Carnegie Trust For Universities Of Scotland

The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, established in 1901 with a £10 million endowment from Andrew Carnegie, is a Royal Charter organisation dedicated to advancing Scotland's higher education by supporting university improvement, expansion, and equitable access for financially disadvantaged students. Rooted in Carnegie's vision of broadening opportunity and academic excellence, its values emphasise equity, stewardship, and adaptability—evidenced by a 2024 Charter update for flexible investments—while having supported over 70,000 individuals with grants worth nearly £500 million (adjusted).

It funds individual students and Scottish university staff through targeted schemes: Undergraduate Tuition Fee Grants for those excluded from statutory support (e.g., low-income, refugees, asylum seekers, or those with interrupted studies); prestigious Carnegie PhD Scholarships; Vacation Scholarships for undergraduate research projects; Research Incentive and Collaborative Grants (£2,000–£10,000) for early-career academics; and specialist awards like the Henry Dryerre Scholarship. Priorities include widening participation for disadvantaged groups, innovative research, and institutional capacity-building, with activities benefiting Scotland's universities, though some research may occur elsewhere if nominated by them.

Eligible applicants are individuals—Scottish residents or those with strong Scottish links (birth, extraction, education), facing hardship without public funding—not charities or organisations. No income/size rules apply.

Applications are online via a portal after an eligibility checker; no unsolicited organisational proposals. Key deadlines: Tuition Fees open 1 June, close 1 December 2025 (5pm); Vacation Scholarships 17 November 2025–13 February 2026. Decisions in 2–3 weeks for fees, by April for others. Exclusions: core/project/capital grants to charities, unrestricted funding. Distinctively, it blends legacy-driven student bursaries with research excellence, prioritising Scotland's HE sector amid evolving needs like employability.