Presidential UROP bursaries for students of Black heritage
Following the launch of our Presidential Scholarships for Students of Black Heritage, we are pleased to offer additional UROP bursaries to students of Black heritage with Home fee status at Imperial College. Students can apply for these bursaries as part of the single application for all centrally managed UROP bursary schemes. See the Compare Awards section below for more details.
UROP Bursaries 2024-25
Expressions of interest for UROP Bursaries for summer 2025 will open on the 7th of January.
If you are a full-time undergraduate degree student at Imperial College you are invited to apply for funding for the College’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP). All Visiting (non-degree) students, intercalating students and external students are ineligible to apply for this bursary; however, they are welcome to arrange a UROP placement at Imperial College London without bursary funding from this scheme.
A bursary contributes towards the living costs associated with undertaking a research experience (the UROP) within Imperial College during the summer.
Please be aware that only one application form per student will be considered for a UROP bursary. If multiple applications are received then the application with the latest submission date will be assessed for an award.
UROP has furthered the research ambitions of students for nearly 40 years and continues to be the College's focal point for students who wish to develop an appreciation of research and the environment within which it takes place. Students and academic staff are encouraged to consider the possibilities that the UROP system offers.
Imperial College is striving to be a truly inclusive university and is therefore keen to receive applications for these bursaries from women, disabled, and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as these groups of students have been under-represented in recent UROP bursary schemes.
UROP
| Presidential UROP Bursary for Students of Black Heritage | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Vacation Internship | Faculty of Engineering UROP Award | Imperial College UROP Award | Faculty of Natural Sciences UROP Bursary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee status | Home | EU or Home | ALL | ALL | ALL |
| Where in their degree | In any year | Middle years of their degree (1st and final years are not eligible) | In any year | In any year | In any year |
| Value of award | £407 per week | *£407 per week. See note below. | £407 per week |
£407 per week Awards for the same UROP with two recipients will be split 50/50 |
£3,000 total |
| Duration of research experience | 6-12 weeks | 6-12 weeks | 6-12 weeks |
|
8 weeks |
| Cross Faculty award | Available | Not available (only for FoE and FoNS except Life Sciences) | In extraordinary cases | Available | Only for FoNS hosted UROPs |
*EPSRC vacation internship payments must be taxed. Students who are awarded this funding, will be paid via approval of Casual Worker timesheets at the gross rate of £13.52 per hour, so that 35 hours per week of enagagement in the UROP can be paid at the equivalent of £407 per week after tax.
In addition to the awards above, open to all faculties, The Faculty of Medicine are also hosting four funded research projects for summer in 2025. These are being funded by the The Kemal Gözükara Education and Culture Foundation, open to Imperial College students and students from qualifying Turkish medical universities. See the Faculty of Medicine's Scholarships and Awards page (Current student awards section) for more information and their application form.
UROP bursary applications for summer 2025 will reopen from 7 January 2025.
- Submit an Expression of Interest form (available from 7 January, 2025) to request an application for a bursary. You do not need to have a UROP fully agreed (or registered) in order to submit your expression of interest. Where two students are applying for a joint basis for one Imperial College UROP Award, you only need to express your interest once, under one of your names. You can then complete a single application form for both of you.
- Complete an application form which will be sent to you within the 24 hours, or the next working day, of you submitting your expression of interest. You must have provisionally agreed a research experience with a member of academic staff before you apply.
- Your Supervisor will be sent a form for them to submit their supporting statement. They will be sent this form 24 hours, or the next working day after the submission of your application.
You only need to complete one application to be considered for all of the above centrally managed bursary schemes. When completing the application form please consider the following:
- Reflect on your First thoughts and motivations for pursuing a UROP;
- Provide specific examples, rather than broad statements;
- Describe, in layperson terms, what the project is about, and why it is important;
- Check spelling and grammar
Please be aware that only one application form per student will be considered for a UROP bursary. If multiple applications are received then the application with the latest date will be assessed for an award.
Priority will be given to those students who have not received an award before.
The Expression of Interest form will close at 11:59pm (GMT) on Sunday 16 February 2025.
The Application deadline for students is 11:59pm (GMT) on Friday 21 February 2025.
Supervisors must submit their supporting statement at 11:59pm (GMT) on Friday 28 February 2025.
If you have any queries about the process to apply for a UROP bursary, please email the Student Financial Support team at bursariesurop@imperial.ac.uk
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Vacation internship
- A student who is allocated this funding will be required to submit a report directly to the EPSRC at the end of their research experience.
- Payments must be taxed in accordance with definitions imposed applied by the research council, and therefore payments are made via the Casual Worker timesheets. Students are expected to record 35 hour per week timesheets in order to receive £407 per week after tax.
- Imperial College UROP Award
- Those expecting to graduate in June 2025 are also eligible if their proposed research experience concludes by 30 September 2025.
- Applications for a bursary can be made by either:
- one undergraduate;
- or two undergraduates undertaking a joint UROP. In this case, the application must be clear as to the contribution of each student. Work is usually split 50/50, with both students committing equal time and effort to the UROP. The bursary will also be split equally between the students.
If a student is successful with their application, the host department may allocate additional funds (on top of the granted award) to make a combined total of £450 per week for the student. This is done at the host department’s discretion, and they will be responsible for processing any additional bursary payments which are approved.
All applicants will be notified by the 14th of April 2025 whether they have been successful.
The bursary is paid in a single instalment on Monday 7 July 2025. Note that EPSRC funded payments are made via a Casual Worker (Payroll) process by timesheets. The relevant dates of EPSRC UROP payment are published on the Payroll Casual worker page under Payment Dates.
Further information about other UROP funding opportunities is available via the UROP web pages.
Terms and conditions
Important terms and conditions apply to our UROP awards.
Successful applicants will receive full terms and conditions in the Award confirmation.
