Funding
Trust Funds
The Department of Biology has several trust funds which provide support to undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, research fellows and academic staff from within and outside Oxford University. Listed below are details of the Department-specific funds available and who is eligible to apply for them.
We also encourage people to look at the A-Z of Scholarships page on the University website, and use their Fees, Funding and Scholarships search tool.
Applications are now closed. The fund is tentatively scheduled for opening from April 2025 to May 2025.
Bursaries of up to £500 are available from the David Kirby Memorial Fund, and a bursary of up to £600 is available from the Marianne North Exploration Grant.
The David Kirby Memorial Fund is restricted to undergraduates studying Biological Sciences or Human Sciences, with a preference for projects in the field of reproduction although all areas of biology will be considered. These bursaries shall be awarded to assist undergraduates undertaking research carried out during a vacation or during their 4th year project (MBiol) in collaboration with, or supervised by, a member of the University.
The Marianne North Exploration Grant is restricted to undergraduates studying Biological Sciences. This bursary will be awarded to assist undergraduates undertaking fieldwork-based research overseas or in the UK carried out during a vacation or during their 4th year project (MBiol). All research must be undertaken in collaboration with, or supervised by, a member of the University.
This fund is available to students studying biological sciences at Oxford University to enable them to: pursue their studies outside Oxford, attend conferences and broaden their professional experience. Suitable projects might include student-run expeditions or field work that will form part of an assessed research project. Priority will be given to: those whose studies relate to agriculture, forestry or some other use of rural land use; and to undergraduates (although graduate students may also be considered). In the past a low priority has been given to applications from students participating in “volunteer conservation vacations” that charge large fees to participants.
For further information about this fund, please email: trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk
Applications are now closed. The fund is tentatively scheduled for opening from April 2025 to May 2025.
The Eurofins Fund will support research and educational projects and initiatives undertaken by undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Department of Biology. Such projects could include, but not be limited to, fieldwork, support for writing up costs, support for students experiencing financial hardship and other extracurricular activities deemed of academic value by the administration committee.
Applications are now closed. The fund is tentatively scheduled for opening from February 2025 to April 2025.
Fellowships of up to £2,500 in value are awarded for the support of fieldwork, travel and other activity in the field of insect ecology.
Applications are judged on their practicality and potential to make a contribution to insect ecology. Preference is given to those in their early post-doctoral years, but strong applications from those at the post-graduate level have been successful in the past. The fellowship is not available for the support of under-graduate research. The fellowships are tenable for one year commencing on a date to be agreed. They are not renewable.
Applications are now closed. The fund is tentatively scheduled for opening from November 2024 to January 2025.
The Fund supports research on the developmental biology of invertebrates or vertebrates. The subject of developmental biology is interpreted broadly to include embryology, life history evolution, tissue regeneration and development of behaviour. Examples of recent grants awarded include:
- Ageing in fruit flies
- Deciphering the planarian stem cell regulome
- Regulation of spinal cord stem cell specification in lamprey
- Sound-producing muscles in Hemiptera
Eligibility is restricted to researchers in the Department of Biology. This includes graduate students, post docs, research fellows and academic staff.
Elizabeth Hannah Jenkinson Research Fund - list of publications
Applications are now closed. The fund is tentatively scheduled for opening from December 2024 to January 2025.
The Boise Fund was established by Charles Watson Boise to support research on the antiquity and evolutionary origin of modern Homo sapiens and other hominins, with particular emphasis on the continued exploration of appropriate sites in Africa, and on the early migration of Palaeolithic communities.
