Pembroke College Cambridge

Support available to all students

All students under-taking a degree bearing course are eligible for the grants listed below  These include book grants, help with language costs, music and sports awards.  There are special forms for book grants and sports awards.  For the others, you should apply on the standard College grant form.  For music and other non-academic awards it is necessary to get your Tutor’s support.

Students who are not undertaking a degree-bearing course at Cambridge should contact their Director of Studies, Tutor or Tutorial Bursar about their eligibility for one of these grants before submitting an application.

Students are eligible for all the awards in this section as long as they are continuing their course after the specific project, which requires funding, has been completed.

Please note that, whatever their standard of achievement, individuals will not receive grants for any extra-curricular activities if they are in serious academic or disciplinary difficulty.

Book Grants

Each student is allocated a specific sum, depending on their course length and the year they are in (e.g. a student on a 3-year course will have £300 available to spend over the course of their degree) to purchase academcially relevant books

Book grant applications will be processed 4 times a year, in December, March, June and September, with the grant being credited to the students’ next bill.  Students will be alerted at the start of each academic year as to how much book grant they have remaining and informed when they have spent all of their allowance. 

Students are encouraged to discuss their book choices with their Director of Studies/Research Supervisor who in turn should guide students to think carefully about their book choices.  Students in the arts, for example, might wish to retain most of their allowance until their final year when they do more specialised work, whereas in the sciences the pattern might be different.

Students wishing to claim their book grant should complete a book grant claim form – available only from the website.  Forms need to be counter-signed by your Director of Studies/Research Supervisors, who must confirm that the books are academically relevant to the student's course.

Deadlines:

Final year undergradautes must have submitted their final book grant claim by 1 June of the year they finish their course

Postgraduate students on an:

9 month course must have submitted their final book grant claim by 1 June

10 month course must have submitted their final book grant claim by 1 July

11 month  must have submitted their final book grant claim by 1 August

12 month course must have submitted their final book grant claim by 1 September

PhD stduents must have submitted their final book grant claim by 1 September of their fourth year

Oscar  Moore Award

T. Crewe (2010) and J. Riley (Clare, 1979) have established the Oscar Moore Award to support unpaid or low paid internships, travel or a course in the areas of publishing, journalism or writing. The award has a value of up to £600 and is open to both undergraduate and post-graduate students; students who are graduating this summer are also eligible to apply. Students wishing to apply should complete the relevant College grant form (undergraduate or postgraduate), clearly laying out the costs and what the project will entail; a separate statement outlining the details of internship/travel or course may be submitted.  The deadline for applying is 31st May.

Oscar Moore was born in 1960. He attended Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys School, Elstree, and Pembroke College, Cambridge (1979-1982) where he read English. A charismatic and witty character, he was drawn to student theatre, and wrote, directed and performed his own work. Following graduation he spent time in New York before returning to London to freelance as a journalist, contributing to Time Out, the Mail on Sunday, the Times and the Evening Standard. He was appointed editor of Screen International in 1990 and later became its editor-in-chief.

Oscar’s first novel, A Matter of Life and Sex, was published in 1991 under the pseudonym Alec F. Moran. It was subsequently taken up by Penguin Books and republished in paperback under his own name, as well as in the US and in several translations. He began a second novel, which illness prevented him from completing.

From 1994 to 1996 he wrote a powerful and courageous column for the Guardian about living with AIDS. These were later collected into a book entitled PWA: Looking AIDS in the Face, which was published shortly after Oscar Moore died on 12 September 1996.

Language lessons

The College will contribute 50% towards the cost of a language course for non-linguists provided by the University language centre. Payment will only be made once the course has been completed, although it might be possible to make a loan in the first instance and which would later be converted to a grant (please see Dr Coombs if you wish to arrange for a loan).  Once the course has been completed you should submit the receipt and certificate to Dr Coombs before the end of June of the academic year in which the language course was undertaken (e.g. if the course was taken in the academic year 2023/24 then receipts and certificate must be submitted by end of July 2024).

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Tutors will consider exceptional requests for contributions to the costs of private language teaching for non-linguists where there is an academic need and where teaching is not available in the University. The College may pay up to half of these costs, to a maximum of 4 lessons per term.

