when you applied to Cambridge, details are on the Prince Philip Scholarship website. 

for Cambridge offer holders who face severe barriers in coming to study in Cambridge

We are particularly pleased to include the Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship in our financial support for overseas students, since Rowan Williams was a student at Christ’s from 1968 to 1971, and he remains an Honorary Fellow of the College. 

This studentship supports offer-holders who are from an area of instability or zone of conflict; or who have been at risk of discrimination, persecution, suffering, violence or other abuse of their human rights. In order to be eligible, you must also meet the entrance requirements, apply following the normal application process and be selected for an offer on academic grounds. 

The Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship is a full-cost award covering tuition fees and maintenance. For full details and eligibility, please see the Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship page on the Cambridge Trusts website.

If you are interested in applying for a Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship, then you will need to complete the application form (available on this page) as soon as possible once you receive your offer letter as the application deadline is normally tight.

If you have a disability, you may be eligible for the International Disabled Students' Fund (IDS Fund).