Durham Inspired Climate Change and Polar Science Research Scholarship

(Also referred to as The Polar Scholarship)

Thanks to a generous donation from a Durham alumnus, the Department is able to offer a scholarship for those undertaking a Masters by Research (MRes) in the field of Climate Change and/or Polar Science. The Scholarship consists of the MRes (Band 3) tuition fees and some minor research costs to help defray some of the costs of the project. The Scholarship is part of efforts to widen access to postgraduate study and so is aimed at students where such financial support might help promote postgraduate study.

Eligibility

You are eligible to apply for the next Scholarship if:

1. you are commencing your MRes in the Geography Department in Academic year 2024-25 (normally October 2024); and
2. the topic area is in Climate change and/or Polar Science; and
3. your official fee status is a Home student; and
4. your household income, in the final year of your undergraduate degree, was assessed by Student Finance England (SFE) (or equivalent) as below £62,342 (if you are unsure whether your household income is below the threshold, please contact Professor Mike Bentley (m.j.bentley@durham.ac.uk) to discuss, in complete confidence).

The Durham Inspired Climate Change and Polar Science Research Scholarship is typically offered to one new Scholar selected from each MRes intake.

PLEASE NOTE: The Polar Scholarship for 2024-2025 has now been awarded and applications are closed. To enquire about the Polar Scholarship for 2025-2026, please contact Professor Mike Bentley m.j.bentley@durham.ac.uk

How can I use the Scholarship?

The scholarship will be used to pay your MRes (Band 3) tuition fees plus minor research funding that will help with the additional costs of doing research. This may be analytical costs, books, travel or similar, but is for you to spend on your postgraduate study as you wish. The Scholarships are intended to help you get the best out of your time at Durham University and Geography Department.  The funding awarded to you is yours and does not need to be repaid. 

UK students may also be eligible to apply for a Masters Loan (Students Loan Company) to support your living costs during your studies.

How and when do I apply?

To apply for one of these Scholarships, please:

1. complete the Polar Scholarship Application form;
2. provide a copy of your Student Finance England (or equivalent) assessment letter from the final year of your undergraduate degree so that we can verify your household income; and
3. submit the above to Professor Mike Bentley (m.j.bentley@durham.ac.uk), Department of Geography.

The information you provide will be treated in strict confidence and will only be seen by members of the selection panel.

PLEASE NOTE: The Polar Scholarship for 2024-2025 has now been awarded and applications are closed. To enquire about the Polar Scholarship for 2025-2026, please contact Professor Mike Bentley m.j.bentley@durham.ac.uk

What is the selection process?

Your application will be assessed by a panel chaired by Professor Mike Bentley of the Department of Geography.  The panel will consider your application against three criteria as follows:

1. Your academic achievements and progress; and
2. Your chosen project including its relevance to Climate Change and Polar Science; and
3. Your personal statement on how the award of a scholarship would make a difference to allowing you to undertake postgraduate study at Durham, and/or with your ability to engage with your postgraduate studies.

It is important that scholarships like these help as many students as possible, and help those students who can benefit most from them. To help us do that, please tell us about any other funding you receive which you are not required to pay back e.g. grants, awards, Scholarships, Bursaries and similar. This information will be considered alongside your verified Household Income (see above).

If I am awarded a Scholarship, what else do I have to do?

If you are awarded a Scholarship, you will be asked in the first and third term of the academic year to write a short reflection on the part your Scholarship is playing in your experience as a postgraduate student of Geography Department at Durham University.

By accepting the offer of a Scholarship, you will be agreeing to provide the short reports outlined above. These reports will be shared with the donor who is funding your Scholarship so they can see how this support is helping you and they may be published in full or in part in the Department and/or University publications in print and/or online.

You may also be asked to contribute other quotations or content from time to time.  If reports, comment or other content you have submitted are to be published, you have the option for these to include your name, photograph, or other content that might identify you, or to choose to remain anonymous if you prefer not to be identified as the recipient of a Scholarship.

Support and Networking

Scholarship is about offering support to those who might benefit from it most. Support is typically financial, but can also come in the form of having a community around you who can act as trusted friends, mentors and approachable sources of listening, advice and signposting to wider networks.

The Department of Geography can put you in touch with other students in receipt of these or similar Scholarships, along with a small number of staff of the Department and/or the University, and perhaps the donor of your Scholarship.

These meetings are intended to help you by creating a community of Scholars that you can feel part of, by giving you access to Durham staff who are in your corner, by giving you the chance to understand what motivates your donor to fund your scholarship, and for you to express your response to your Scholarship in person.

You may also receive invitations to participate in occasional other events relating to your Scholarship.  By accepting the offer of a Scholarship, you will be agreeing to make the time (wherever possible) to attend and participate in such meetings and events.

Be social. Be informed. Be a part of Durham Geography.