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Find out how to get help with your finances - including support from the Medical School as well as UCL and other sources.
We have many bursaries and scholarships – some funded by UCLMS and some by alumni, staff and other supporters – to help medical students have the best possible experience of university, in what is a really demanding and challenging 6-year course.
Students can apply for funds for emergency situations, general hardship, extra-curricular courses in arts or humanities, or to help with extra costs such as conference expenses, trips home, or ‘community’ funds to support group activities and initiatives, quality and improvement projects, accessibility to surgical careers.
Active donors currently include the Fishmongers Guild, Fitzmaurice Family, Lady Heller, Dr Henrietta Hughes, Hobbiger Family, the Medical Society of London, Richard de Metz Foundation, Reform Club Science and Technology Group, Royal Free Association, Royal Free Charity and Dr Susan West, to whom the Medical School is very grateful.
Most awards for current students can be applied for via Moodle - look for MBBS Bursaries.
Financial support
- Emergency bursaries - apply anytime
- Medical School bursaries - apply in Term 2 through to end September
- Elective bursaries - apply in September of Year 6
- Conference funding - apply anytime
- Trips home - apply anytime
- Heller bursaries - apply between January and June
- Medical Student Support Fund - apply anytime
- Start-up Support Fund - apply anytime
- UCL support - see UCL’s Financial Assistance information
- External funding - look out for Moodle notifications
Community Funds
Prospective Student funds
Emergency Bursaries:
These bursaries are to help with urgent unanticipated one-off costs or immediate financial commitments which cannot be met because of a significant change in circumstances. Applications can be submitted at any point during the year. Apply via Moodle (MBBS Bursaries).
Medical School bursaries:
Most of our financial assistance bursaries are awarded through an annual application process which opens in term 2 and closes early in term 3. Our Bursaries Committee meets in October and awards are made in November. These funds draw on bequests and donations and a list of funds available can be found below. Apply via Moodle (MBBS Bursaries).
Elective bursaries:
Please see our Elective Planning webpage for information about Elective Bursaries.
Conference funding:
We have some funds to assist with the costs of presenting at conferences - up to 50% of the fees and travel to a maximum of £250. You can receive funding once during the MBBS course. If conferences are during term time, you must obtain permission to be absent from the course before applying for funding. Apply via Moodle (MBBS Bursaries) for awards throughout the year.
Trips home:
We have a fund to assist with journeys home which might otherwise prove difficult. Contact the Student Support Manager for details. No further funds are available for travel to UCL or placement sites.
Extra-curricular courses in arts and humanities:
These annual bursaries are for medical students wishing to take a part-time course in arts and humanities - anything from singing classes, to language lessons to juggling will be considered! The donors, Lord and Lady Heller, hope that an extra-curricular course in arts will benefit students' well-being, help relieve the stress of an intensive medical course and provide a more rounded experience of university life. Apply via Moodle between January and June each year for awards in the autumn.
Extra-curricular courses in arts and humanities details
Medical Student Support Fund:
This fund is directed to students from under-represented backgrounds or AccessUCL who apply for Emergency Funding to help with urgent unanticipated one-off costs or immediate financial commitments which cannot be met.
Start-up Support Fund:
This fund is for Black British male students and was generously donated by a supporter who noticed the relatively small numbers of Black British men studying medicine and wished to help address this imbalance. We worked with our African Caribbean Medics Network and designed this innovative approach to attainment and retention.
The fund aims to encourage those considering medicine as a career, and to help current students thrive during the MBBS course. You can apply year-round to the two streams:
- A £200 ‘Welcome to UCLMS’ bursary to each new Black British male student
- Support grants for your ideas and activities e.g. attending conferences and events, getting research published, educational placements, as well as unexpected need.
- Start-up Support Fund application form (apply year-round)
- Start-up Support Fund details
UCL support:
UCL also has funds and resources available to you. One such fund is the Financial Assistance Fund. More information can be found on their website, including guides such as examples of managing your money, budgeting advice and how to make an appointment with an adviser.
External funding:
Many other institutions have funding opportunities for medical students. Some of these require us to nominate students to them, such as:
- The George Drexler Foundation has awards available for up to 5 UCL students annually, to a maximum of £20,000 in total. Applicants must have a personal or family link with commerce. Look out for the Moodle notification from us with details each January.
- The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries also ask us to propose three Year 5 or Year 6 students each year to receive a maximum of £1500 each. Look out for the Moodle notification from us in the spring.
UCLMS Community Funds
Arthur Blagg Award:
Open year-round, this fund is to provide support for student (group rather than individual) activities and initiatives. Arthur was a student at the Royal Free who sadly died during the course. He loved sports and was much loved by his many friends, who established a fund in his memory.
- Award amounts are not fixed so applications will be considered on their individual merits.
- Successful applications are likely to include: broad impacts across a significant number of students or under-represented groups, alignment to RUMS priorities, and have sustainability, community-building and connectedness at their core.
- Your application will be anonymised and sent to a panel of senior UCLMS staff to consider.
- Arthur Blagg Award application form (can apply year-round)
SQUID Fund:
Our Student Quality & Improvement Development Fund is to support students with innovative projects aimed at enhancing the student experience.
- Your application should address significant educational priorities, as identified by feedback, external monitoring and/or other quality review procedures.
- You must also have a named member of UCLMS staff as project supervisor.
- Awards can be up to £500 towards expenses and consumables.
- Full details including how to apply are on the Quality Assurance Unit’s website.
Surgical Career Support Grant
The Surgical Career Support (SCS) grant will provide an extra avenue of financial support for students and help reach our goal for accessibility to surgical careers. This grant will fund attendance to a maximum of 2 conferences/courses per successful applicant each academic year. You can apply for up to £100 to cover expenses for any event you attend that year.
Funds will be awarded based on suitability on a case by case basis. Selection will occur by a small committee of Surgical Society members after all information has been anonymised by a UCL Medical School non-academic member of staff. Apply here (year round).
Prospective Student funding
UCL Scholarship Finder
UCL has a Scholarship Finder which includes bursaries and scholarships that prospective medical students may be eligible for.
Please be aware that we may ask for details of your income and expenses, as well as supporting evidence - all of this means we can make careful and well thought-out decisions. Your supporting statement is really important and gives us context on your individual situation so we can help you as much as possible.
Any information you provide will be confidential and only assessed by staff as completely necessary.
It can also be invaluable to speak to someone about finance and any money worries. Money can cause considerable stress which can lead to other issues such as lack of sleep or concentration, or over-stretching yourself, and we can help with these.
Talk to us!
Please get in touch with your personal tutor if you are experiencing difficulties financially and would like to talk to someone in the first instance; they can refer you on as needed.
