Launch of new Masters scholarships for students in humanities and socials sciences

The launch of the ‘Building for the Future’ appeal coincides with the opening of ArtsTwo, the new £21m humanities building on the College’s Mile End campus. Celebrations to mark the building’s official opening are taking place 5-14 March 2012.

Donations to the fundraising appeal, part of the Humanities and Social Sciences Postgraduate Scholarship Fund, will provide financial support for students undertaking taught Masters’ programmes in the Faculty.

The Fund will provide scholarships, recognising outstanding academic achievement and helping young people to study subjects that stimulate and enhance their intellectual development.

Linda Hutcheson, who completed an MA in Film Studies in 2010, received a Queen Mary Masters Scholarship. She says: “Gaining a Masters’ degree from Queen Mary enabled me to continue my research at doctoral level, and I am now pursuing my studies at the University of Stirling. Without the scholarship I would not have been able to undertake my MA, and for this financial support I am very grateful.”

“We know that our postgraduate students are finding it increasingly hard to find funding to help them during their studies’” explains Professor Morag Shiach, Vice-Principal and Executive Dean for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. “Every gift will make a real impact on those who receive a scholarship, inspiring them to achieve their intellectual goals."

All donations to the ‘Building for the Future’ appeal should be made to The Queen Mary, University of London Foundation, which provides a financially secure means for philanthropic gifts to be donated to the College.

Single gift donations can be made by cheque, credit card or debit card or online at www.qmul.ac.uk/alumni/supportingqm. Alternatively, regular gifts can be made by direct debit on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.

Gift Aiding a donation will also increase the value of the gift. The Humanities and Social Sciences Postgraduate Scholarship Fund will benefit from an additional 25p for every £1 given.

ArtsTwo, the new humanities building at Queen Mary, is a striking landmark on the Mile End Road. Officially opened by HRH the Princess Royal on Friday 9 March 2012, the £21m building is the new home for the College’s School of History, with some 70 members of staff and a 650-strong student cohort. The Leo Baeck Institute, London, a leading research hub for the study of German Jewish history and culture is also housed in ArtsTwo.

Queen Mary has expanded its undergraduate and postgraduate recruitment in recent years, and ArtsTwo provides excellent facilities to support high calibre degree studies. With 7,000 students and 500 staff, the Faculty has an impressive track record for attracting funding. Research grant funding for the Humanities and Social Sciences is over £4m annually, and more than £1m is invested in scholarships for research students.