Student Travel Grants

Clough Travel Fund – The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

A fund exists in the Faculty of Oriental Studies for the provision of travel grants for undergraduate or graduate students of Japanese in the University to enable them to visit Japan or Japan and Korea for the study of the language or literature. Applications should consist of the Trust Fund Small Grant application form, two references and a covering letter and be sent to the Trust Funds Administrator, The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Pusey Lane, Oxford, OX1 2LE or by email to trustfunds@ames.ox.ac.uk. An application may be submitted at any time.

Sasakawa Fund Travel Grant at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

The Sasakawa Fund awards travel grants to fund travel and research in Japan by senior or junior members of the University of Oxford, or alternatively to students from the UK or other countries currently on a course or starting a course at Oxford University which requires some period of study in Japan.

Please note that grant applications should be submitted no later than Friday of sixth week in any term for consideration later that term. To apply, please complete the Travel Grant Form, along with a covering letter giving details of the purpose of the grant, and send your application as a PDF directly to the Trust Funds Administrator on trustfunds@ames.ox.ac.uk. Applications from junior members must be accompanied by letters of support from their tutor or supervisor. 

Arthur Stockwin Scholar's Fund

The Arthur Stockwin Scholar's Fund supports St Antony's College MPhil and DPhil students to do fieldwork and research in Japan with a grant of up to £6500. The award is open to students of any nationality and who are pursuing any discipline. The fund does not offer funding for internships, attending conferences or training courses in Japan.

Applications consist of two parts:

  1. A completed application form (available at the bottom of this page). The form includes information about the purpose of your application, your budget and funding situation. Please complete the form in full. The form will be available to complete from approximately four weeks before the application deadline.
  2. A reference, sent by email directly from your supervisor to the college's Academic Office Team. The reference should comment on your academic achievements and suitability for the grant.

Applications are open once a year on the St Antony's College website. The successful applicant will be informed 3-4 weeks after the closing date.

The Lady Marks Charitable Trust

The fund assists students and early career scholars studying at an UK university to support research on modern Japan (from the Meiji period onwards), including its history, culture, politics and economy. 

The maximum given to any individual will not normally exceed £2,500 and typically 4 grants are awarded per year. 

Grants may be used to support a range of research related activities, including travel for research purposes, acquisition of materials, editing and publication (receipts may need to be produced as evidence of such expenditure). 

Application is open to all graduate students, but preference may be given to non-Japanese students engaged in the study of Japan. 

All applicants are asked to send a reference along with the completed application form. In the case of graduate students, this reference should be from the applicant’s supervisor. 

A condition of receiving a grant is that a report on the use of the grant should be sent to The Lady Marks Charitable Trust within three months of completion of the research. This should demonstrate that the grant has been spent on the purpose for which it was awarded and provide evidence of the project’s success and impact. The report should be submitted with a breakdown of the grant expenditure. The Lady Marks Charitable Trust expects to receive acknowledgment of its assistance in any published material. 

Preference will be given to first time applicants. 

The deadline for applications will be 31st March.  Late applications will not be considered.  Please note that the planned expenditure must relate to the following academic year.  Applications cannot be made retrospectively. 

Successful applicants will be notified in June. 

All application forms should be emailed to: markscharity@rathbones.com 

The Storry Memorial Travelling Bursary

A bursary of £600-£800 is offered towards the cost of travel to Japan for the purpose of studying some aspect of modern Japan.  The bursary is open to postgraduate students and undergraduates alike.

A detailed account of the projected visit and its purpose should be submitted to the Administrator (administrator@nissan.ox.ac.uk) of the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, 27 Winchester Road, Oxford OX2 6NA normally by Friday of week 1 of Trinity Term.  For 2025 that date is Friday 2nd May 2025.

Applicants should also ask one referee, who should normally be their supervisor to send a reference to the Administrator by the same date.

The successful applicant will be informed as soon as possible.

Applicants should note that they will have to find the balance required to undertake their fieldwork from other sources.

Royal Society for Asian Affairs (RSAA)

The awards are open to applications from students, young researchers and early career academics and aim to support funding the travel element of practical projects and research, that have the potential to contribute to advances in scholarly or other public knowledge in relation to Asia. Individual’s have the opportunity to receive a grant of up to £2,000 and while applications can be related to any aspect of the study of Asia, this year we are particularly encouraging applications related to the following fields of study: 

  • Colonialism and its Legacies – the study of the cultural, political, and economic experiences and legacies of colonialism and imperialism in Asia.
  • Exploration – the geographical, environmental, cultural, or historical exploration of countries, regions, or peoples of post-1900 Asia.
  • Technology and the State – studies of technological advancement and its applications in infrastructure, surveillance and communication (including social media) in contemporary Asia.

Applications must be received by the RSAA no later than 31 January 2025.

Please find the full details and an application form attached or follow this link to the same via our website –https://rsaa.org.uk/awards/the-rsaa-travel-awards/

The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation PhD Travel/Research Grants

The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation have PhD Travel/research grants to go to Japan and these can be applied for by students that are also in receipt of a GBSF award if it is outside that academic year of the GBSF award.  There are three opportunities in the grant rounds for students to apply: 31 March, 15 September, and 15 December. 

More details here http://www.gbsf.org.uk/grants/overview/