Applications are invited for the Balfour-Browne Fund, which is intended to support the study of entomology, with a preference for field-based work.

Any person working in the University, who need not be a member of the University, is eligible to apply. However, the Fund Managers will give preference to current undergraduate students. Postgraduate students are invited to apply under the condition that the research does not support work directly connected to their approved course of study or research. The Managers would particularly like to support studies in the field; especially in the United Kingdom.

Applicants can request support through maintenance cost or research costs such as travel or equipment. Applicants will be paid a maintenance cost (this is paid as an internship in line with the National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour) for up to 6 weeks only. For postgraduate students, please refer to the application form for further details regarding work as a student. 

Requests may also be made additional costs such as travel and equipment, Please note, if requests for travel/ equipment are made in addition to a maintenance cost, these may not be granted even if the application is successful.  

Please follow this link for the application form: Balfour-Browne J Arthur Ramsay Application  | Balfour-Browne Application for Postgraduate Students
 

Your application should include the following:

• the application form (including a brief outline of your project)
• a short CV (max 2 pages)
• a brief letter of support from your Director of Studies 
• a brief letter of support from your proposed supervisor

Applications should be sent to Philippa Rosselli via admin@zoo.cam.ac.uk. The closing date is 5pm on Monday 14th April 2025.

Please note: 

• No grant may be made to any registered Postgraduate Student if it would support work directly connected to their approved course of study or research. 
   
• All research activities and trips but be covered by appropriate risk assessments. Any award will be contingent on risk assessments being approved by the Department's Safety and Environmental Coordinator. Successful applicants must undertake a safety induction prior to the project commencing. 
   
• Students are expected to take it upon themselves to contact members of the Department who they would like to work with, who would supply a letter of support. 
   
• The funding is not for undergraduate work that may subsequently be submitted for assessment. 
   
• Recipients of the Fund are expected to submit a report after the completion of their project. 
   
• The Fund Managers of both Balfour-Browne and J Arthur Ramsay intend to consider all applications in tandem, so if you're eligible to apply for both, you do not need to submit two applications or supply two sets of letters of support. 

From the Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge:

1. From the balance of the sum remaining from the bequest of £10,000 by Professor W. A. F. Balfour-Browne, of Gonville and Caius College, a Balfour-Browne Fund shall be established in the University for the advancement of the study of entomology.
2. The Fund shall be administered by two Managers, who shall be University officers in the Faculty of Biology appointed by the Faculty Board, one on the nomination of the Head of the Department Genetics and one on the nomination of the Head of the Department of Zoology. Managers shall be appointed in the Michaelmas Term to serve for two years from 1 January next following.
3. Any person working in the University, who need not be a member of the University, shall be eligible to apply for a grant from the Fund to support the study of entomology; provided that
   1. preference shall be given to persons in statu pupillari
   2. preference shall be given to the support of studies in the field, especially in the United Kingdom,
   3. no grant shall be made to any registered Graduate Student if it would support work directly connected with his or her approved course of study or research.
4. In each Michaelmas Term the Managers shall announce the date or dates by which applications for grants from the Fund may be submitted (via the Department of Zoology website).
5. Any unexpended income shall not be added to the capital of the Fund but shall be accumulated for use as income in subsequent years.