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Hardship funds

Birkbeck Hardship Fund

The Birkbeck Hardship Fund is now closed. The fund will reopen in January 2026.

  • Eligibility criteria

    • If you are a current student and you have experienced an unforeseen change of circumstance in your personal situation while studying, such as redundancy, illness or domestic problems, the Birkbeck Hardship Fund may be able to help you.  
    • You must:
      • be currently enrolled on a minimum of 30 credits, or fully enrolled on a research programme at Birkbeck  
      • be up to date with fee payments and not a debtor to the College  
      • be currently experiencing financial hardship and usually have a household income of less than £25,000  
      • be currently residing in the UK  
      • have made realistic provision to cover tuition fees, course and living costs prior to the start of the 2024-25 academic year (e.g. a work contract which covers the duration of the academic year)  
      • have experienced an unforeseen change in circumstance after the start of the 2024-25 academic year, such as redundancy, illness or domestic problems which has affected the provision you made, or due to which you have incurred unexpected costs. Please note: if you started your course/academic year in January you will not be able to apply for the fund until the start of the Summer Term 28th April 2025 as all applicants must have funded themselves for the first term of their academic year. 
      • have applied for any government support available to you, such as student loans or benefits.  
    • Evidence required can be extensive, as this fund is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the Student Advice Service and explain how you meet all above seven criteria. If you are deemed eligible, you will be sent an application form. 

Birkbeck Summer Support Fund is closed and will reopen in July/August 2026

Please note the information below is for last year's scheme and will be subject to change when it reopens.

The Birkbeck Summer Support Fund has been set up to support current Birkbeck students with an immediate need of money for living costs, to enable them to continue studying their programme of study in 2025/26.

Awards of up to £600 are available, and are scaled based on the intensity of your study in 2024/25.

  • Eligibility criteria

    • You must meet all of the essential eligibility criteria listed below, AND one of the categories to be eligible for an award. You must also be prepared to have documentary evidence available to support your eligibility for the criteria that you have applied under. This will be requested from you at later stage of the application process:
    • Essential eligibility criteria
      • You must be a fully enrolled student in the 2024/25 academic year.
      • You must be continuing your course at Birkbeck in the 2025/26 academic year. This has to be the same course that you had already started in/or before 2024/25. Final year students in the 2024/25 academic year and October/January intake postgraduate students on one-year courses, who started their courses in the 2024/25 academic year, are not eligible to apply.
      • You must currently be in financial hardship.
      • You must be currently living in the UK.
      • You must have an annual household income of less than £30,000. (Household income is defined as your annual gross income from the tax year ending in April 2025 and the annual gross income of your spouse or partner - if you are cohabiting - for the same period. The income limit is raised by £2,000 if assessed on a joint income, and by £2,000 for the first dependent child, and a further £1,000 for each child thereafter).
      • You must not currently be in debt to the College. You cannot apply to cover fees debt.
    • Additionally, you must also fall into one of the following categories. Please note that you can only be considered under one category:
      • Category A: Any student who has made a new application (renewals of benefits are not accepted) for government means-tested benefits in the four weeks preceding your application to the fund. This includes Universal Credit, Housing benefit/Local Housing Allowance, or Income-based Employment and Support Allowance (Contribution-based will not be accepted).
      • Category B: A full-time undergraduate student who in 2024/25 was in receipt of the maximum means-tested maintenance loan from SFE (approx. £13,348) who has a current formal tenancy agreement (an informal tenancy with family, friends, etc will not be accepted) that extends over the summer period and is currently struggling to find work (has been looking since the end of term)/unable to work due to ill health or caring responsibilities.
      • Category C: An undergraduate student who has been classified as independent by Student Finance England due to being estranged from their parents, or a care leaver. (We will check our records with SFE to confirm you meet this criteria). 
      • Category D: Any student with rent arrears. Please note that the following criteria apply to this category:
        • Your arrears must be evidenced by a recent formal statement of your rent account issued by your landlord, and supported by a formal tenancy agreement (an informal tenancy with family, friends, etc will not be accepted).
        • This documentation must be in your name.
        • Your arrears will only be considered if they were accrued (or began) after the start of the current academic year October 2024 to before July 2025.
      • Category E: Any student who received a BNBA (Birkbeck Needs-Based Assessment Award) in the 2024/25 academic year and is still experiencing financial hardship. (We will check our records to confirm you meet this criteria). 
    • Please note that you must meet the criteria as outlined above in order to apply. As this scheme is running over a limited timeframe we will not be able to accept any applications which are incomplete or missing any supporting evidence (evidence will be requested from you at a later stage of the application process). We would therefore strongly advise you to seek advice from the Student Advice Service before submitting your application if there is any evidence you anticipate you may not be able to provide. Applications submitted without all of the required supporting documentation will be automatically rejected.

  • Making an application

    • To make an application, please complete the relevant online application form.
    • This year we have two application forms - one for undergraduate students and one for postgraduate/research students.
    • Once you have completed the application form, we will check the answers against our records and will e-mail you if you are eligible. You will receive (if eligible) an evidence checklist asking you to provide us with the required documentary evidence. 
    • Your application and all supporting evidence must be received by Student Advice no later than Friday 29 August 2025 but we encourage students to apply as early as possible. This fund is limited, and we cannot guarantee that every eligible student who completes an application before the deadline will be awarded. Applications will be assessed on a first-come-first-served basis, and the fund may close early if the maximum number of awards are made. 

Other hardship funding

ISH Mary Trevelyan Hardship Fund: As Birkbeck holds membership with International Student House (ISH), our students are eligible to use ISH events and services, including their hardship fund.

Alternative postgraduate funding sources

  • You can find additional funding opportunities in the publications listed below. Copies may be available in your local library or at the nearby British Library (though you may be required to register to gain access):
    • Educational Grants Directory (published by the Directory of Social Change)
    • The Grants Register (published by Macmillan Reference Limited)
    • Charities Digest (published by Waterlow Information Services)
    • The Directory of Grant Making Trusts (Charities Aid Foundation)
  • You may also find funding via the following websites: