Guidelines for the fee waivers

MA fee-waiver bursaries

(Open to all students who have submitted an application to the following English and Creative Writing MA programmes. MA in Literary Studies; MA in Multilingualism, Linguistics and Education; MA in Sociocultural Linguistics; MA in Translation, MA in Black British Literature, MA in Creative and Life Writing)

When deciding about the awards, we are looking for:

• signs of significant academic potential indicated in particular by evidence of distinction and diligence in prior BA studies

How to apply

You must have already submitted an application to the relevant programme in order to submit an application for a fee waiver. 

Please submit your application via the link below, by the deadline specified on the awards and scholarships page. 

New students applying for the fee waivers should also include two academic references.

The letter of application should be less than 500 words and:

Outline the grounds for your choice of MA programme (approx 75 words)
Indicate how you expect your MA to help you achieve your intellectual, academic, or creative goals (approx 75 words)

Make a strong case for your ability to complete the MA programme with excellent results (approx 350 words). In making this case, you may want to expand on some aspects of your CV, and you would certainly be well advised to frame this case with reference to the specified criterion above

MPhil/PhD fee-waiver bursaries

(Open to all students on English and Creative Writing MPhil/PhD programmes).

When deciding about awards for research degrees, we are looking for:

• evidence of distinction in a prior BA and/or MA programme
• diligence and timely progress in the conduct of original scholarly research of high quality, or of creative writing of high quality
• Applications from students working in any field of creative writing, literary criticism, linguistics and translation are welcome. All other things being equal, the Department may give preference, in the case of one of the bursaries, to high-quality applications focussing on literature before 1830

Students who are holders of AHRC or similar publicly-funded studentships for the same academic year for which they are applying are not eligible for this funding. Other exclusions, based on other awards held, may also apply.

How to apply

You must have already submitted an application to the relevant programme in order to submit an application for a fee waiver. 

Please submit your application via the link below, by the deadline specified on the awards and scholarships page.

New students applying for the fee waivers should also include two academic references.

Continuing Mphil/Phd students should include a supporting statement from their current supervisor.

The application letter should be less than 650 words and:

• provide a brief description of your research/creative project (50-75 words)
• Indicate its likely and potentially original contribution to the existing field of critical study/creative literature (100-150 words)
• Make a strong case for your ability to accomplish your project (350-450 words). In making this case, you may want to expand on some aspects of your CV, and you would certainly be well advised to frame this case with reference to the specified criteria above

All fee waivers (MPhil/PhD and MA) will be awarded via competition, on the basis of merit, as defined by the specified criteria, and not on the basis of need. Awards will be made only where applications are judged to have met the criteria convincingly. Should students wish to defer their study please note that we cannot guarantee to carry over an award to the following year(s).