Student Essay Competitions

One of the draw backs of studying in the UK as an international student can be the high cost of the university fees. However, there are various ways in which you can combat this by getting a grant to help cover the cost of fees and living expenses during your studies. The most common way of gaining this is by applying for scholarships which are then awarded either on academic merit or on financial need (you can search for scholarships on our scholarship directory page).

However, an alternative to applying for a scholarship, is to enter one of the many competitions that offer prizes to help you study. Most of these are essay competitions run by educational organisations, and not only can you win cash prizes, but it also looks great on your CV. Below you can find a list of competitions currently running. 

Student Competition Directory

• Centre for Bioscience Student Award: The annual Student Award gives bioscience students the chance to win £300 by describing their experiences and telling us about their opinions of teaching and learning. The competition is run by many of the Subject Centres, so students from most disciplines can enter the competition through their Subject Centre. Students registered on an undergraduate or postgraduate pure or applied biological science course at a UK institution are eligible to enter the UK Centre for Bioscience Student Award.

• The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies Student Essay Competition: An annual essay competition for higher education students of languages, linguistics and area studies who are studying in the UK. In addition to the prize money winners have their essay/recording published on the Subject Centre website, and are invited to attend the HE Academy Conference. Runners-up also receive a prize and have their entries published on the website.

• Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, University of Oxford: This contest seeks to promote research in early stages of higher education research through Latin America, and to identify promising young scholars in the humanities and science willing to advance research in Science and Religion. Every student in a Latin American university, taking post-graduate studies (at master or doctoral level), plus every student in their last year of undergraduate studies, working in the humanities (philosophy, theology, history of science) and the sciences (biology, physics, etc.), can participate.

• Pain Relief Foundation Medical Student Essay Competition: The winner will receive a prize of £750 for an essay on an aspect of chronic pain, of not more than 3000 words.