We provide grants, bursaries and fellowships to women graduates to help with living expenses, financial crisis and other areas of their education.
Foundation Grant
Foundation Grants are designed to help women graduates in the final year of a PhD or DPhil with their living expenses. We do not provide funds to cover fees. To be eligible you must be registered for study or research at an approved institution of higher education in Great Britain and doing the bulk of your study in Great Britain. Foundation Grants can be up to £6,500 and are awarded in July for the following academic year.
Key facts
- For women graduates in the final year of their PhD or DPhil
- Helps with living expenses, not fees
- Grants available up to £6,500
Eligibility Criteria
The criteria for awarding Grants are the proven needs of the applicant and her academic calibre. Competition is very great so not all qualifying applicants will receive a Grant. These are offered on a needs basis therefore not all grants will be for the maximum sum quoted or requested.
- Women graduates from Great Britain and overseas are eligible to apply.
- They must be registered for study at an institution in Great Britain and resident in Great Britain during their final fee paying or writing up year of PhD or DPhil.
- Any subject or field of study will be considered.
- There is no upper age limit.
- Evidence of ability to pay fees is required.
- Students reading for a part-time PhD or DPhil will be eligible to apply from their third year onwards.
- The Grants will be a contribution towards living expenses for one year’s academic study or research.
- The amount of the Foundation Grant awarded will be decided by FfWG.
- Grant holders must submit a written report at the end of the academic year for which the grant was awarded.
Open for applications from:
2 February 2024
Closing date for applications:
26 March 2024
Results:
July 2024
Applications currently closed. Please come back after 2 February 2024 to apply.
Emergency Grant
Emergency Grants provide support for graduate women who face an unforeseen financial crisis whilst engaged in study or research at an approved institution of higher education in Great Britain. They can be up to £2,500 and are awarded in April and December.
Applications will be considered from women of any age or nationality and any subject or field of study.
Key facts
- For unforeseen financial crisis
- Grants available up to £2,500
- Awarded twice per year, in April and December
Eligibility Criteria
You must be registered for study and resident in Great Britain during your study period.
- Women Graduates from Great Britain and overseas are eligible to apply.
- There is no upper age limit.
- Evidence of ability to pay fees is required.
- An Emergency grant is not a ‘top up’ award; most students are short of money.
- These are one-off payments to assist with completion of an academic year’s work.
- You must have completed at least six months of the course, by the grant closing date, before applying.
Key dates: Emergency Grants Spring 2022
Open for applications from:
30 November 2023
Closing date for applications:
10 January 2024
Results:
March 2024
Theodora Bosanquet Bursary
This Bursary was founded in memory of the writer and administrator Theodora Bosanquet, MBE, BSc (London), (1881 – 1961). It is offered annually to female postgraduate students whose research is in History or English Literature and who require a short residence in London in the summer. It provides accommodation (only) for up to 4 weeks between mid-June and mid-September. Women postgraduate students, of any age, from Great Britain and overseas are eligible to apply. Applicants are required to provide information on their qualifications, research topic and the need for the Bursary and should give contact details of two referees. The closing date is 31 October of the preceding year and two bursaries are awarded each year.
Please email grants@ffwg.org.uk to request an application form.
Key facts
- For female postgraduate students whose research is in History or English Literature and who require a short residence in London in the summer.
- Provides accommodation only.
Eligibility Criteria
To apply, please ensure the below criteria apply to you:
- Legally recognised as a woman
- Studying for a higher degree in History or English Literature
- Applying for funding for ACCOMMODATION (only) for up to 4 weeks between mid June and mid September
Open for applications from:
31 August 2023
Closing date for applications:
31 October 2023
Results:
28 February 2024
Applications currently closed.
International Fellowship
An International Fellowship is awarded every three years for £6,000. The FfWG Fellowship award is administered by Graduate Women International (GWI) NOT FfWG and we cannot answer queries about these awards. GWI is based in Geneva and further information about this Fellowship is given on the GWI website https://graduatewomen.org/what-we-do/grants-fellowships/. The last Fellowship was given this year and the next is due to be awarded in 2025. The award is aimed at post first year PhD students studying at a British university but from any country. The topic is not stipulated but is usually deemed of merit if it falls within the aims and objectives of GWI and the British Federation of University Women. This included Empowering women and girls through lifelong education and the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. GWI has consultative status with the UN through UNESCO. The applications are submitted online and the successful candidate is notified in the summer of the year specified. A list of previous winners is available on the GWI website.
Key facts
- One award of £6,000 awarded every three years.
- Aimed at post first year PhD students studying at a British university.
- Next due to be awarded in 2025.
Open for applications from:
1 October 2025
Closing date for applications:
15 December 2025
Results:
2025
Applications currently closed. Please come back after 1 October 2025 to apply.
“I am proud to be supported by Funds for Women Graduates for my research, which includes the soon to be published first extended study of the processes of writing with work-related upper limb disorder, as both this condition and my rare developmental disability to which it is secondary, are particularly prevalent, under supported and underdiagnosed in women. This work would not have been possible without Funds for Women Graduates’ support.”
Natalie Joelle Landow Mott
Birkbeck College 2020