Scholarships and Prizes

The College awards nearly 150 scholarships, awards and prizes each year, plus additional bursaries and grants. Our current award-holders are listed here. All of our undergraduate students can also apply for a College Grant each year, of up to £300, to meet academic-related costs (e.g. travel to conferences and language tuition).

Information for Current Students

Scholarships of £250 are awarded each year to the most outstanding students, on the recommendation of their tutors. Award of a Scholarship is an indication that the tutors are confident that the student in question will achieve a First Class degree. Students who are not awarded a scholarship in their final year but who go on to achieve a First are awarded scholarships retrospectively. College Scholars are entitled to wear a Scholars’ gown, and are invited to attend the Award Holders’ Dinner in Hilary Term.

Exhibitions of £100 are awarded each year, on tutor recommendation, to highly performing students who do not quite meet the criteria for a College Scholarship. Award of an Exhibition is an indication that the tutors are confident that the student in question is capable of achieving a First Class degree. College Exhibitioners are invited to attend the Award Holders’ Dinner in Hilary Term.

Academic Progress Prizes of £100 are given to students following nominations by tutors for academic achievement outside of public examinations. Tutors may nominate on the basis of strong performances in tutorials, collections or any other academic activity they deem worthy of a Progress Prize. Each student may only receive one prize per academic year, but they are awarded in each term throughout the year.

The College aims to have two Organ Scholars and eight Choral Scholars in residence each year. Organ Scholars receive £300 per year, and share the responsibility of running the Chapel music with our Director of Music. Choral Scholars are required to sing in the Chapel Choir for services each Sunday evening, and occasionally at other times. They receive £200 per year, and are entitled to wear a Scholar’s gown.

Find out more about the scholarships and how to apply

Current students are invited to audition for Instrumental Awards in October each year. Awards do not exceed £100 and are given on condition that students perform in musical events in the College.

The Masterclass Fund is open to all Teddy Hall students and supports individuals who have already reached a high level of achievement in an extra-curricular activity and are now seeking funding for additional coaching to develop and hone their skills. This may include, but is not exclusive to, the areas of writing, drama, music, art and sport. Individual students are eligible for up to £1000 support in any one academic year.

Frank di Rienzo Masterclass Award in Drama and Theatre
Thanks to a generous bequest to honour the memory of Frank di Rienzo (1959, English), a dedicated member of the College’s John Oldham Drama Society and passionate supporter of drama and the arts, an additional Masterclass Award of £1000 is available for students applying for coaching in drama and theatre.

Stuart Ford Masterclass Award in Film & Television
Thanks to the support of Stuart Ford (1988, Jurisprudence), an additional Masterclass Award of £1,000 is available for students applying for coaching in film or television.

Current students can find the guidelines and application form here

Peel Awards (Maths & Philosophy)
Two annual awards of £1,000 to second year students reading Mathematics & Philosophy. All eligible students are automatically considered for the awards, which are made on the basis of academic merit (although financial hardship may be taken into consideration). The tutors in Maths & Philosophy determine the other awards in Hilary term each year.

Bendhem Fine Art Bursary
A small grant (currently about £350) is automatically disbursed to each Fine Art finalist to help with the costs of the Degree Show.

Chevron Award (Earth Sciences)
Money received from Chevron is automatically disbursed to second-year Earth Sciences students to assist with the costs of the mapping project.

Ogilvie-Thompson English Prize
One award of £200 is awarded in Trinity Term for outstanding work in Old and Middle English. All English students are automatically considered for this award.

David J Cox Award (Geography)
This annual award, currently around £200, is made to the Geography student with the most worthwhile dissertation proposal, as judged by the College’s Geography tutors. The intention is that the money be used towards the expenses involved in researching and writing the dissertation.

JR Hughes Book Prize (Geography)
This prize is given annually to the best-performing Geography student.

Joe Todd Award (Engineering)
The Joe Todd Award was set up in 2006 in memory of Dr Joseph Derwent Todd, a long-time Fellow and Tutor in Engineering at St Edmund Hall. The purpose of the Award is to fund a small number of Engineering students to engage in Long Vacation projects (including internships) that involve personal development, engineering application/innovation, environmental/community achievement, and the enhancement of the reputation of the Hall. Typically up to £3000 in total is available each year for awards.

This award is now accepting applications until Friday of Week 7 Hilary Term (1 March 2024).

Current students can find guidelines and the application from Application Form.

Bernard Bewlay Science and Engineering Prize
Dr Bernard Bewlay (1980, Metallurgy) has established this prize to assist two talented and promising third-year undergraduates studying Mathematical, Physical or Life Sciences and who are performing well academically. The recipients of this award should have a clear vision of the technical career they wish to pursue after their studies at the Hall, and they should have an appreciation of how their future contributions can benefit society as a whole. The recipients of this award should also have a full appreciation of the ‘Hall Spirit’, and they should be engaged in the full curriculum of the Hall from their tutor’s office to the sporting field to their artistic endeavours! Two prizes of £500 are awarded at the end of each Michaelmas Term. All eligible students are considered without application, and awards are based on nominations by the tutors.

