Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship

The Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship is a programme established by the Cambridge Trust to support students who face severe barriers in coming to study in Cambridge.

Named after the former Chairman of our Board of Trustees, the Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship is a full-cost award available to undergraduate and postgraduate students, covering tuition fees and maintenance, which will, in some instances, also assist with students’ upfront expenses such as travel, visa costs and the immigration health surcharge.

The need for this studentship far exceeds the Trust’s ability to support the many brilliant students wishing to take up their places at Cambridge. We are grateful to any supporters who wish to join with the Trust to support more Rowan Williams Students to study at Cambridge. Please contact Tendai Kariwo to discuss how you might be able to join with the Trust on this programme.

To be eligible, applicants need to:

• hold a conditional offer of admission to the University of Cambridge for any degree;
• be from an area of instability or zone of conflict;
• and/or be, or have been, at risk of discrimination, persecution, suffering, violence or other abuse of their human rights.

Applicants do not need to have Refugee status.

Postgraduate applicants should

• apply by the funding deadline for their chosen course of study, and be offered conditional admission to the University of Cambridge;
• tick the box to apply for funding, and fill in the Cambridge Trust section of the online form, as part of their application for admission through the University’s Applicant Portal. You do not need to indicate that you wish to be considered for the Rowan Williams Studentship specifically.

Undergraduate applicants should

• apply for admission to the University of Cambridge in the normal way via a UCAS application and by the published deadline;
• if offered conditional admission by a Cambridge College, complete an Application for Scholarships for Undergraduate Studies offered by the Cambridge Trust (sent by the College at time of conditional offer) including a Personal Statement of how they meet the eligibility criteria.

Separate application form

To be considered for this studentship, applicants should complete and return a separate application form to the Trust, which has been designed to assist the Trust in the identification of eligible candidates. The Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship application form is available here. 

Completed application forms should be returned to the Cambridge Trust by email. The deadline for receipt of the form is Wednesday 31 January 2024.

Notes for applicants:

The Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentships are not available for courses offered by the Institute of Continuing Education, premium rate courses offered by the Judge Business School (including MBA, MFin, EMBA etc.) or for courses where the fees are charged at the higher Clinical rate.

You are encouraged to use the Trust’s scholarship search to find all the awards for which you may be eligible.

Selection panels will assess applications taking regard of the severity of barriers faced to pursuing higher education at the University of Cambridge.

The Trust will notify successful applicants by the end of May prior to commencement of their course.