Some funding, from endowments left to the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), is available to assist students with the cost of their MSc project. This funding is only available to students who are registered on an intensive Masters programme at LSHTM for the 2023-24 academic year.
Application eligibility
To be eligible to apply for this funding applicants/projects must meet the following criteria:
- the topic must be related to LSHTM’s mission, and
- the project must be taking place in a low- or middle-income country, and
- the carrying out of the project should be beneficial to LSHTM, i.e. it may be an extension of an existing project which may lead to further collaboration or raise the profile of LSHTM in a certain country/region, and
- the student must be currently registered on one of LSHTM’s intensive Master’s programmes of study, and
- the student should not be in receipt of full funding for travel costs from other sources, and
- the student must be able to justify financial need, and
- the student must be able to contribute towards the total cost of the project.
What the Trust Funds cover
For successful applicants, a Trust Fund award will make a contribution towards reasonable costs of return flights to the destination country only.
Students are expected to keep travel costs to a reasonable minimum, as the funding is from gifts made to LSHTM. Students should be aware that the Trust Funds available are limited. If a successful student purchases tickets above the award determined by the scholarships team, they will be responsible for covering the difference in amounts.
Internal overland travel and any other project-related expenses are not covered.
In general, flights are cheaper the earlier that they are booked. It is possible that the award amount will not fully cover the cost of a return flight. Please be aware that the decision as to when to book a flight is the responsibility of the student.
Flights costs will be capped at GBP 1,000.00. Successful applicants, therefore, may not be awarded most/all of their flight costs.
General guidance
The Teaching Support Office (TSO) covers the cost of travel insurance for MSc projects. MSc students must apply for travel insurance via the advised LSHTM procedures.
All applicants should follow MSc Project Handbook guidance regarding ethical clearance and risk assessment.
The Scholarships team would advise that students apply for travel insurance and start the full ethics approval process as soon as possible once the destination and project have been confirmed.
Please note that Trust Fund awards will be allocated only to projects which are taking place in low- and middle-income countries, and where topics are related to LSHTM’s mission.
How to apply and deadlines
Step 1
To apply, students should submit the below information by 23:59 (BST) on Monday 13 May 2024.
- Complete a 2023-24 MSc Projects (Trust Funds) application via this link.
- Submit a letter/email from their Project supervisor containing:
- Student’s name
- Student’s proposed project title
- A short statement of how the project will benefit both LSHTM and the student.
Students must advise their project supervisor that their support is required for the application to be processed.
The letter/email supporting the student’s application for funding should be sent by the supervisor or forwarded by the student to the Scholarships team (scholarships@lshtm.ac.uk) before the submission deadline.
By submitting an application for this funding applicants agree to its Terms & Conditions.
Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Incomplete applications are those where the student-submitted form is incomplete and/or where the supervisor statement of support is not provided by the deadline.
What next?
Following receipt of all applications (after the deadline) the scholarships team will review each application to check eligibility criteria have been met.
If we receive more applications for funding than the available funds can cover, the total budget will be divided between all eligible applications, using a ‘reasonable cost’ to calculate the award amount contribution (up to a maximum of GBP 1,000.00 award).
The Scholarships team will forward project applications on to relevant academics for review and approval. All applications will be processed in one batch after the deadline.
Once decisions have been reached, the Scholarships team will contact all applicants with the outcome (we aim to complete this process within a month of the deadline but due to the multiple steps in the process this may take longer).
Funds will only be released to successful applicants on receipt of
- proof of full payment for international travel (to the destination noted in the application form), and
- a completed UK Bank Details Form, and
- confirmation of ethics approval (or confirmation that ethical clearance is not required); this must be one of the following
- LSHTM ethics letter and confirmation in reply email stating no local ethics is required, or
- LSHTM ethics letter that lists the local approval because it was submitted to the ethics committee, or
- LSHTM ethics letter that does not list local ethics approval PLUS local ethics approval letter/documentation from project destination.
Applicants should note that awards may be invalidated where frequent flyer points/air miles are used to purchase a ticket unless they have contacted Scholarships in advance and a (prior) agreement is in place.
Once all of these documents have been received, we aim to reimburse successful applicants within 20 working days (regardless of whether this is before or after the date of outbound travel). Proof of full payment, bank details, and confirmation of ethics approval as listed above must be submitted to the scholarships team by 23:59 (BST) on Monday 12 August 2024 at the latest. This is the final date for refund paperwork to be accepted; please be aware that no payments for 2023-24 Trust Funds will be made if the necessary documents are received after this deadline.
Once the project has been completed, the project supervisor must be able to confirm that each student’s project has been completed to a satisfactory level. If not, the student will be responsible for returning any Trust Fund contribution awarded. Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to ensure the project supervisor completes the End of Project Control form and that it is returned to the scholarships team.
Contact
If you have any questions that have not been answered in the information above please contact the Scholarships team.