Bursaries and Mentorship
The Stationers’ Foundation bursary programme provides financial and mentoring support to students on a variety of MA/MSc courses, leading to a career in the content and communications industries.
On successful completion of their master’s programme and recommendation by their mentor, recipients will be invited to become a Freeman of the Stationers’ Company, with the expectation to participate in the life of the company and the Young Stationers.
Post Graduate Bursary Scheme
Up to 16 bursaries of up to £9000 are awarded annually to students on the the courses listed below. Please apply direct to the course director listed.
Payment of the annual membership fee will be waivered for the first three years.
Cardiff University MA News Journalism – duncanc2@cardiff.ac.uk MSc Computational and Data Journalism – odonnellA4@cardiff.ac.uk
MA Publishing – E.Tait@kingston.ac.uk
City St George’s, University of London MA Magazine Journalism – Ben.Falk@city.ac.uk MA Publishing – patrick.brindle.2@city.ac.uk
London College of Communication, University of the Arts London MA Publishing – f.hall@lcc.arts.ac.uk
University College London MA Library and Information Studies – a.hicks@ucl.ac.uk MA Publishing – d.boswell@ucl.ac.uk and MA Archives and Records Management – Hannah Smyth hannah.smyth@ucl.ac.uk
University of Reading MA Communication Design – typography@reading.ac.uk .
University of Salford MA Journalism – A.Lindsay@salford.ac.uk
Queen Mary University of London MSc Data Science – hayley.cork@qmul.ac.uk
The Sparrow Awards
Thanks to the generous donation of Sir John and Lady Sparrow, one or two additional bursaries are awarded annually. Awardees will be selected from the applicants for the main postgraduate bursary, who just miss out on an award and will be matched with a Stationers’ mentor.
Guidelines for Applicants 2026
Awarding The Bursaries
Short-listing will take place based on the criteria on the right:
Final decisions will be communicated to the candidates as soon as possible and bursary funds will be transferred to each university to contribute towards their fees in early September. The selection panel’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into concerning this.
There will be an Awards Ceremony at Stationers’ Hall for Bursary Recipients, their guests and mentors in November each year. It is essential that bursary recipients attend this event.
Academic Merit
Financial Need
The quality of the application
Interest in becoming an active member of the Stationers' Company
The interview panel will be made up of at least two Stationers and the Course Director from the candidate's postgraduate course.
Award decisions will be based on performance at interview, including a presentation (a maximum of 10 minutes) in support of their application with examples of their work.
The presentation should demonstrate and evidence the candidate’s achievements to help the panel understand the quality of their work. Candidates may want to explain the background to their work and demonstrate how this will lead into their next area of study and career. We recommend bringing your presentation on a memory stick, for use with our AV equipment. Your device may not be compatible with our equipment.