The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has awarded £3 million to the University of Oxford, which will be used to support Master’s courses for UK and EU students.
The grant, which was the largest available to a single institution, along with £750,000 from the University’s funds, will go towards a matched funding scholarship programme offering over 100 full and partial Oxford Graduate Scholarships for 2014-5.
The publically-funded HEFCE Postgraduate Support Scheme is a £25 million programme for pilot projects beginning in the next academic year. The scheme tests ways of stimulating progression into taught postgraduate education. The University will conduct research into the barriers to postgraduate study, and share findings with HEFCE.
Dr Jane Sherwood, director of graduate admissions and funding at the University, said, “It is very important that students from all backgrounds who are interested in postgraduate study are not put off by financial considerations, so we are delighted that this grant from HEFCE will bring to over 1,000 the number of scholarships available to new postgraduate students in the next academic year.”
The new scholarships will become part of the Oxford Graduate Scholarship Matched Fund, which since 2012 has produced a total scholarship pot of £56.9 million with the University.
The University of Oxford are also introducing at least 140 new funded internships for UK and EU undergraduates and at least 60 for UK and EU master’s students to encourage further study and facilitate access to academia and the professions.
One student told Cherwell, “It’s only because of scholarships such as those in the Oxford Graduate Scholarship Matched Fund that I am considering staying on — there is no way I’d be able to afford it otherwise, especially with three years of debt from undergraduate study under my belt.
“Further to this, such provisions will not only make it easier for current students to continue into further study but for those who missed out on studying at Oxford the first time to have another chance to do what they love at their first-choice university.”
