Gibson-Sykora Postgraduate Taught Scholarship (Home)

Value of award (per year)

Full tuition fees.

If full funding for tuition fees has been secured through alternate means, all or part of the Gibson-Sykora award may be converted to maintenance in some circumstances.

Duration of award

This award is normally available for 1 year of postgraduate study.

At what stage of my course application can I apply for this scholarship?

Please apply for the award after you have submitted your application for a place at St Andrews. You do not need to wait until you have received an offer of a place before applying for the award.

Additional criteria

You must have applied for a taught postgraduate masters course: MLitt, MRes, MSc.

In support of your application you will be asked to upload the following supporting documents:

• One personal reference and one academic or professional reference (two references in total). These can be in addition to your course application references, but must be uploaded before the deadline. Please refer to the guidance below, or contact pgscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk if you have any queries.
• University transcript(s), including interim transcripts for any degrees pending.

References

You are required to provide one academic reference and one personal reference.

The academic reference may be the same as one of the academic references submitted with your study application. If you do not have access to those references, instead please upload a holding document (e.g. Word) with the name of the referee. The reference will then be uploaded by us after you have submitted the scholarship application.

The personal reference should be written by someone who knows you well (but not a family member) who can vouch for either your non-academic qualities that you write about in the application form, or your financial situation (if that is relevant to your application).

If your referee(s) would prefer to send the reference(s) directly to us, please ask them to email the reference to pgscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk, and to include your name and the name of the scholarship for which it is intended, before the scholarship deadline date. When you apply for the scholarship, in place of the reference, please upload a holding document with the referee's name, and a note that the reference will be sent directly by them. The document will then be added after you have submitted the application, as long as we receive it by the application deadline.

Please note: We do not recommend using an academic reference in place of the personal reference, as this may not meet the requirements of the scholarship and may be detrimental to your application. Please only do this if you are sure that it can serve as a personal reference, e.g. if it is written by an academic who is familiar with and refers specifically to your non-academic qualities.

Student financial information

We recommend using the funding financial profile to help calculate your household income before you apply. You can find the funding financial profile in Scholarships and Funding, "Create my funding financial profile". Applicants must also articulate a need for support through a personal financial statement.

"Household income" refers to your total annual income for the most recent full financial year. This figure must be annual (not monthly), in Pounds Sterling (GBP) and gross (without tax deducted). If you are living with your parents/guardians, the figure provided must be their combined income rather than your own. Income details must reflect your current/recent situation and not your expected future income after starting your intended programme.

If you would prefer not to disclose any information about your income or financial circumstances, please see the advice in the application form. You will not be eligible for any financial needs-based scholarships if you do not provide this information.

How to apply

This scholarship is available through the St Leonard's Masters Scholarship (UK) application in the Scholarships and Funding catalogue, in the Scholarships and Funding section of My Application. Please note there is not a separate Gibson-Sykora application form.

After submitting this application, you will be considered automatically for any scholarships under this scheme for which you are eligible, based on your answers in the application form.

• After you have applied to a postgraduate taught masters programme for the 2025-26 academic year, you must allow 2 working days for processing and issue of your log in details before you can apply for this scholarship.
• In the Scholarships and Funding catalogue, apply for the St Leonard's Masters Scholarships (UK).
• Please note that in order to be considered for this scholarship, you must complete the scholarship application form questions about your household income and financial circumstances.
• If you are a current student at St Andrews, you can access Scholarships and Funding through MySaint. However, you should wait until after you have applied for your intended postgraduate programme before doing so, to ensure that the scholarship application is linked to the correct course.

Scholarship application form guidance

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions (opens in new tab)

If applying to this scholarship, please be aware of the following requirements:

• Core personal details may be passed to the benefactors of your scholarship. Your name, the name of your town of origin, school/college and subject of study will be passed to the donor of the scholarship with your consent.
• Your scholarship award in subsequent years of study is conditional upon your successful completion of the academic requirements to progress in your proposed subject of study at the University of St Andrews. If your scholarship is subject-related then your award is usually also conditional upon your continuing to study that specific subject.
• Attendance at Development related scholarship events (including invitations to meet the donors) is strongly encouraged. You will be invited to these as appropriate by the Development Office.
• Submission of reports throughout the period of scholarship support. You are required to submit an Introductory Biography at the start of your award period and the Development Office will contact you towards the end of the academic session for a report on your time at St Andrews to share with the donors of your award. This will be an annual cycle for the duration of your award.
• If you apply to this scholarship, details from your course application may be passed to the selection panel solely for the purpose of merit-based assessment.

When will I know the outcome?

The outcome of your scholarship application will be available on View my applications in the Scholarships and Funding section of My Application by late May 2025.

If you are successful, you will also receive an award letter with full details of the scholarship you have been offered.