Any support given for language lessons is subject to a maximum of £400 per year

Apply in writing to your Tutor, giving a detailed estimate of costs. Receipts/invoices should be sent to Dr Coombs.

Support for music

Grants for Music Lessons

Serious musicians who are committed to public performance may receive help with the cost of music lessons. Piano, organ, instrumental and singing lessons all qualify. Musical promise will be a factor in decisions, as will willingness to participate in the musical life of the College. Any College financial contribution will relate only to lessons taken within term. If approved, 50% of the cost of up to four lessons per term (at reasonable rates) will be paid, including return travel from Cambridge by bus or train if necessary, within reasonable limits. Subsidy will be paid by reimbursement of the pupil, on production of invoice or receipt, termly.

Any support given for music lessons is subject to a maximum of £400 per year.

Apply in writing to the Director of College Music, giving a detailed estimate of costs.  Receipts/invoices should be sent to Dr Coombs.

Support for the choir

Members of the choir are entitled to reimbursement of the first £200 of singing lessons taken during the academic year. Subsidy will be paid termly on the receipt of an invoice or receipt submitted to Dr Coombs.

Anyone interested in auditioning for the Choir should contact Anna Lapwood.

The college also pays a small stipend to a choir librarian, and provides generous subsidy for the choir tours, through Its music funds.

Grants related to musical performance

Grants are available to help with the exceptional costs of high-level musical performance.  Such grants may, for example, be given for the purchase of sheet music, for help with recording, or for costs associated with staging a large-scale musical event.  Normally up to half receipted costs are awarded, up to a maximum of £200.  Please apply in advance on a standard college grant form, with a full account of projected expenditure.  Instead of getting comments from your Director of Studies, please send the form to Anna Lapwood, Director of College Music, who will comment and send it on to Dr Coombs.

Support for high-level sport

Grants are awarded to students competing either at University level, above (e.g. regional/national competition).

Students playing matches for a University 1st team or at national level can claim up to £350/year in expenses. Students playing matches for a University 2nd or 3rd team can claim up to £250/year in expenses

Students may only claim for 1 sport each year.

Other possible sources of support:
The Hawks’ Club
The Ospreys

ITEMS COVERED / EXCLUDED Can claim Can’t claim
Subs / membership (includes Insurance, League registration, Licence) Yes  
Team / match kit / CU branded kit max £100
Students can only claim for Team / match kit / CU branded kit once every 3 years
Yes  
Competition fees Yes  
Training Camps Yes  
Travel Expenses to competitions Yes  
Accommodation costs for away matches Yes  
Essential Equipment* max £50 per item Yes  
Room / Court hire   No
Lessons   No
Equipment servicing/maintenance (e.g. for bikes/re-stringing racquets etc.)   No
Non-essential items (e.g. Blazer/Jacket)   No
Training gear – socks, shorts, mouth guard, skipping rope   No

*e.g.:   Hockey Stick / Badminton racquet / tennis racquet / Boxing gloves / Roller blades /Dance shoes / Rugby Boots / Badminton/tennis Shoes etc.)

Applications can only be made between 1st April and 15th July for the academic year just ending.

Blue/Half-Blue awards

Students who are awarded a Blue or Half-Blue can claim an additional £75 (Blue) or £50 (Half Blue).  These awards are donated by Winston Ginsberg (1986).

To apply for sports expenses please complete a Sports expenses claim form and submit the receipts along with the form.  Confirmation from the team captain that you have participated at a high level (University level or above) is required (if you are the captain, please ask the team vice-captain or treasurer to confirm).  No grant will be paid until this confirmation has been received.

N.B. All awards are subject to satisfactory academic and disciplinary performance.

Other cultural activities

The college encourages high-level public participation and performance in other spheres, for example in debating competitions, poetry reading, acting or music-related activities.  Some financial support may be available for these activities.  You should apply in advance on the appropriate standard College grant form.

The College also offers a number of prizes listed below.  Full details, how to apply and deadlines will be sent round to students as and when the competitions open.

The Brian Riley Declamation Prize

A prize of £1000 may be awarded for the best speech on any topical subject with a European theme.  Information is posted during the Michaelmas term.  The competition usually takes place in November. 

