Undergraduate Travel Funds

Hero Image: © Lucy Jennings 2019 – Trip to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Undergraduate Travel Grants

Travel grants are allocated by the Tutors. They mostly draw on the College Endowment. This page contains information on what is available to students and how to apply. Other College funds for specific purposes – the Tizard Fund for instance — can sometimes also be employed by the Tutors to support travel. Last year awards ranged from £100 to £400.

A grant is normally made only once to an individual during his or her undergraduate career. This is usually for travel in the Long Vacation, but the Tutors are also willing to entertain exceptional applications for academic-related travel during Christmas and Easter Vacations.

The Tutors will exercise their judgment and discretion but are likely to prioritise travel that is for academic or intellectual purposes or which is likely to bring benefit to disadvantaged people, especially in the developing world. All interesting and worthwhile travel will, however, be considered. We also pay attention to the care and thoughtfulness with which an application has been prepared, and to its detail, especially its budgetary detail. Joint applications are acceptable. We usually receive rather more applications than we have funds for, so applicants are likely to compete with one another.

Academic travel in connection with your subject will be considered for a grant only if it is optional – i.e. not compulsory within your course. (Funding for compulsory travel within University courses is the responsibility of Faculties and Departments, not Colleges.) That it is optional must be explained in your application. Please note that we do not preclude optional additional travel that you are appending to compulsory travel in connection with your course. The sort of academic travel that we might fund includes, for instance, optional dissertation or project work.

Martin Le Cornu Fund

There will be one or two substantial grants specifically for travel in developing countries. Preference may be given to proposals likely to bring benefit to the people or environment of the countries concerned.

Applications

Deadlines:

  • Travel during the Christmas Vacation: 30 November
  • Travel during the Easter Vacation: 29th February
  • Travel during the Long Vacation: 15 May

Applications cannot be considered after these dates.

It must be noted that travel grants are usually only awarded to students not in their final year of study.

There are no application forms. Applicants should write a detailed but to-the-point letter explaining and justifying their plans and including a budget. This should be sent to the Tutorial Office.

Email Tutorial Office

 

 

Successful applicants will be required to submit a report on their travels in the term after their return, and prizes will be awarded for the best reports; a joint report on shared travel will be accepted but the authorship of the report must be stated and any prize will be awarded only to the author(s). Reports from past years are available in the Library. The best reports include well-written text and often photos/images. The maximum word/picture limit is 2000 words and 10 pictures. There is no lower word limit but you should produce more than a dutiful minimum.

Please email your report to the Tutorial Office.

Email Tutorial Office

Other Travel Grants

Gladstone Memorial Trust

The Gladstone Memorial Trust offers six or more Travel Awards of up to £500 each for undergraduates in their first on second years.

Gladstone Memorial Trust

 

 Donald Robertson Travel Fund

You should also be aware of the existence of the Donald Robertson Travel Fund based in Trinity College, but open to undergraduates (other than final-year undergraduates) from any College. This Fund is intended to help you to take strenuous open-air holidays during the Long Vacation either in the UK or abroad, preferably among mountains. Application forms are available from the Great Gate Porter’s Lodge, Trinity College; you should also ask your Tutor to send a supporting letter to the Secretary of the Trustees, The Donald Robertson Travel Fund, A1 New Court, Trinity College. The closing date varies each year, but is generally around the first Monday in May.