Money

This section shows some typical costs for a graduate student coming to Cambridge, according to whether you are studying an Arts or Science subject, and whether you are coming from the UK, EU or overseas.

As a graduate student, you must pay the University Composition Fee and the College Fee for each year of your course. In addition, you must pay for your own living expenses and the living expenses of any dependants (husband/wife/partner/children) who accompany you to Cambridge.

As a guide for 2009/2010 (from figures given by the Board of Graduate Studies) the minimum amounts per year required are set out below.  The figures are calculated for a 12 month course.  If a course length is less than twelve months, figures will be reduced accordingly. 

• £15,412 for one Home student
• £15,737  for one EU/Exchange student
• £22,094 for one Overseas Arts student
• £25,115 for one Overseas Science student
• £35,978 for one Overseas Clinical Medical student
• £5,662 for one adult dependant
• £3,222 for first accompanying child
• £1,099 for each subsequent child

The College Officer responsible for overseeing student finance is the Financial Tutor.

Bills and Charges

College Bills are issued at the beginning of each Term by the Bursary. Any queries about your College Bill should be taken to the Bursary in the first instance. If issues relating to your Bill cannot be resolved in this way, you should go and see the Financial Tutor at one of her listed Tutorial times.

Hardship Funds

Hardship is difficult to define in a precise way, but for the purposes of assessing eligibility for grants it is taken to mean: 'being unable to meet the reasonable (in the College's view) costs of accommodation, maintenance, study, and living expenses, whilst having drawn fully on all normally available resources, and not having incurred any foreseeable unreasonable expenditure'.

University Hardship Funds are available to help those who would not be able to complete their studies in Cambridge without additional financial resources. Help through these Funds tends to concentrate on housing costs, although it is also possible to make a successful claim on other grounds. As Clare houses a large proportion of its graduate students, only for a few of Clare’s students are Hardship applications worth the effort.

Awards are for 6-month periods (October to March and April to September); the corresponding closing dates are 1st December and 1st March, but time must be allowed for the Graduate Tutor and Financial Tutor to complete their verifications. Application forms are kept in the Tutorial Office.

If you wish to be considered for a College hardship grant, you should ask the Assistant Graduate Tutor to write to the Financial Tutor in support of the application and complete a blue application form (available in the Tutorial Office) setting out your financial position and showing all sources of income and other resources (e.g. loans, savings from vacation work, legacies, scholarships etc). Take the completed form to the Financial Tutor (D5 Old Court) at an advertised Tutorial time. The Financial Tutor may ask to see documentary evidence, such as bank statements or bills, in support of your case.

College hardship grants are normally made from the Atkinson Fund, established for the purpose by Edward Atkinson, who was Master of Clare for nearly sixty years. Larger bursaries may be provided from the Heseldin Fund (a recent donation to support students reading certain science subjects), or from the Duveen Fund, given to the College by the Dorothy Burns Charity.

Research Expenses Fund

Up to £400 (over the three-year period) is available to help PhD students attend conferences and travel in relation to their research. Up to £150 is available for someone on a one-year M. Phil course.  Application forms are available from Sue Goodbody (smg44@cam.ac.uk) in the Tutorial Office (Research Expenses Fund Application Form) and a letter from your supervisor must support the application.

The rules are that a student’s Department is expected to contribute on a similar or greater scale (if not, the supervisor should explain why in his/her letter) and you are expected to have sought funding from your Grant Giving Body. Obviously, the activity must be closely linked to your research activities. If the application contains anything unusual, it is usually necessary to discuss it with the Graduate Tutor to avoid it being rejected out of hand by the arbitrating panel.

Book Grants

Each year you may claim a partial refund of money spent on books, or on computer software or audio-visual source material. To be eligible for a refund, such purchases must be directly relevant to your course. The current scale of refund per academic year - credited against your College Bill - is: £40 on purchases between £50 and £75 and £55 for  purchases over £75.

Claim forms* are issued in the Michaelmas Term, and need to be presented to the Bursary (F2) during a narrow time-window early in the Easter Term. Keep all relevant receipts. The Financial Tutor may require evidence of purchase, and may query or disallow claims which in her view do not conform to the criteria.

*Only students who are in residence and paying a College Fee (or have it paid on their behalf) are eligible to make a claim.

Cycle Helmet/Lights Subsidies

In order to encourage the use of cycle helmets and lights, the College has a subsidy scheme and allows £20 towards the cost of a helmet and £10 towards the cost of lights.  To claim for either, or both of these, you must submit a receipt to the Bursary within 2 months of your purchase.  There will only be one grant per student, except in the case of an accident that results in the need for a replacement helmet and/or lights.

Other College Funds for Particular Purposes

If you think you may be eligible for assistance from the following funds, you should in the first instance approach the indicated person or the Graduate Tutor:

Alma Royalton Kisch
Support of Theology and certain aspects of Archaeology and Anthropology, especially for the promotion of inter-faith understanding. (The Dean)

Chibnall
Research in Biochemistry; submission via Graduate Tutor.  This is usually advertised towards the end of the Michaelmas Term each year.

Emperor Norton
Musical enterprises; application forms from Tutorial Office; submission to the Director of Music.

Phyllis and Hardy Lee Fund
Support for a major musical project; application forms from Tutorial Office; submission to the Director of Music

Gordon Dickson
Contributions to cost of representing Cambridge University in sporting matches against Oxford or at the BUSF Games (or the Olympics!); see the Financial Tutor.

T S Skillman Scholarship Fund
Support for Physics Research Students whose normal funding is unable to meet reasonable costs. (The Financial Tutor)

Eric Lane
Support in Humanities and Social Sciences, for the advancement of peace and social harmony. (Mr Colin Turpin)

A G D West Fund
Support of Engineering (and some Physics) Research Students whose normal funding is unable to meet reasonable costs. (The Financial Tutor)

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