King's Medical & Dental Hardship Fund 2025-26

Award details

Please note we have recently updated and simplified the way students apply for hardship funding and applications are no longer submitted via student records. All hardship fund applications are now submitted via an MS Form.

The King’s Medical & Dental Fund (KMDF) is available to help medical and dental students in need of financial support during their studies. Awards made from the fund aim to assist with day-to-day living costs such as rent, utility bills, travel costs etc., but awards for tuition fees can be considered in certain circumstances. 

Applications will open on 14th October. Applications should be submitted at least 4 weeks before the end of your academic year but if you are a continuing student you can apply until 31 May 2026, subject to funds being available. If you think you might need to apply for hardship funding, we recommend that you submit an application as early as possible; you don’t need to wait until you have run out of money.

Please note that no applications will be processed during the Christmas break between 22nd December – 5th January. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee that applications received after 1st December will be assessed before the Christmas break. This also applies to applications received prior to 1st December where we are missing evidence.

Applications can only be assessed once they are complete, this is why it's really important that you submit all required evidence to us via email. If your application has outstanding evidence at the time the fund is closing, your application may not be considered.

If you have any queries about KMDF or any other aspect of student funding arrangements, please contact the Student Funding Office here at King's where we will be happy to offer you further advice.

If you are experiencing problems with your funding or you’re worried that you will not have enough money to cover all your costs, our Money & Housing Advice Service can assist you by checking that you have received all the funding and benefits that you’re entitled to. They can also help review your budget, provide you with financial education tools from Blackbullion and ensure you have explored all funding avenues. You can submit a form to access their services.

Award value

If your application is successful, you could receive between £500 - £3,500 or £5,000, depending on whether you must pay your own fees. 

Please note that any award above £2,000 will be paid in two equal instalments - the first when you are notified and the second in mid-February 2026. If you withdraw or interrupt your studies before the second payment date, this may not be released. If you are considering either option, please contact the Student Funding Office for advice.

An award from the KMDF is not guaranteed and it should not form any part of your planned budget until you have received formal notification that you have been granted support.

Eligibility criteria

To make an application to the fund all of the following criteria must apply to you:

Be studying a full-time medical or dental undergraduate or postgraduate programme at King’s

The fund is only available to current Home undergraduate and postgraduate students, who are enrolled and in attendance on a medical or dental programme. Students intercalating externally are not eligible and should contact their host university. 

Have taken up your full entitlement to student loans/NHS Bursary for tuition fees and living costs (if applicable)

You will need to have successfully applied for the maximum amount of funding available to you from the NHS Bursary and/or Student Finance and be able to prove this with your full Notification of Award letter and Student Funding Entitlement Letter. This involves sending evidence of your household income to Student Finance to be means-tested.  

If you are not taking loan(s) for religious reasons, please indicate this on your application and provide evidence of alternative financial provision you have made. Please note, we will consider the loan(s) you are eligible for as income unless the maximum loan you are eligible for is less than your alternative financial provision. You must still apply to Student Finance and have your application means-tested. You do not need to take out a loan to have your application means-tested. This is so that we can assess you under the correct hardship fund and include the correct amount of maintenance loan you are eligible for.

If your application is not means-tested, the maximum maintenance loan amount for this year will be included as income.

Application process

Step 1: Submit an online application 

Please apply using the big red button on the top of the page. We have recently updated and simplified the way students apply for hardship funding and applications are no longer submitted via student records. All hardship fund applications are now submitted via an MS Form.

The application involves a series of questions about your current income and expenditure and requires you to write a personal statement explaining your financial situation. You will need to upload relevant supporting documents in each section of the form.

Please be as detailed as possible in your personal statement. It is important that you explain why you require financial assistance and that you include any information that may support your case.

Missing or incorrect evidence will significantly delay the assessment of your application so please do double check before submitting your documents that everything is in order!

For all applicants, submitting false statements and/or documents or deliberately withholding pertinent information constitutes making a false application. This will render your application null and void and could result in referral to your faculty, and/or action being taken under the Non-Academic Misconduct Policy, which may lead to expulsion from the University.

Step 2: We assess your application

We will review the application and supporting documents you have provided. If you have not provided all necessary evidence, we will contact you via email to request further information.

Applications are assessed under an ‘additional need’ methodology, which looks at the difference between accepted reasonable expenditure and expected funding.

Awards are not meant to cover all of your financial needs, they are a contribution to your funding.

Step 3: We let you know the outcome of your application

Once the assessment has been completed and a final decision has been reached, you will receive notification of the outcome via email.

Can I apply more than once?

Usually, we will only consider one application per academic year (October-May). This means that if you need to you may be able to apply in subsequent years.

We will only consider a repeat application in the same academic year if you have experienced a significant change of circumstance, that has negatively impacted your financial situation since your previous application.

Before you apply again, please contact the Money & Housing Advice Service to discuss your circumstances and review your budgeting. They can then advise if another application would be appropriate or offer other guidance/support.

If you have received the maximum award from the fund, we will not be able to consider a further application.

Additional Support

If you are still concerned about your financial situation, you should contact a Student Advisor for confidential advice.

You can register with the Money & Housing Advice Service on their webpage. They also run a dedicated Advice Line. Full information about Money & Housing Advice Service and the range of advice services they offer can be found on their webpage.

Student’s in receipt of the NHS Bursary, may also be able to claim additional hardship funding from the NHS Bursary Hardship Grant. Student’s must have exhausted all other funding available (including university hardship funds) to be eligible to apply for the NHS Bursary Hardship Grant.

 

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