The London School of Architecture has announced a scholarship program for students from low-income households. The initiative will see three recipients each awarded £36,000 (approximately $47,000), covering the full fees and associated costs of the LSA’s two-year MArch program. The funding for the scholarship was made viable due to a donation from the Zaha Hadid Foundation.  

The initiative is aimed at promising prospective Masters students from low-income backgrounds, defined as those whose household income is below £25,000 ($32,000). To qualify, applicants must either be over 25 and not financially dependent on parents or under 25 and not financially dependent on parents.  The scholarship is also open to refugees who would otherwise be unable to pursue their studies, even if financially dependent on parents or relatives.

While the scholarship is aimed at all students from low-income backgrounds, the school also strongly encourages applications from students with “particular intersecting identities,” including those from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities, LGBTQ+ communities, women, and disabled/neurodivergent applicants.

“Dame Zaha Hadid was a pioneering architect whose practice and teaching paved the way for future generations of architects,” said the LSA upon the scholarship’s unveiling. “The LSA wants these bursaries to respect this spirit by allowing recipients to be whoever they want to be as an architect, removing financial worry for their duration, allowing them to focus on their placement, their studies, and cultivating their professional network.”

The new scholarship by the LSA follows weeks after several US architecture schools announced funding initiatives aimed at improving diversity among students and faculty. Last month, the Pratt Institute and Clemson University each launched fellowships within their design and architecture schools focused on students from underserved or underrepresented communities.

Also in February, UT Austin announced the creation of two fellowships made possible by a $1 million donation honoring John S. Chase, the first Black graduate of the school and the first Black licensed architect in the state of Texas. The fellowships, both named after Chase, will aim to recruit graduates of historically Black colleges and universities to the architecture school, and also recruit and retain outstanding faculty members.

You can learn more about fellowship opportunities across architectural education in the United States through our dedicated Archinect Fellowship Watch, as well as our extensive Fellowship features coverage.