FoNS Dean's Fund

The FoNS Dean’s Fund is used to support students at undergraduate and postgraduate level across the Faculty. Normally, awards are made to assist students facing financial hardship and/or to enable students to take up opportunities that might not otherwise be accessible to them due to financial constraints.  

Any queries should be directed to Chris Kerr (via FoNSEduSupport@imperial.ac.uk), the FoNS Education and QA Coordinator, who manages the nomination process. 

Applying for Funds 
Nominations for awards for individual students may be made by key members of staff using the online form. Students cannot apply direct to the fund and must contact their Department to submit a request. 

Nominators must specify the amount of funds requested and must provide a statement in support of the nominee, which must explain why the student in question is deserving of an award and provide justification for the amount requested (i.e. a breakdown of how the funds will be used), and why they would not be able to take up the opportunity (where applicable) without the financial support of the Dean’s Fund. Generally, we would expect students to have explored other sources of funding (e.g. the funds detailed in the links below), or state a justification why this has not been possible or feasible. Depending on the student’s circumstances and reason for requiring funding, documentary evidence may also be requested to support the claim, but we do not normally ask for details of a student’s income and monthly expenses- this allows us to consider and process claims quickly.  

For undergraduate students, it is also possible for nominators to request support in the form of a Levy Award (a £100 supermarket giftcard) which can be in addition to a Dean’s Fund hardship payment or as a standalone award.  

Please note, students can apply for alternative forms of financial assistance, such as the Student Support Funds and Imperial College Trust. 

Nominations received will be considered by the Head of Education and Student Experience (for claims up to £2,500), or by the Dean, and awards made at their discretion. It should be noted that awards to individual students of more than £2,500 are rare, due to the limited funds available, but will be considered in cases of extreme hardship.  

If an application is successful, it can sometimes take up to 10 working days upon the return and receipt of the necessary paperwork from the nominee/ nominator to the Dean's Fund administrator for payment to be made (although this may vary, and for urgent cases can be expedited). 

Some examples which the Dean's Fund has supported: 

• Hardship – support with living costs 
• Hardship – support for equipment for home study 
• Hardship – support with access to Wi-Fi for home study 
• Overseas travel as part of PhD research 
• Attending a conference 

Make a gift to the Faculty of Natural Sciences Dean's Fund today, please see the FoNS Giving website. 

Full details on College donations, please see the Giving website.