The Alice Horsman Fund was established in 1953. Its purpose is (a) to provide alumni with opportunities to travel at such time in their careers as may be of most value to them, in order to either broaden their experience of other countries and their peoples or to carry out research and (b) to support alumni in a significant career change.
The Michaelmas Term application form will be available to download from this webpage by the end of September.
About the Alice Horsman Fund
Alice Horsman was a Classics student at Somerville College, Oxford. She matriculated in 1908 and was among the first women to be called to the English Bar. She practiced law for many years until deteriorating hearing forced her to end her career. Her law chambers were destroyed in the Blitz in 1940, and in 1943 she bought the Drimnin estate in Morvern, Argyll and took up farming. With her adventurous spirit she took up sailing at the age of 65, cruising across the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean and later across the North Sea to Norway, keeping a medicine cupboard of Scotch whisky on board and never once succumbing to seasickness! She died in 1978 at the age of 89, but her abiding interest in her College never waned in her lifetime.
Eligibility
All Somerville alumni are eligible with the exception of visiting and associate students. Alumni who are currently studying at Somerville are not eligible. Please note that it is not possible to use the fund to support course-related travel or research costs incurred by alumni studying at other universities or Oxford colleges. This includes Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery students.
Applicants should be in need of financial support, and be able to demonstrate that their proposed project meets one of the two aims of the Alice Horsman Fund:
- To support travel in order to either broaden experience or carry out research
- To support a significant career change
The planned travel or project must start after a certain date each term. In Michaelmas Term this is Wednesday 1st November 2023. It is not possible to be awarded retrospective funding unless there are exceptional circumstances. There is limited funding available so priority will be given to those who have not previously received awards.
Award levels
Up to £1,000. In exceptional circumstances, it is possible to make awards of up to £2,000.
Application process
- The Michaelmas Term application form will be available to download from this webpage by the end of September.
- Applicants should complete the application form and email it to the Scholarships and Funding Officer by 12 noon on Monday 16th October 2023. They should also include any evidence of estimated or actual costs.
- Applicants should also arrange for a reference to be submitted to the Scholarships and Funding Officer by 12 noon on Wednesday 25th October 2023.
Application and project deadlines
Applications are accepted each term.
| Term | Deadline for application to be received | Deadline for reference to be received | Project must start after this date |
| Michaelmas Term 2023 | 12 noon on Monday 16th October 2023 | 12 noon on Wednesday 25th October 2023 | Wednesday 1st November 2023 |
| Hilary Term 2024 | 12 noon on Monday 22nd January 2024 | 12 noon on Wednesday 31 January 2024 | Wednesday 7th February 2024 |
| Trinity Term 2024 | 12 noon on Monday 6th May 2024 | 12 noon on Wednesday 15th May 2024 | Wednesday 22nd May 2024 |
Decisions
Decisions will be made by Somerville College Travel and Special Project Grants Committee.
Reporting
Successful applicants will be expected to submit a report after the completion of their project.
Queries
If you have any queries, please email the Scholarships and Funding Officer.