Field Kit Bursary

For many of you, field trips were one of the most memorable parts of your time at Durham – a chance to see a new part of the world, to grapple with real-world problems, and to get to know staff and fellow students outside of the usual university setting.

For some students, however, field trips are a source of stress and anxiety, especially around the additional (and often unanticipated) costs of securing adequate field kit. Even a waterproof jacket and boots – minimum essential equipment for a week in Skye in March – are beyond the means of some of our students.

As a result, some students avoid field trip modules altogether, and give up altogether on the idea of a field-based dissertation, because they simply cannot afford the equipment.

To keep our field trips open for as many students as possible, the department recently agreed to arrange a field kit bursary for our most needy students. This provides a one-off payment of £200 to help cover the costs of basic field equipment for all of our students with a household income of less than £25,000 per year. At the moment, we have sufficient departmental funds to cover the costs of the bursary scheme for the foreseeable future. To make this sustainable in the longer term, however, we need your help.

If you have fond memories of Durham Geography field trips and want to ensure that future students can take similar advantage of those opportunities, please consider donating to help us continue the scheme by visiting

https://www.dunelm.org.uk/donations/geography

Even a small amount helps, and all donations will be used in full to support our most needy students.

Many thanks in advance for any help that you can provide!