‘The Stormzy Scholarship’, student funding scheme with Cambridge University opens soon for 2022

Since its launch in 2018, the Stormzy Scholarship has provided financial support to two UK black students each year, which has helped to transform their University experience.

In 2021, they announced that the #Merky Foundation, in partnership with HSBC UK, expanded the scheme to provide scholarships to 13 black UK students admitted to the University of Cambridge in autumn 2022.

This commitment is meant to last for at least the next three years, meaning 30 more UK black students will benefit from this support.

A total of 13 scholarships were made available in 2021, with 10 funded by HSBC UK, two by Stormzy and one by an anonymous donor.

The scholarships, which are non-repayable, will cover the full cost of tuition fees and provide a maintenance grant, which will significantly reduce the need for awardees to take out government or commercial loans. This support will be available to recipients for up to four years of undergraduate study. For 2022-23, the total award to each student for the year will be worth £20,000. Receipt of this award will not affect eligibility for a Cambridge Bursary.

The University of Cambridge’s Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Graham Virgo, said: “We are enormously grateful to HSBC UK for supporting the #Merky Foundation in funding the degree courses of an additional 30 Black students over the next 3 years.”

“Since the Stormzy Scholarships were announced in 2018, we have seen a significant increase in the number of black students applying to study here and being admitted and we are very proud to see the first two students supported by the scheme graduate this year. We’re confident that they are starting out on an exciting journey which may not have been possible without the generous support of philanthropists like Stormzy. With the launch of our Foundation Year, for admission in 2022, we will be in a position to support a lot more students who have suffered educational disadvantage on their path through Higher Education.”

In 2020, 137 new UK black students arrived to take up their courses at Cambridge, the largest number ever. There is however still more work to be done to ensure that UK black students not only apply to study at the university, but feel at home here and achieve their full potential.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for a Stormzy Scholarship, applicants must:

Have one of the following categories of ethnicity:
- Black African
- Black Caribbean
- Black Other
- Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
- Mixed – White and Black African
- Other mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or Black Other)
Have a confirmed place for entry to the University of Cambridge for a first undergraduate degree, and due to commence study in October 2022. (You can check the status of your offer on UCAS Track.)
Be a UK student and have been assessed for fee status as ‘home’. You were advised of your fee status in the offer letter issued to you earlier this year. If you are in doubt, please contact the Cambridge College that has offered you a place.
Have applied to Student Finance (England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland) for a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan, and have received confirmation that you have been assessed and will receive financial support. An income assessment must have been conducted and consent given to share the information with the University.