Wolfson students sit outside with ice creams in the sundial garden

Support Wolfson

Our generous donors help to fund scholarships, travel and sporting achievements, as well as ambitious plans to develop the College campus.

Students enjoy an ice cream in the Sundial Garden

Philanthropy in action

In the 2022/2023 academic year, our students needed more financial support from Wolfson than ever before. We are grateful that:

  • We were able to welcome 48 postgraduates thanks to Wolfson College scholarships
  • 74 mature undergraduates received maintenance grants or bursaries
  • Wolfson help 88 students to continue in their studies when faced with unexpected financial hardship

This vital support would not have been possible without the generous backing of our alumni and friends.

This year, two extremely generous Wolfson alumni funded our first fully-endowed College studentships, securing access to education and research at Wolfson in perpetuity. Further significant gifts this year have enabled us to partner with other University institutions– Departments, Faculties, the Cambridge Trust – to offer fully funded PhD studentships to our top postgraduate applicants. The value – and impact – of a donor’s gift is routinely more than doubled in these partner-funding arrangements.

In every case, these awards – whether small or large, to support academic or extracurricular activity – enabled students to make the most of their Cambridge experience and had a significant positive impact on their wellbeing. The College is enormously grateful to everyone whose gifts allow us to support so many students in so many ways. Thank you!

Read more

John Hughes with Jane Clarke

Make a donation

Donations have transformed every aspect of life in the College, including:

  • supporting students and researchers with multi-year funding packages
  • awarding academic prizes and organised skills programmes like WolfWorks
  • encouraging sporting excellence and diverse interest groups
  • investing in new strategic projects like our interdisciplinary research hubs
  • refurbishing facilities to be more green and energy efficient

Generous supporters are invited to join the President's Circle.

Donate to Wolfson

The stone guardians outside the Lee Library

Leave a legacy

Legacy gifts leave a lasting impact on future generations of students and researchers. Anyone can leave a legacy, and any gift, large or small, will make a real difference to the College in its mission to be a force for good in society.

A legacy left to Wolfson can reduce your UK inheritance tax liability, and as a Registered Charity your bequest to Wolfson will be tax-exempt. The College recognises and thanks all legators by inviting them to join The Morrison Society.

Named after the College’s visionary founding President, John Morrison, the Morrison Society was established in 2008 to celebrate the special way our legacy donors have chosen to give to Wolfson.

We are delighted to invite Society members to special College events, to show our appreciation during their lifetime for this important commitment. Members also have their names inscribed in a special commemorative book, should they wish to be acknowledged publicly.

The College invests the legacy gifts it receives to generate more reliable income: this allows us to plan ahead, boosts our financial security, and helps us invest in our people today and for future generations.

Read more in our legacy brochure.

Leave a legacy

Joel Adams
Joel Adams

Yidi Lu Bursary

I am a fourth year PhD Engineering student. Both exchange rate fluctuation and change in my funding status meant that I have to return to Nigeria to write up my thesis. Turning years of research into a single, coherent piece of work can be tough, but it’s a real nightmare where internet and electricity are inefficient. The generous support of a Yidi Lu Bursary and Wolfson College enabled me to stay in Cambridge and fulfill my dream. I am truly grateful and inspired to empower others.

 

Hui Ben
Hui Ben and Jane Clarke

Yidi Lu Bursary

In my final year as an Architecture PhD Candidate, Wolfson College kindly offered me a Yidi Lu Bursary which has enabled me to focus on completing my thesis. I am truly humbled by the generous support of Wolfson and how the College has and continues to help the students in need. Words cannot express my sincere appreciation for its generosity and kindness.

Katrien Janin
Katrien Janin

Wolfson Vice-Chancellor’s Award

I am fascinated by bones and the information they hold about past lives. For my PhD research, I calculate the evolutionary capacity of bones with the aim to understand better how our human lineage could diverge, and why human bones difer so much from our fellow primates. I am immensely grateful to have been awarded this scholarship, as without it I would not have been able to pursue my passion and undertake research at PhD level. Thank you.

 

Mathilde Foged Jensen
Mathlide at Boat Club party

John Morrison Studentship

Being accepted to Cambridge as an undergraduate from Denmark felt unreal. When I finished celebrating my personal victory and understood the financial costs, I realised that it might turn out actually to be unreal. With the generous support from the John Morrison Studentship, I am now pursuing my great passion for politics and social science in an environment where my beliefs are challenged and new ideas inspire me. Wolfson’s encouraging atmosphere makes me seek new challenges, and the financial support has given me a great feeling of affiliation with College – which I try to reciprocate.

 

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