Undergraduate financial assistance

‍Undergraduate financial assistance

The University of Cambridge provides further information about the cost of an undergraduate degree at Cambridge and it includes details of the Cambridge Bursary which provides free and non-repayable financial support to over a third of UK undergraduates in the University.

In unforeseen circumstances, the University offers additional support from its financial assistance fund. 

Thanks to generous philanthropists over the centuries, St John’s is able to ease further the financial challenges facing our students in most need.

To distribute the funds we have available for means-tested financial support in the most efficient way and to support those in greatest need, we take into account all other funding available to students, whether from the College, the University or external bodies. This includes grants, bursaries, scholarships, and prizes. 

St John’s College Studentship Award

In the 2025/26 academic year, for UK students with household incomes of £16,190 or less, we will add to the Cambridge Bursary Award a further £2,000 of ‘top-up’ funding. Students with household incomes above £16,190 will receive an amount that tapers from just under £2,000 at a household income of £16,191 to £100 for those with a household income of £25,000.

To be eligible for a St John’s Studentship a student must be:

• studying towards their first undergraduate degree at St John’s College and liable to pay tuition fees;
• a UK student, or an EU student with settled or pre-settled status;
• entitled to financial support from Student Finance England (or its equivalent in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland) ; and
• have a family income, as assessed by Student Finance England or equivalent, of £25,000 or less.  To prove their eligibility, students are required to apply to Student Finance for a means-tested financial assessment; the College can ask for additional information and/or evidence, and may withhold any award until all requirements have been satisfied.

If a student has access to funds which are deemed sufficient to cover their living costs in full, set at the University maintenance rate, the College will not make a top-up Studentship award.

Students studying for the Medical or Veterinary Medicine Tripos are eligible for a St John's College Studentship only during the first three years of their degree (their pre-clinical studies).  Students taking a year abroad are eligible for the St John’s Studentship provided the year abroad is an integral part of their course at St John’s

The Sir Christopher Dobson Free Places Scheme

Home undergraduate students who meet specific criteria may be eligible for a Free Place at St John's, meaning that their studies here are fully funded. This new financial support package will pay all tuition fees and also offer a non-repayable maintenance grant which, in combination with the University-wide Cambridge Bursary, will cover accommodation and other living expenses in full.  

It is an exceptional award which is used to support undergraduate students from the most challenging financial backgrounds. The College is currently running an endowment fundraising campaign for Free Places; until this fundraising is complete we are making a small number of pilot awards to current students, following which the full shape of the permanent scheme will be confirmed.  Currently, the requirement for a pilot award is that students must be:

• studying at St John’s for their first full time undergraduate degree;
• a Home student or have settled status in the UK
• eligible for full funding - ie tuition fee loan and maintenance loan -  from Student Finance England, or other national funding body in the UK ();
• and in addition, have a household income* below an annual limit (currently £17,628 per annum) and have been eligible for Free Schools Meals for all of the last three years of their secondary education.

Undergraduate students will be able to apply for Free Place support just before they begin the first year of their studies, once their offer of a place is confirmed.  We intend that Free Places awards can be made to undergraduates on three and four year courses, and that students will remain eligible during their Year Abroad, provided that this is a compulsory part of their course.