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Applications

annual grant round 26/27 has now closed

The annual round for grants for the 2026/27 academic year was open for 24 hours from 10am 5th January 2026. In this period, we received over 900 applications. All candidates that successfully submitted applications have been contacted about the outcome of their application. 

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Our next grant round will open in January 2027; this will be for applicants studying in the 2027/28 academic year. 

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After submitting your email, you should receive an automatic acknowledgement.
If you don’t see it, please check your junk/spam folder. If it’s missing, contact our Administrator at admin@stapleytrust.org.

You can view a mock-up of our online application form to get a sense of the questions we ask.
Note: This form is for reference only and cannot be used to apply. Some questions may change before the form goes live in January.

Am I eligible to apply next year?

To apply, you must meet all of the following:
•    Hold (or be predicted to achieve) a First Class or Upper-Second Class degree (2:1), or a postgraduate degree, or have equivalent experience
•    Be accepted onto or applying for a course in 2027/28 at a UK university or similar UK educational body (excluding overseas branches or remote study from outside the UK)
•    Be studying for one of the following:
- Master’s or Doctoral degree
- Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma
- Second undergraduate degree, for example medicine, dentistry, veterinary studies, architecture or engineering are commonly taken as second degrees
•    Your academic year must begin in 2027 and last at least 8 months
•    Be a UK citizen or currently living in the UK and planning to remain in the UK for the entirety of your course
•    Be facing a financial shortfall in the 2027/28 academic year

Degrees awarded outside the UK 

If your degree is from outside the UK and you haven’t received a Stapley Trust grant before, you must upload a letter from your UK university confirming your qualification is equivalent to a UK 1st or 2:1, or a UK Master’s or Doctoral degree.
Applications without this letter will be rejected.

Grant Details

  • Grants range from £650 to £1,500

  • Grants are intended to help cover educational and living costs

  • Awarded for one academic year at a time

  • Full-time postgraduate students may be awarded up to 3 grants; part-time students may be awarded up to 6 grants (a new application is required each year)

We do not fund

  • Students living outside the UK accessing UK courses remotely

  • Professional training courses (unless they last 8+ months and lead to a Post Graduate Certificate/Diploma)

  • Students previously funded by the Trust for a different postgraduate degree

  • PhD writing-up periods

  • Full-time PhD students beyond year 3 of their PhD

  • Part-time PhD students beyond year 6 of their PhD

  • Students undertaking intercalated degrees as their first high education qualification

Other UK Grant Makers

Our funds are limited, so we can’t support everyone.
Download our guide to explore other UK-based charitable funding options for further or higher education.

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Download Now
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