Tuition Fees
Pursuing an undergradate education at Cambridge doesn’t cost any more than studying at most other British universities. In fact, we are able to keep the costs down at Cambridge through our generous bursary scheme and through cheap College accommodation and food.
The fees for UK and EU students for 2016-2017 remain unchanged at £9,000 per year. Both UK and EU students can choose to pay their fees whilst at University, or they can take out a Tuition Fees loan. This loan is then repaid in installments once you leave university and are earning a minimum salary of £21,000 per year. Application for the Tuition Fees loan can be made online via the Student Finance website.
International Students should consult the University’s website for the current level of Overseas Fees for their subject. The level of fees paid is dependent upon fee status. Students who are citizens of countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland require a Tier 4 Student Visa to study in the UK. Further information can be found on the Visa and Immigration pages of the University’s website.
College Fees (overseas students only)
UK and EU students do not have to pay college fees unless they are studying for a second degree. Overseas students have to pay an additional college fee which for the academic year 2015-2016 is £7875.
This page provides information on living costs at Cambridge and on the various government, University and College-based schemes for providing funds for students.
Living costs
Cambridge is not an expensive place to live for students. There are short terms (which means you only pay rent for part of the year) and virtually no transport costs involved in living here. The principal reason, however, is that colleges subsidise the accommodation and food costs of their undergraduates and Corpus is no different.
- Accommodation: Corpus guarantees accommodation for the duration of your three or four year undergraduate course, so most Corpus undergraduates live in college-owned accommodation. Students live in single study bedrooms either on the main college site or in college-owned houses or accommodation blocks very nearby. Rent is charged termly and is on the basis of a 30 or 39-week-a-year lease, with the longer lease allowing students to say in their rooms over the Christmas and Easter vacations. Rents vary according to the size of room and facilities offered, and the rooms are assigned ‘price bands’. Termly costs for short and extended leases for 2016-17 are shown below. There are three terms in Cambridge.
| Price Band | Termly rent on short lease | Termly rent on extended lease |
| A | £1,673.16 | £2,202.99 |
| B | £1,625.64 | £2,140.43 |
| C | £1,578.12 | £2,077.86 |
| D | £1,530.60 | £2,015.29 |
| E | £1,483.07 | £1,952.71 |
| F | £1,435.55 | £1,890.14 |
| G | £1,388.03 | £1,827.57 |
| H | £1,340.51 | £1,765.00 |
| I | £1,292.98 | £1,702.42 |
| J | £1,245.46 | £1,639.86 |
| K | £1,197.94 | £1,577.29 |
| L | £1,150.42 | £1,514.72 |
| M | £1,102.89 | £1,452.14 |
| N | £1,056.09 | £1,390.52 |
| O | £1,007.85 | £1,327.00 |
- Food: Every student pays the Kitchen Fixed Charge (KFC) of £191 a term to help pay for the upkeep of our kitchens and then pays for each individual meal. The average two-course meal is around £3.50.
- Internet: Ethernet and wifi access are free.
- Estimated weekly living costs (including food): £75.
- Max annual living cost (based on 39-week lease in band-A room): £9,800 (est.), which includes accommodation, food and entertainment.
- Min annual living costs (based on 30-week lease in band- O room): £5,850 (est.), which includes accommodation, food and entertainment.
Available Funding
Maintenance Loans: From the 2016-2017 academic year UK students may be eligible for a full or partial loan to cover their living expenses, which is paid into their bank accounts at the beginning of each term. More information about government grants and loans can be found here
Cambridge Bursary Scheme: Cambridge Bursaries are available to students from the UK and EU taking any undergraduate course at the University of Cambridge with a household annual income of less than £42,620. These bursaries are intended to help students in financial need and to encourage them to apply to Cambridge. The value of each bursary is calculated on a sliding scale based assessment and applications must be renewed annually. It is not a loan and does not have to be paid back. In the 2014/15 financial year, the Corpus students received £171,000 in bursaries through this scheme. For further information on how to apply and how they are assessed, go to the Cambridge Bursary Scheme website.
Overseas Applicants
Applicants from the Commonwealth or other foreign countries who would find it financially difficult or impossible to come to Cambridge should consult the University Prospectus for sources of funding open to them. The College actively contributes to the funding of non-UK students in collaboration with schemes run by the University for those in need of financial assistance. There is further information for International Students on the University’s website.
Travel awards
Corpus offers exceptionally generous overseas travel awards and vacation study grants to our undergraduates. In recent years we have supported our students traveling to places as far afield as Mongolia and Indonesia to conduct research work over the summer, or to Europe to brush up on a language. Many of our scientists have traveled to Caltech in California to conduct research over the summer. In the 2014/15 financial year, the College awarded £23,000 in study and travel grants to our students, which are decided on a case by case basis by applying through your Tutor.
Book awards
All Cambridge Bursary students will also receive an allowance for essential books or working materials, such as iPads. These provisions have been made possible through a generous gift from Dr. John Taylor, an Old Member and Honorary Fellow of the College.
Benefactions fund scholarships, prizes and grants
We offer numerous prizes for those students who perform exceptionally well on their Tripos examinations. In the 2014/15 financial year, the College awarded £12,000 in such prizes, based on academic achievement.
Study Grants
Some funding towards extra, unexpected expenses incurred as a result of your studies is available. This might cover costs associated with dissertation research, travel and entry fees to museums and libraries, costs of materials for lab projects and so on. In the 2014/15 financial year, the College awarded £23,000 in study and travel grants to our students, which are decided on a case by case basis by applying through your Tutor.
Hardship Grants
We are able to provide additional funding to students who might find themselves in financial hardship during the course of their studies. In the 2014/15 financial year, the College awarded £39,000 in grants to our students, which are assessed on a case by case basis with the help of a student’s Tutor.
Frisby Sports Grants
Corpus has a small fund for sporting activities, available to undergraduates who participate in competitive sports.
Organ Scholarships and Choral Awards
Applications for these must be made before the beginning of September in the year before you plan to come up. An organ applicant who is accepted then has no more interviews. A choral applicant who is successful must still have academic interviews in December. An unsuccessful choral applicant will not be disadvantaged in his or her chance of an academic place. For further details click here.
Instrumental Awards
Auditions for Instrumental Awards are held in the summer of the same year in which you hope to come up. Applications, only from those who have been made a conditional or unconditional offer, must be in by the end of February.
For further information click here.
Nicholas Bacon Scholarship for Lawyers
For many years the Nicholas Bacon Society has maintained links between law students and lawyer alumni through the annual dinner and other events.
One very important aspect of these links has been the setting up of the Corpus Christi Nicholas Bacon Fund. This was created as a separate registered charity, (No 1115923), by a group of Corpus lawyers, led by Sir Terence Etherton, to support outstanding undergraduate and post-graduate students in Law, who might otherwise have met with financial difficulties. Current Students are invited to apply for awards from the Fund.
Applicants holding offers will be sent an application form in August in the year they start their course.