Foundation Year for refugees/asylum seekers; Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship
How to apply
- Apply via UCAS using course code FYC1, by 13 Jan 2027, 6pm (for 2027 entry)
- Submit a personal statement and UCAS reference as part of the standard UCAS application
- If shortlisted, complete a written admission assessment, then attend an interview
- Separately, apply for admission to Cambridge by your course's own funding deadline
- Also complete the separate Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship form via the Cambridge Trust — 2026/27 deadline 30 Jan 2026
What to prepare
- Full Eligibility Guidelines (PDF), referenced for verification
- Separate guidance documents exist for mature-student and refugee/asylum-seeker applicants (referenced but not detailed on this page)
How they select
application form · personal statement · interview · references
There is an interview here. It is a conversation about your situation and your study plans, not a subject exam: nobody tests the school syllabus or tries to catch you out. You can answer calmly, in your own words.
Dates
Ask before you apply
We do not fill in the gaps for the institution. Here is what its own page leaves unclear — these are normal questions, everyone asks them.
- What happens to the payments if I am granted refugee status mid-year?
- Is the scholarship for one year or for the whole course?
Who to write to: foundation.year@admin.cam.ac.uk
If this scheme is not for you
- See the full list of schemes — it has a filter for your status and for whether student finance is available to you.
- Check whether you are entitled to student finance — if it is, a scholarship stops being the only road.
- Foundation year and Access to HE — routes for people who only have a school certificate.
- Education hub — where to start if you have not chosen a route yet.
About the institution
Cambridge is a collegiate university; the Foundation Year is offered through Downing, Fitzwilliam, Girton, Homerton, Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, Murray Edwards, Queens', Sidney Sussex, St Edmund's and Wolfson Colleges. No tuition fees are charged for the Foundation Year itself; students get a Scholarship pegged to maintenance-loan levels, topped up to undergraduate bursary levels, and don't use up any Lifelong Learning Entitlement doing it. The Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship (administered by the Cambridge Trust, a separate funding body) is open to applicants 'from an area of instability or zone of conflict... including those who are seeking asylum or who have Refugee status' — it explicitly does not require Refugee status, and covers both overseas and UK-based applicants. Cambridge directs those unsure of fee status to UKCISA.
Mostly school leavers. Only 11.1% of students are over 30. If you are over 35, look at other universities on the list — there are more adults there.
In detail about University of Cambridge: all schemes, student ages, study modes →
Source
Every fact on this page we opened and read on the institution's own site, rather than taking it from an aggregator. Checked on: 22 August 2026.
The scheme page on the institution's site →
Two distinct Cambridge schemes bundled under this key: fee-free Foundation Year (automatic eligibility for refugees/asylum seekers/Ukraine scheme) and the separate Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship (UG/PGT/PGR, needs […]