Applications
OUR ANNUAL GRANT ROUND FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2024/25 IS NOW OPEN
We are now open for applications for educational grants towards the costs of study in the 2024/25 academic year.
Please note that we can only consider the first 300 eligible applications received.
Please read carefully the information in the four blue boxes below to check that you are eligible before you apply.
How to apply
Only online applications are accepted.
Step 1
Click on this link: https://stapleytrust.grantapps.net/form2
Step 2
Having clicked on the link, you will be asked to Register with an email address and password of your choice. Our system will only accept one registration from each email address used, so if you share an email address with someone else who also wishes to apply, one of you will need to use a different email address to register.
Step 3
Having registered, you will see a landing page with two options: choose the second option i.e. Retrieve Your Application by re-entering the email address and password you used to register. Then click Login.
Step 4
Having logged in, you will see two options: New or Exit. Click New to start the application form.
Points to note:
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Wherever you see a ? symbol, this means there is an explanatory note. Click on the symbol to read it.
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Question A4 asks you for an email address to which we will send an acknowledgement email after your application is submitted. Please use the same email address you used when registering.
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Most questions, those marked with an asterisk, must be answered to enable you to progress through the application form.
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You will be able to pause and save an application, and retrieve it later to finish it off, but you will need to log back in using the email address and password you used to register.
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For any questions which ask you to enter sums of money, please do not include the £ sign, and also do not use commas to designate thousands (e.g., key in 3000 not 3,000; 12500 not 12,500 etc.).
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After you have submitted your application, you should receive an acknowledgement email to the email address you gave in answer to question A4. This will include a copy of your application. If you do not receive this, please check your spam folder. If you are sure you have not received this email, please email our Clerk as soon as possible at admin@stapleytrust.org
Our current eligibility rules appear in the blue boxes below.
Am I eligible to apply next year?
To be eligible to apply you must meet each of the following conditions. You must be:
a) A graduate with a First Class or Upper-Second Class honours degree (2:1), or a master’s or doctoral degree, or be a final year undergraduate who is expected to achieve a 1st or 2.1. (If your qualification is not from a UK institution, please pay particular attention to the section below on Degrees Awarded Outside the UK.)
b) Accepted on to or applying for a course of study in 2024/25 at a UK university or similar educational body (not including overseas branches of the UK institution). Please note that we are unable to accept applications from those accessing courses remotely from outside the UK.
c) The course of study in 2024/25 must be for:
- a master’s or doctoral degree in any subject
- or a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma in any subject
- or a degree in medicine, dentistry or veterinary studies taken as a second degree
and in all cases, your 2024/25 academic year must officially begin on a date in 2024 and last for at least eight months.
d) Planning to remain living in the UK throughout the academic year 2024/25, unless your course requires you to spend some or all of the academic year overseas for the purpose of study or research.
e) Facing a financial shortfall in the academic year 2024/25. This is assessed on the online application form.
Academic referees: Please note our application form asks for contact details of your academic referee, and the referee’s permission must be obtained before you include them.
Applications are welcome from students beginning their first year of study, as well as from those who have already embarked on their course.
If each one of a) to e) above applies, then you are eligible to apply next year under our current rules. Completed online applications will be accepted until we have received the maximum number of 300 eligible applications, at which point the application ‘window’ will close.
Degrees awarded outside the UK
If you have not had a grant from us before and you do not have either (i) a First Class or Upper-Second Class honours degree from a UK university or (ii) a Doctoral or Master’s degree from a UK university, and are therefore relying on a degree/higher degree obtained overseas, then you MUST obtain and upload with your online application a letter from the UK University at which you plan to study in 2024/25.
This letter should confirm that the University considers your overseas degree to be equivalent to a UK First Class or Upper-Second Class Bachelor's degree with honours, or a Master’s or Doctoral degree. Online applications which come without this letter uploaded will be rejected without further discussion. (If you have previously been awarded a grant from our Trust, you do not need to submit the letter from the UK University.)
Grant Information
The application process is competitive. The first 300 eligible applications received will be assessed by our trustees to decide which of them we are able to support. Applications are assessed according to academic achievement and financial need. From past experience, roughly half will be supported with the remainder turned down.
All grants are awarded for a full year of academic study and for one year only. Applicants for full-time postgraduate higher degree courses may be supported for up to a maximum of three years and part-time postgraduate higher degree courses for a maximum of six years, but in both cases new applications have to be submitted each year.
Grants are normally from £550 to £1,250 in value. They are intended to reduce the financial shortfall incurred in meeting educational and subsistence expenses upon payment of tuition fees. Before award money can be released, applicants must confirm that their financial situation has not improved significantly and that they still have a financial shortfall.
Currently the Trust does not fund:
Please note that currently we do not fund the following:
Please note that currently we do not fund the following:
a) Students living outside the UK who are accessing their courses remotely from UK universities
b) Professional training courses (e.g. Law Society, Royal College, examinations, PLAB tests) unless they last at least eight months and passing the course entitles the student to a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma
c) Students who have already been supported by the Trust for a postgraduate degree in another field
d) PhD ‘writing-up periods’
e) Full-time PhD students beyond a third year of study
f) Part-time PhD students beyond a sixth year of study.
If you have any questions about the application process, please email admin@stapleytrust.org
