Current Priorities

Selwyn aims to support the best and brightest students, regardless of their background. Our fundraising priorities will help us ensure that Selwyn can offer the highest standard of education to the most talented students, and provide the best environment for students to flourish, both academically and personally.

If you would like to discuss your support for an area of the college in more detail, please do get in touch.

Student Support

Students who matriculate at Selwyn will now pay fees of over £9,500 a year on top of living expenses, and with increased fees it is clear that the current levels of support provided by the University and the College will soon be insufficient. Selwyn has made it a priority to raise funds to ensure that no student feels as though Cambridge is beyond their financial reach. Find out more by clicking the boxes below:

Supervision system

At the heart of a Cambridge education is the supervision system. Supervisions create a unique environment, one which gives students individual contact with those at the cutting edge of their field, and demands that they come prepared to engage thoughtfully and creatively with the subject at hand. By learning in this way, our students develop self-confidence, critical thinking skills, intellectual curiosity and mental agility: qualities which set them apart for the rest of their lives. The supervision system has for very many years been the cornerstone of a Cambridge education, but this system is coming under immense pressure as the method of funding higher education in the UK changes.

Individual attention

Individual and small group teaching is a very expensive method of education. Cambridge and Oxford have the highest staff to student ratios across the UK and on average a Cambridge degree costs £21,000 a year to provide.

Selwyn is determined to make sure that all our students, regardless of the subject they are studying, are given the highest quality teaching possible, and to do this we need to be able to attract and support the best academics and researchers.

Sir David Harrison Fund

With great sadness, Selwyn announced the death of Sir David Harrison in March 2023. Sir David’s remarkable association with Selwyn lasted for almost 73 years from his arrival as an undergraduate in 1950. It continued when he became a fellow in 1957 and saw him serve the college as a tutor, senior tutor and, from 1994 – 2000, as master.

To celebrate Sir David’s enduring connection to Selwyn, which spanned more than half its existence, the college created the Sir David Harrison Fund, which will act as a lasting memorial to his immense contribution to the lives of generations of Selwyn students. The fund supports teaching in the sciences, engineering and maths. 

General purposes

Selwyn is navigating unprecedented financial circumstances as funding for higher education in the UK changes. Every gift for Selwyn's general purposes helps us to continue providing world class education in a welcoming and supportive environment, ensuring we can use funds where they are most needed.

Building our endowment

Despite Selwyn’s recent successes, our endowment is one of the smallest in Cambridge. However, we have just as many students as other colleges, meaning less funds are available per student. Growing our endowment is crucial in allowing us to continuously provide an outstanding quality of education and experience at Selwyn. To ensure the college's financial future, we must increase our endowment in line with other colleges.

To this end, the college is focusing on raising funds for the top priorities of student support and teaching. These are essential to Selwyn's core activity - providing the very highest quality teaching and education to the brightest and most able students, no matter what their background or financial circumstance, in buildings fit for the 21st century.

Friends of Selwyn Gardens

Selwyn’s glorious gardens are a hidden Cambridge gem. Developed over 140 years, they include traditional sweeping lawns, mixed with mature trees, rich and varied borders and beds and shrubs which reflect the college’s connections around the world.

Friends of Selwyn Gardens is a scheme open to all, which will provide additional help for the Head Gardener. It enables a range of initiatives, from tree planting to major projects, enriching the college’s grounds for future generations to enjoy. 

All donations from the Friends will be used exclusively towards maintaining and preserving Selwyn’s gardens as a place for everyone to enjoy for decades to come.