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.

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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.

The funds are tentatively scheduled for opening from 01 March 2024 with the deadline provisionally set for 01 May 2024. Confirmation of opening and closing dates will follow. 

All applications received will be considered by the awarding committee following the deadline. 

For further information on how to apply: please contact trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk.

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

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. 

Graduate students should (a) indicate if they are funded through a DTP/DTC graduate programme or an external research grant, (b) explain why current funding cannot support the application, and (c) ask their supervisor (or Principal Investigator of a grant) to send an email to trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk to confirm support for the application.  

Undergraduate students should ask their college tutor or supervisor to email trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk to confirm support for the application.  

To apply, please email your application (one A4 page maximum) with a full break down of costs to ​​trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk. All applications will be acknowledged on receipt.  

Awards are unlikely to exceed £1,000. 

The fund is tentatively scheduled for opening from 01 April 2024 with the deadline provisionally set for 01 June 2024. Confirmation of opening and closing dates will follow. 

All applications received will be considered by the awarding committee following the deadline. 

The fund is now open for applications with the deadline set for 26 April 2024.

Applications are invited for the Varley-Gradwell Travelling Fellowship in Insect Ecology 2024. 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.

To apply please send:

  1. A one page curriculum vitae
  2. A research proposal including a budget. This should not exceed two sides of A4 in length.
  3. Two references - these should be emailed by the referee directly to the trust funds administrator at trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk. In the case of post-graduate students, one of the referees should be the supervisor.
  4. All applications to be emailed to trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk. All applications will be acknowledged.

Applicants should note that if large numbers of specimens will result from the work, the cost of follow up work should be shown in the budget, and details given of how, and by whom, they would be identified. In this case, applicants must also show their willingness and ability to work with local scientists and institutions in order to obtain full official permission for the export of any specimens back to the UK, and later to share identified specimens with institutions within the host country, if requested.

Reports by previous Varley Gradwell Fellows.

Applications are now closed. The fund is tentatively scheduled for opening from November 2024 to January 2025.

This Fund supports research on the developmental biology of invertebrates or vertebrates. Applicants must be researchers within the Department of Biology (graduate students, postdocs, research fellows and academic staff). Grants are usually less than £2,000 although some larger applications are occasionally considered.   

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 

Elizabeth Hannah Jenkinson Research Fund - list of publications

For further information please contact: trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk

Applications are now closed. The fund is tentatively scheduled for opening from December 2024 to January 2025.

Background to the Boise Fund

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.

How to apply

The Boise Fund Committee invites applications from Oxford University-based researchers, including graduate students. This year (2023-24) funding is limited and applications for up to £3k would be welcomed as the Committee would like to fund a number of projects rather than a single one. Proposals may include support for: fieldwork, laboratory work and / or archival research. The awards are not intended to support conference attendance.

Applications should consist of the following:

  • A statement of aims, methods, and expected research output, which should specify how the proposal would satisfy the purposes of the gift from Mr Boise (maximum of one A4 page).
  • An estimate of costs (maximum of one A4 page); costs for travel and subsistence should be those of economy fares and standard accommodation; laboratory charges, and any other special item, should be justified.
  • A brief statement explaining how you would address any restrictions/difficulties posed by Covid-19.
  • A curriculum vitae (maximum of one A4 page).
  • Applicants who are University post-holders should nominate a senior member of academic staff at Oxford who could provide by e-mail a statement of support if requested by the Committee.
  • Applications from graduate students and postdoctoral researchers must include a letter of support from their advisor or Head of Department, as appropriate.
  • All applications must be emailed to the Boise Trust Fund Administrator trustfunds@biology.ox.ac.uk. All applications will be acknowledged.

Assessment of application

The Committee will take account of the following criteria:

  • the interdisciplinary nature of the work
  • the extent to which the work involves pilot work for the establishment of larger, on-going projects
  • the likely impact of the project

End of award report 2014
End of award report 2013