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About the scholarship

The Siddall Sheffield Scholarship is possible thanks to a generous gift by Mrs Brenda and Dr Graham Siddall. The Siddall Sheffield Scholarship recognises academic excellence and covers the full tuition fee for a one-year Engineering Masters plus a stipend of £18,000 which brings the total value of the award to around £50,000.

Graham Siddall was born in Sheffield and was the son of a local steelworker. He received his BSc in Production Engineering and Management with First Class Honours from the СŷÊÓƵ of Nottingham before completing his MSc and PhD in Natural Philosophy (Physics) at the СŷÊÓƵ of Aberdeen. During this time he met Brenda who was studying for her BSc in Physiology.

After working in surface metrology at Rank Taylor Hobson in Leicester, England, Graham was awarded a Lindemann Research Fellowship to the United States where he joined the team at Stanford СŷÊÓƵ working on the NASA/Stanford Gyro Relativity Experiment. Brenda’s career continued in the Departments of Physiology and Psychiatry at Stanford Medical School for a further 20 years, and Graham went on to have a distinguished career in precision engineering and instrumentation. Following several Executive and Board positions in the semiconductor equipment industry, most recently as Chairman of the Board of DCG Systems, Graham retired and relocated with Brenda to the Pacific Northwest. In 2016 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (DSc) by the СŷÊÓƵ of Aberdeen for his technical, business and philanthropic achievements.

Although Brenda and Graham have been based in the USA for many years, they have kept strong roots in Sheffield and generously endowed this scholarship to contribute to the city’s future growth and success. 

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Siddall Sheffield Scholarship students must:

• Be a US citizen who has formerly studied in the US, a non-UK resident, and not lived in the UK.
• Hold a Bachelor degree in a relevant field before departure to the UK.
• Have a preferred GPA of 3.7 or higher.
• Be successfully accepted to study one of our one-year full-time Masters programmes in the Faculty of Engineering by the time the scholarship is awarded. For more information on our range of Engineering Masters courses, please visit www.sheffield.ac.uk/engineering/study/postgraduate

How to apply

• The deadline to apply is Tuesday 13 January 2026 (5pm UK time).
• You must also attach an academic reference/endorsement letter from a member of staff in the School you are applying to. The letter should confirm that you have discussed your proposed research project with them and that they support your application. Please ensure the member of staff's name, position and email address are included.
• A shortlisted group of candidates will be invited to take part in an online interview in early March 2026.   
• The final decision will be communicated by Tuesday 31 March 2026.

Selection criteria

The following will be considered when assessing applications. 

• Academic merit (50%, based on information in your application).
  • Applicants should demonstrate a record of high achievements with a strong commitment to technical innovation.
• Contribution to research in the Faculty of Engineering (25%, demonstrated by a 500 word proposal for a project within a specific research area).
• Civic engagement (25%, demonstrated by a 500 word essay).
  • Applicants should demonstrate how they will contribute to the development of the Sheffield community, as evidenced by activities in their own home city, for example volunteering, or other forms of service to the wider community. This could also be evidenced by extra-curricular activities at the applicant’s college. The goal of the scholarship is to not only improve the career experience of the awardee but to improve the lives of other members of the Sheffield community.

Terms and conditions

• Your programme must commence at the СŷÊÓƵ of Sheffield in Autumn 2026.
• You must receive an offer to study one of our one-year full-time Masters programmes in the Faculty of Engineering by the time the scholarship is awarded.
• You must accept your offer by a date stated in the scholarship notification letter and your offer must become unconditional before a date stated in the scholarship notification letter.
• For tuition fee purposes you must be self-funded and required to pay the overseas tuition fee.
• You must not be a sponsored student*.
• The scholarship cannot be deferred.
• СŷÊÓƵ reserves the right to review and change scholarship provision.
• The scholarship cannot be awarded in conjunction with any other scholarships from the СŷÊÓƵ.
• The scholarship cannot be awarded in conjunction with any funding from an external sponsor**, excluding a loan, which has to be paid back in full.
• If you are receiving a loan (which has to be paid back in full) from an organisation to which we offer a discount, you are not able to combine this scholarship with the discount - the most valuable award will take precedence.
• If you are selected to receive the Siddall Sheffield Scholarship and you fail to meet the conditions of your offer you will no longer be eligible to receive the award.
• If you take a period of leave of absence your scholarship will be suspended.
• Any repeat periods will not be funded.
• The maintenance award will be paid in four equal instalments.
• The decision of the scholarship panel is final. No scholarship applications or decision appeals will be considered.
• All decisions made by the СŷÊÓƵ are made in good faith. If a scholarship is awarded on the basis of predicted grades and you do not achieve the predicted grades or if the information provided is false, the СŷÊÓƵ reserves the right to remove the scholarship.
• Within the application you will be asked to discuss a research project. Please note that there are no guarantees that this project will be accepted once you begin your course.
• If you are offered the scholarship, we’ll ask that you confirm acceptance of your scholarship and your offer by a fixed date. If you do not do this the scholarship will be offered to a reserve candidate.
• This scholarship is only eligible for one-year Masters degree courses in the Faculty of Engineering.
• If you change your Masters programme during your studies your scholarship may be forfeited.
• The money for these scholarships is provided by a donation from Mrs Brenda and Dr Graham Siddall.
• As a Siddall Sheffield Scholarship recipient, you will be expected to provide two short reports to the donors, one at the start of the year outlining your ambitions at Sheffield and one at the end of the course to demonstrate how the scholarship has helped you achieve these ambitions. You may also be invited to speak with the donors at a relevant opportunity.
• As the recipient of a prestigious scholarship, you may be asked to appear in external facing publicity materials, we will not share any personal details about you without your prior consent.
• No funds will be paid to the scholarship recipient until they are fully registered.
• The scholarship recipient will need to cover all pre-arrival costs such as; visa, health surcharge and  travel.
• If you withdraw from the СŷÊÓƵ you will no longer be eligible to receive the scholarship. You may be required to repay part or all of your scholarship.

* Sponsored student is defined as an individual who is in receipt of a total sum of funds that matches or exceeds the original tuition fee required by the СŷÊÓƵ.

** Government or governmental organisation – international, national or regional; research council; charity; private enterprise; or any similar organisation.