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About us

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  1. Queen Mary University of London
  2. About us
  3. Sustainability
  4. Sustainable development goals
  5. Goal 1: No Poverty
  6. Operations

Operations

Free Period Products  

Queen Mary provides free period products across our campuses to ensure no one’s education or wellbeing is disrupted by period poverty. By offering accessible menstrual health support for students and staff, we’re helping to create a more inclusive, equitable, and compassionate campus community. 

Food pantries - support for students 

Two food pantries are available through Queen Mary Students’ Union to students as part of an emergency service supporting those in need of short-term food assistance, used over 150 times in 2024-2025, and a further 300 times since August 2025. The QMSU Food Pantry is based in the Students’ Union Hub reception and is open 9am-9pm. The Garrod Good Pantry is located on the 2nd floor of the Garrod building and is open 24 hours.

Free campus facilities

The University offers free access to basic facilities for students across our campus’, including: 

  • Water fountains available across our campuses in several buildings to provide free access to drinking water. 
  • Bicycle parking  
  • Charging points 
  • Laptop loans 
  • Microwave oven access 
  • Shower access 

Financial support for low-income students 

Queen Mary provides financial support to help reduce the barriers that poverty can create in accessing higher education. The Queen Mary Bursary provides non-repayable financial support to undergraduate students from households with an annual income of <£35,000, supporting over 4,000 students in 2024/25. This support enables equitable participation and helps break the link between financial hardship and educational disadvantages.

Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre 

Queen Mary has its own Legal Advice Centre (LAC) that offers support to students, staff and members of the public on a range of legal issues. Students can access free legal advice and support on issues including housing, employment, welfare benefits and immigration matters, helping address challenges that can hinder university completion. Advice is delivered by LAC Student Advisers under the supervision of qualified lawyers.

Anyone using this process will:

  • Attend an appointment with two LAC Student Advisers and a qualified lawyer
  • Receive free written advice within fourteen days

Since opening in 2006, it has advised more than 6,500 clients, secured over £1.25 million in disability benefits, and engaged more than 11,000 participants through public legal education activities

Google DeepMind Scholarships 

The Google Deepmind Scholarship programme was launched in 2019, and support was renewed for the 2024/25 academic year. These scholarships are awarded to women and Black students who are currently under-represented in the field of AI. Since the launch of the programme, 26 students have benefited from the Scholarships. Each scholarship provides students with full financial support, plus mentorship from Google DeepMind employees and opportunities for attending leading AI academic conferences and Google DeepMind events.   

PWC’s Flying Start Programme and Financial Bursary 

The Flying Start programme is a partnership between Queen Mary and Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) to give students an opportunity to become a qualified chartered accountant. The Flying Start Financial Bursary is aimed at supporting students with the day-today costs of university life. At PwC, the development and wellbeing of people is paramount, and the company are delighted to be able to award a substantial bursary to support our students with their studies in accountancy. The bursary offers a unique opportunity for 10 individuals to receive support in their educational journey. To be eligible students must attend a non-fee paying school and have a household income of <£35,000.

Widening Participation Travel Bursary 

Our Widening Participation Travel Bursary aims to bring students who have specific characteristics, typically under-represented in higher education, on to campus, including care leavers, those eligible for Free School Meal and Students with a disability.  The bursary aims to support students make informed choices about their future by exploring the options available to them.  

The bursary is for students attending qualifying events taking place on our campuses and will provide support with travel costs (up to £40) to eligible participants. Events may include:

Financial Assistance Fund (FAF)

Queen Mary provides additional support for students who encounter unexpected financial difficulties during their studies. Our Financial Assistance Fund provides means-tested, non-repayable support for eligible students experiencing financial hardship and can contribute towards essential living costs, helping support their university journey.

Essential living cost support 

Queen Mary University recognises unforeseen circumstances may occur whereby students are experiencing financial difficulty and are unable to afford food, toiletries or other essential living costs. To help support students the university offers several avenues of short-term support:

  • Queen Mary Supermarket Voucher Scheme – This gives students a £25 voucher, to be issued once in an academic year, for use at dedicated supermarkets.
  • Short term loan – An interest-free loan of £350 that can be given to students whose Student Finance application for living costs has been delayed.
  • Students’ Union Welfare Loan – A short-term, interest free, welfare loan, of up to £100, that students can apply for should they be facing unexpected financial need due to a cash flow issue.

Supporting students from low- and middle-income countries 

Queen Mary participates in scholarship programmes aimed at students who could not otherwise afford postgraduate study in the UK.

Our Commonwealth PhD Scholarships provide full tuition-fee support and a living stipend to eligible candidates from low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries. Eligible countries include Bangladesh, Cameroon, Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, among others.

Queen Mary also participates in the Commonwealth Master’s Scholarship scheme, which provides tuition fees, travel and living-cost support for eligible students from low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries.

University of Sanctuary 

In line with our commitment to social responsibility and inclusivity, we are actively pursuing the designation of a University of Sanctuary.  To reduce barriers to higher education, QMUL offers Sanctuary Scholarships for undergraduate students from sanctuary-seeking backgrounds. These scholarships provide full tuition fee waivers and a bursary for living expenses.

We are committed to ensuring that sanctuary students have access to comprehensive support services including academic support, wellbeing services, accommodation assistance and language support.

London Living Wage

Queen Mary has a long-standing connection with the Living Wage movement, which emerged in East London in response to low pay and in-work poverty. Research carried out at the University helped provide the evidence base for the campaign, documenting the realities of low-paid and insecure work and supporting efforts to improve pay standards. As the movement grew into a nationally recognised campaign, Queen Mary embedded its principles into its own employment practices, becoming the first UK university to achieve Living Wage accreditation in 2006. Today, the University's continued commitment demonstrates how research, civic engagement and institutional action can work together to tackle in-work poverty and promote fair pay.

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