Animal Welfare Student Scholarships
A key part of Science for Animal Welfare’s mission is to support the next generation of animal welfare scientists.
Our Animal Welfare Student Scholarships support undergraduate or masters students to undertake their own animal welfare research project. Each Scholarship provides up to £3,600, enabling students to gain valuable research experience whilst carrying out an original project. This experience can be invaluable when students come to take the next steps in their career.
Some students who apply for scholarships also take advantage of our mentoring scheme. Through this scheme, they can benefit from mentoring from a more experienced animal welfare researcher to help them devise a project and high-quality application for a student scholarship.
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The Animal Welfare Student Scholarship is an annual Scholarship award that is open for application every September/October, with a closing date of 28 February the following year.
Applications should be made by completing an Student Scholarship application form online.
Recent projects
Learn more about the recent projects from our Animal Welfare Student Scholars.
Further information
If further information is required, please contact Science for Animal Welfare directly via email.
FAQs
Applications are welcome from undergraduate or MSc students who are interested in carrying out a project in animal welfare. Applicants must either study at OR be supervised by someone at a Science for Animal Welfare LINK university / institute .
Please visit the Science for Animal Welfare LINK webpage for further information about the scheme, including details of who to contact if your university/institute is not currently part of the scheme but would be interested in applying to join.
Please note: PhD students are NOT eligible to apply.
Projects may be carried out anywhere in the world. If the location of the study is not at the university or institute where the student is enrolled, confirmation is needed from the study host.
The project must be relevant to improving or assessing the welfare of farm, companion, laboratory, or zoo animals, or free-living wild animals whose welfare is compromised by human activity. The projects will be relatively small, due to their short duration and the early career stage of the students.
Please note that animal welfare must be the main focus of the project. We do not support projects focused on e.g. conservation or the improvement of livestock yield.
To see the variety and scope of previous projects, please take a look at Recent Scholars.
Student Scholarships consist of £350 per week subsistence allowance for the Scholar (paid to the student directly) plus £100 per week project expenses (paid to the host university/organisation).
Although typically completed during July-September, projects may be carried out at any time during the year of application and usually last 4 to 8 weeks. Support is provided for up to 8 weeks, although projects themselves may be longer than this.
Funds are normally paid by bank transfer to applicants. Any costs associated with a bank transfer will be deducted from the grant.
Please note that, for reasons beyond our control such as international sanctions, Science for Animal Welfare may not be able to make certain awards.
Scholars are asked to report on their project once completed, and to present their research findings at the Annual Scholars Meeting held online – usually in December or January.
We aim for the meeting to be relatively small, as for many it will be their first public scientific presentation, and a safe atmosphere is aimed for.
The Science for Animal Welfare Student Scholarship is an annual Scholarship award that is open for application every September/October, with a closing date of 28 February the following year.
When open, interested students are invited to complete and submit an online application form. The form is divided into sections and asks for the following information: details about the student and their current course (including a copy of their CV), details about the supervisor(s) who will be supervising the student for the duration of their project, and a description of the proposed project (including location, dates, and implications for animal welfare).
To apply for a Scholarship, please complete an online application form.
The first Animal Welfare Student Scholarships were awarded by UFAW in 1983 and since the scheme began there have been over 450 scholars.
A wide range of projects have been undertaken and in some cases, scholars have published papers arising from their work in scientific literature. Some of our past scholars can be viewed here: Recent Scholars.
For many scholars, the Animal Welfare Student Scholarships have also been a successful launch pad for a career in animal welfare science, with many going on to supervise scholars themselves.
Humane Slaughter Association Scholarship
If your project investigates the welfare of farmed animals during transport, at markets, or during slaughter, please consider applying for a scholarship with our sister charity, the Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) instead, as these are core areas for the HSA. Please note that applying to both charities does not improve your chances of a successful application.