Studying for a postgraduate degree can be expensive, and it is important that you are equipped with all of the information about these costs in advance. Costs fall into three main categories: tuition fees, maintenance costs and College charges. This page explains these costs and provides information about financial assistance that you might be able to access to help meet them.
Student Costs
Tuition Fees
You will pay tuition fees for each year of your course. Essentially, these cover your teaching and/or supervision. The amount that you will have to pay depends on your fee status, which is calculated on the basis of your nationality, where you live and how long you have lived there. Your fee status will be assessed during the admissions process. If you are made an offer, your offer letter will outline whether you been assessed as having home fees status or overseas fee status.
For a comprehensive guide to all of the situations in which a student is considered to have ‘home’ fees status, please see this document.
The tuition fees that you will pay also depends on your chosen course. You can find the current tuition fees for your course here.
Maintenance Costs
Maintenance costs, or living costs, are the expenses that you are likely to incur while living in Cambridge studying for your degree. The University of Cambridge recommends that all postgraduate students should budget for a minimum of £1,555 for living expenses each month. This includes money for your accommodation, food, social activities, buying any study materials you might need and personal items. For a full-time student, this is equal to £18,625 per year.
A detailed breakdown of likely expenses can be found here.
Details of the cost of renting College accommodation at St Edmund’s can be found here.
If you are staying in College accommodation, you will also be required to pay Caution Money at the start of your accommodation contract. This is a £600 deposit which is held against possible loss or damage. It is returned at the end of your contract as long as your accommodation is left in a satisfactory condition and you have completed the relevant form.
College Charges
All St Edmund’s students become members of the Common Room (CR) and pay £25 towards their CR membership each term.
At the start of your time at St Edmund’s, you will also be charged a one-off fee of £52 for joining the Alumni Society. You become a member of the Alumni Society for life when you matriculate.
Each term you will be charged £155 (£55 for part-time students) for Kitchen Minimum Billing (KMB). This charge is made by the College to all students for the use of the dining hall and coffee shop. This is charged at the beginning of each term and a credit is placed on the student’s University card. The University card acts as a meal card and the credit can be used to make purchases in the dining hall, Edspresso and to pay for formal hall dinners. Once this credit has been used, students may pay for further meals by ‘topping-up’ via the St Edmund’s Catering app or at Reception using a debit card or cash. It is not College policy to refund unspent meal card balances.
Financial Support
Government support for UK students
UK students studying for a Master’s degree may be eligible for a Master’s Loan from the UK government. This is currently a loan of £12,167. If your course lasts for more than a year, the loan is divided equally across each year of your course. This loan is not dependent on your income and is paid directly to you.
UK students studying for a PhD may be eligible for a Doctoral Loan. This is currently a loan of £28,673. The loan is divided equally across each year of your course. It is not dependent on your income and is paid directly to you.
More information can be found here.
University of Cambridge Funding
Every year, the University offers a wide range of scholarships to new incoming postgraduate students. Information about these scholarships can be found here.
There are also a small number of University scholarships that are available for applicants from backgrounds that are underrepresented in postgraduate study and for those who have faced an educational or socio-economic disadvantage. Details of these are available here.
You will need to be aware of deadlines for University funding. Check the course directory to find out which funding deadline applied to your course. Your application and references must be submitted by the deadline for your funding application to be considered. More information can be found here.
St Edmund’s College Funding
The College awards a few Scholarships each year to postgraduate students. These include:
- AGM Randeree Charitable Trust (RCT) Scholarship
The AGM Randeree Scholarship offers a unique opportunity for prospective students who are actively engaged in the British Muslim community to develop their leadership capabilities. Further details can be found on the AGM Randeree Scholarship website. Students must hold an offer of a place with their Department by the time of interview.
- The McBurney St Edmund’s College MPhil Bursary in Archaeological Science
This bursary of £5,000 is for the best qualified applicant who applies for the MPhil in Archaeology, and who wishes to specialise in Archaeological Science, with a preference for those who have an interest in Geoarchaeology. Students with any fee status (Home/EU/Overseas) are eligible to apply. Applicants must have been accepted for a place on the MPhil in Archaeology with a specialisation in Archaeological Science.
Applications should be made in writing to St Edmund’s College, including a statement of no more than 1,000 words in support of your application. Applications should be made by 1st May 2024 and sent to admissions@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk.
- The Ebenezer Ademisoye MPhil Award
This award of £5,000 is for an applicant who has an offer at St Edmund’s College to study an MPhil and who is in financial need. Preference will be given to applicants with one of the following categories of ethnicity: Black African; Black Caribbean; Black Other; Mixed – White and Black Caribbean; Mixed – White and Black African; or Other mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or Black Other).
Applications should be made in writing to St Edmund’s College by sending a CV and a covering letter of no more that 1000 words outlining why you would benefit from the award, declaring how you meet the eligibility criteria and demonstrating your financial need. Applications should be made by 23rd June 2024 and sent to admissions@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk.
- The St Edmund’s College & CJBS Social Innovation scholarship
The studentships (£8,250 payable in 2023/24 and £8,250 payable in 2024/25) has been made available by St Edmund’s College in partnership with Cambridge Judge Business School for applicants on the MSt in Social Innovation.
St Edmund’s and CJBS welcome applications from any candidate, irrespective of nationality or geographical location. Applications are particularly welcomed from social sector practitioners (working at organisations with limited resources, such as NGOs, in particular).
To apply for this funding applicants will be required to submit an application to mstsocialinnovation@jbs.cam.ac.uk:
- outlining a social innovation idea (or a change project within an organisation) which the programme can help realise
- explaining how the candidate will be able to play a part in the life of St Edmund’s College.
Candidates must have received an offer to join the programme in October 2023 and membership at St Edmund’s College before they can be considered for the scholarship.
Further details can be found on Cambridge Judge Business School website. MSt in Social Innovation team will instruct you on how to apply for the scholarship.
Financial support for students with disabilities
Students with disabilities may be eligible for a Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) from their funding body.
UK students who cannot access a DSA from their funding body may be eligible to apply for a DSA from the Students Loan Company.
For international students, there is also funding available from the International Disabled Students’ Fund.
More information can be found here.
