Undergraduate scholarships: opening the door to a life-changing opportunity
Many talented students accepted to study at Sheffield are the first in their family to attend university, and may have family members with disabilities or low incomes. They can access higher education only because of extra financial support. In particular, additional support for those students on the margins of the eligibility criteria for government grants and central University funding makes an enormous difference to their studies and student experience.
By demonstrating that higher education is accessible to all, regardless of family and financial background, scholarships make the ambitions of talented but financially disadvantaged undergraduates an achievable reality rather than an impossible dream.
Karl Boulton, Medicine
“The scholarship has helped in so many ways. I can now concentrate much more on my medical studies. I can also be involved in volunteering for Sheffield’s Outreach and Access to Medicine Scheme (SOAMS), and give to other students what has been given to me. It’s highly rewarding to know that the knowledge I attain now will help to save the lives of patients in the future.”
Jessie Purchase, English Literature
“I’m thrilled to receive a first class degree from Sheffield, which will open up many opportunities for me. My scholarship helped enormously with this. It’s a wonderful feeling to be part of a university where there are so many people wanting to encourage and support today’s students. Hopefully, one day I will be in a position to do the same for another Sheffield student.”
Cathie Wright, French
“I have used my scholarship to fund the day-to-day maintenance costs of student life, such as buying French texts, as well as funding a large part of my living costs. I could not have completed my studies without this funding and so I am extremely grateful for such an award. It has allowed me to study in a field that I love and takes me one step closer to a career in academia. The support you give to the University is priceless.”
Hear from some of our scholarship students, about what a difference alumni donations have made to their Sheffield University experience: Videos of our Scholarship recipients
The Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships: Sheffield’s commitment to the Humanities
The Wolfson Foundation has selected Sheffield as one of only nine universities across the UK to take part in a pilot funding programme of scholarships. The prestigious Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships in the Humanities will be awarded to three Sheffield PhD students from three disciplines – history, literature and languages. As a measure of its continuing commitment to the arts and humanities, the University has now doubled the Wolfson award from £225,000 to £450,000 from the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Matched Funding scheme. This matched funding has created a further three scholarships. A total of six awards are now available for outstanding Humanities students beginning their doctoral study at the start of the academic year 2012–13.
Sir Ian Kershaw Prize for History: writing the world
“I have left university having had my eyes well and truly opened, and feel much more aware of the issues that have shaped the modern world. I now hope to become a human rights lawyer, and it has been my historical studies that have inspired me to follow this path.” Kershaw prize winner David Towris
Emeritus Professor Sir Ian Kershaw (Hon LittD 2009), one of the world’s leading authorities on Hitler, has established a Dissertation Prize to be awarded annually in a subject outside British history. The standard of dissertations has been so high that four prizes have been awarded during the past two years. Receiving the prize from such an eminent historian is an enormous encouragement to our bright and talented students. Laura Kay, a Kershaw prize winner, believes that it was the work she did on her undergraduate dissertation, as well as support from the History Department, that has inspired her to continue her studies at the University and read for an Master’s in American History.
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