A prize of £500 is given to each St Edmund Hall student who manages to achieve both a First Class degree and a University Blue.

Our travel awards are usually open for applications from current students during Hilary term.

Richard Fargher Bursaries
One or two awards to a total value of £6000 awarded to students reading for any undergraduate degree, who wish to undertake a programme of study and travel abroad which has among its objectives the improvement of their linguistic skill. First year students (except for Senior Status students) or those who will complete their course in the current academic year are not eligible. Students on a year abroad may apply.

Cochrane Scholarship
One award of £1000 for foreign travel, available to undergraduates reading for Arts subjects.

Michael Pike Travel Fund
This £500 award will be given to a student who proposes to engage in some outdoor activity for which a spirit of enterprise and physical endeavour are required. The award is contributed by old members in memory of Michael Pike (1948).

Graham Hamilton Travel Award
Three prizes of £1000 each for students who need financial assistance to undertake a holiday in the UK or abroad which calls for some measure of initiative, enterprise or endurance.

Matt Greenwood Travel Scholarships
These Scholarships were established in 2017 by the students, staff, alumni and friends of the Hall in memory of Matt Greenwood (2013, Engineering), who loved to travel and sadly passed away while a student at Teddy Hall. A prize of up to £1000 per year will be awarded for travel in the UK or anywhere in the world for good purposes, with a particular emphasis on projects which embody Matt’s gifts of courage, adventure and concern for others.

This annual prize of £500 is awarded for a single poem, of no more than 40 lines, written in English. The prize is advertised within the College during Hilary Term of each year. Any undergraduate enrolled at St Edmund Hall may enter regardless of subject area – but only one poem per student, please. In the event that two or more poems tie, the award money will be split among the winning poets.

The St Edmund Hall Association has established this annual prize of £600 for undertaking an exceptional enterprise or voluntary commitment in an activity which falls outside of established College or University pursuits. All current students, including Visiting Students, are eligible to apply for this award.

Current students can find the guidelines and application form here

This prize of up to £500 is awarded to a member of the Junior Common Room (a current undergraduate) to undertake some activity, experience or contribution to others which will be personally challenging.

The prize was established in 2015 thanks to a donation from Darrell Barnes (1963, French & German), President of the St Edmund Hall Association 2011-2014, in memory of his parents. Students are invited to apply for the Prize when applications open (usually in Michaelmas term). The award is likely to provide personal development, a sense of achievement and will allow the applicant to undertake something that would otherwise not be possible. Whatever the activity, it is hoped that the experience will open the applicant’s eyes to life in the wider world, help them achieve personal goals, and thus encourage others to follow their good example. This is a single award (joint applications will not be considered), and the topic should not be connected with the applicant’s course of study.

This annual prize of £500 is open to both undergraduates and postgraduates. The prize is awarded to an individual who has shown significant leadership qualities during their time at the Hall in any area, e.g. sport, charity work, journalism, theatre/drama, music, potential future academic leadership, or other outside interests.

Reach Oxford Scholarship

St Edmund Hall participates in the Reach Oxford initiative, aiming to have one Reach Oxford Scholar in residence at the College in a given year. The Scholarship is supported by a contribution from the College, as well as through the generosity of its undergraduate and postgraduate members.

The Reach Oxford Scholarship provides full remission of University and College fees, in addition to grants towards living and travel expenses. It is offered to undergraduate students from low-income countries who, for political or financial reasons, or because suitable educational facilities do not exist, cannot study for a degree in their own countries.

More information on the Reach Oxford Scholarships, including eligibility criteria and the application process, can be found on the University of Oxford website.

Find out more

Applicants must be current students at the College, and have applied for admission to study a postgraduate degree at St Edmund Hall in the upcoming academic year. Preference will be given to undergraduates moving on to postgraduate study, but master’s students moving on to research degrees may also be considered. Individual awards are unlikely to exceed £500. Details of this Scholarship will be publicised to eligible students in Trinity term.

The Student Challenge Fund has been created from the generous contributions of St Edmund Hall JCR and MCR members, along with matched funding from the University of Oxford. The Scholarships are intended to encourage closer relations between the undergraduate and postgraduate communities in the College.

This fund is to be used at the discretion of the Principal to provide direct support to current Hall students who wish to undertake special projects such as charitable work, choral and drama tours, travel for unusual academic opportunities and to assist others. Keith Gull initiated this fund during his tenure at the Hall, reflecting his commitment to both ‘Hall Spirit’ and supporting student ambition.

As a member of St Edmund Hall, if you secure a place on the Teach First Training Programme, the College will award you a bursary worth up to £1000. Please contact Alena (college.office@seh.ox.ac.uk) if you have any questions.

You might also be interested in...

Geddes Student Journalism Prizes

View Page

Rebecca West Prize for Writing

View Page