Searle Prize for Reading in Chapel

The competition for this prize is open to all undergraduates and affiliated students of the College in their final year and graduates in any one year of their course. The winner receives a prize of £100 and reads a lesson at the special service of Commemoration of Benefactors.

Trials are held in the Chapel. Candidates are required to read passages from the  Authorized Version of the Bible, prepared and at sight.  Those who wish to enter should apply to the Dean in writing.  A formal notice about this will be posted in April.

Peter Clarke Science Writing Prize

Open to any current Pembroke undergraduate or postgraduate student studying Natural Sciences, PBS, Maths, Computer Science, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine or Engineering is eligible to submit a piece of work for the Pembroke Science Writing Prize.  The Prize has been established by a scientific publisher alumnus, Peter Clarke (1971) and its aim is to promote clarity in communication of scientific ideas and issues to a general audience, and will be awarded to an article of up to 2,000 words in length.  The winning entry will be published in the College Gazette

Deadline for 2024:  Tuesday 23 April. Submissions to be sent to:  senior.tutor@pem.cam.ac.uk

Dame Ivy Compton-Burnett Prize - for creative writing

Any current Pembroke undergraduate or postgraduate student may submit an entry for the Dame Ivy Compton-Burnett Prize. The prize was established to encourage and reward creative writing, and in honour of the novelist Dame Ivy Compton- Burnett. The Prize, of £400, will be awarded to the best original composition, in poetry, prose, or drama. The Judges will include an English Fellow, an external Member of the English Faculty, and one writer or publisher outside Cambridge.

Deadline for 2024:  Tuesday 23 April. Submissions to be sent to:  senior.tutor@pem.cam.ac.uk

Pembroke Players

The College and the Pembroke Players work together to provide support for undergraduates to travel to participate in drama at a high level.  Any suitable dramatic activity (acting or directing) is appropriate, though historically most awards have been made either for the Edinburgh Festival or the Players’ own foreign tours.  Either two or three awards will be made each year out of the Peter Cook Fund, supplemented by the Players’ own Patron Scheme.  Nominations will be made by the Pembroke Players themselves, subject to the College's approval.  Applicants will have contributed substantially to the activities of the Players in the past.  Grants will usually cover one half of reasonable travel expenses and a contribution towards living expenses. The maximum grant will be either £200 or £300, depending on the number of awards made.  Travel expenses will only be paid upon production of receipts, together with evidence of the time spent on location for the per diem allowance.  Students will also have to produce individual written reports after returning from their trip.

Application should be made direct to the College Registrar, from the committee of the Players.

Counselling

Counselling provision for all students in the University is provided via the University Counselling Service.   The Service offers individual and to a lesser extent a limited amount of group counselling.  The University Counselling Service can usually offer 2, 3 or 4 individual sessions (occasionally more) all of which are free to students.  A whole range of self-help leaflets and other relevant guidance can be found on the website too - for a range of difficulties, from procrastination and low mood, to issues relating to confidence or eating disorders.   This is a very important resource.

In certain circumstances, the College is able to help the student access a counsellor (especially if the University Counselling Service has a long waiting list or if more sessions are required than the Service is able to offer).  For this reason, the College has its own counsellor who can offer weekly or fortnightly sessions, with supplementary sessions being offered with other Cambridge counsellors within College too.  Following assessment, students may be provided with at least 4 counselling sessions free of charge within College.  After that, further sessions may be available on the basis of the counsellor and student’s mutual assessment of ongoing needs.    Further notes on how to access counselling can be found on the Pembroke website.

University support including financial assistance funding

There are a large number of university funds and charities designed to help students pursue their studies. When the College receives notification of such awards they are advertised in the Hall Screens, which you should consult regularly. Otherwise students should consult the University website. Eligibility criteria for funds and charities vary, and can be quite specific. Some provide funding for the study of particular subjects, or for travel to particular places.

The University also has financial assistance funds to help students  and students are encouraged to consult this website - different support exists depending on whether you are an undergraduate or a postgraduate student.

Crane’s Charity is a university-based organisation that makes grants towards the cost of private medical treatment or counselling, or related expenses.  Further information is available here.

ChildcareThe College is part of the Central Childcare Bursary Scheme.  This can provide means-tested grants to overseas and EU students to help with childcare costs.  Different arrangements are in place for Home students; further information is available here.