Student Costs
Tuition Fees
You will pay your tuition fees (or ‘University Composition Fees’) annually for each year of your course. The amount that you pay depends on your fee status and on whether you have studied at degree level before. Your fee status depends on your nationality, where you live and how long you have lived there. Yo
ur 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 that contains all of the situations where a student is considered to have home fees status, please see this document.
Home Fee Status
For those with home fee status, your tuition fees will be determined by the UK Government.
For the 2024-2025 academic year, the fee is £9,250 per year for those studying their first degree, and £12,258 if you are studying for an additional degree. The fees for 2025 – 2026 have not yet been set.
Overseas Fee Status
Your tuition fee will depend on the course you are studying. Up-to-date figures can be found here.
Overseas students will also have to pay an additional College fee. For St Edmund’s, in 2024-2025, this will be £12,416.
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 undergraduate students budget £1,216 for living expenses each month. This includes money for food, rent, social activities, study costs and personal items. If you are staying in Cambridge for term time (approximately 9 months), you would need around £10,950 for the year. If you are staying for the full year, including during vacation time, you would need around £14,600.
A detailed break down of likely expenses can be found here.
College Charges
All St Edmund’s students become members of the CR and pay £25 membership each term.
At the start of your time at St Edmund’s, there is a one-off fee of £52 for the alumni society. You become a member for life upon matriculation.
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.
Details of rent charges 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.
Financial Support
Government support for UK students
UK undergraduate students are entitled to support from the UK government. You may be entitled to a loan to cover all or part of your tuition fees and a loan to cover some of your living costs. More information can be found here.
The Cambridge Bursary
If you are a home fees student studying for your first degree, or for a second degree in Medicine or Veterinary Medicine, you may be eligible for the Cambridge Bursary.
This is a bursary of up to £3,500. The amount you are entitled to depends on your household income. Higher amounts are available to independent students, care-leavers and those who have been entitled to free school meals.
Full information can be found here.
Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust
The Cambridge Trust offers some awards to overseas students who have been accepted for admissions by any Cambridge college.
Once you have been made an offer of a place, we will contact you with full details and an application form.
Please note that you will only be eligible to apply for this funding if you apply during the October admissions round. Applicants who apply in the March admissions round will miss the deadline to apply for this funding.
The St Edmund’s College Alumni Sports Bursary
Thanks to the generosity of a group of St Edmund’s College rowing alumni, the College is proud to offer a Sports Bursary for 2023/24 of £3,000.
The Sports Bursary will be available to a current St Edmund’s College student or offer-holder who is a University-level sports person and is, or will be, training with or trialling for a University Sports team, can demonstrate a high level of academic achievement and is in financial need. There are also a number of smaller awards available for other elite athletes, so applications are encouraged.
The deadline for applications is 9am on Monday 15th July 2024.
You can apply for the Sports Bursary by completing the Sports Bursary Application Form and the Student Budget Planner and returning them to Katharine Cantell at: knc23@cam.ac.uk.
The main Sports Bursary will be awarded in October 2024 upon matriculation to St Edmund’s College, but smaller sports awards may be available sooner, in certain circumstances. Please contact Katharine if you have any questions.
University of Cambridge Outreach Scholarships
The University offers a small number of scholarships to UK students from underrepresented backgrounds. To find out more click here.
Prince Philip Scholarship for Applicants from Hong Kong
If you’re a permanent resident of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region applying for a first degree at Cambridge, you’re eligible to apply. The Scholarship offers cash awards and means-tested support for tuition fees and maintenance (living costs).
To apply for the Prince Philip Scholarship, you need to send your application at the same time as you submit your application to Cambridge. For further information about the Scholarships and how to apply, see the Prince Philip Scholarship website.
Support with Childcare Costs
Cambridge offers financial support to help student parents with the cost of OFSTED registered childcare. There are two schemes:
- The University Childcare Support Fund for eligible home students
- the Central Childcare Bursary Scheme for eligible international students
Financial Support for Students with Disabilities
Overseas students: International Disabled Students’ Fund
The International Disabled Students’ Fund (IDS Fund) is administered by the Disability Resource Centre. Eligible offer holders and students of the University who are classified as an international student for fees purposes are able to apply to the Fund for support in meeting the costs of academic-related disability support. See the Disability Resource Centre website for details.
Home students: Disabled Students’ Allowances UK (DSA)
You can apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) to cover study-related costs which you have as a result of a mental health problem, long-term illness or any other disability.
The type of support and how much you get depends on your individual needs – not your household income. In 2024-2025, the maximum allowance amount was £26, 948 per year.
You do not have to pay back your Disabled Students’ Allowance.
For more funding support for students with disabilities visit this webpage.