Project Eligibility (Terms and Conditions 2024-25)

You must secure your own overseas volunteering with one of the University’s Trusted Partners.

Which opportunities are eligible? 

The Trusted Partners Bursary is specifically for overseas volunteering opportunities with the University's Trusted Partners. Internships, work experience, electives or other activities with the Trusted Partners are not eligible for the bursary. 

The overseas volunteering must comply with, amongst others, the following conditions. 

The overseas volunteering must not: 

• form part of a degree programme, e.g. industrial placements;  
• exceed 40 hours per week; 
• be completed during an intercalation year; 
• be immoral, unethical, offensive, or otherwise detrimental to the University’s reputation or interests; 
• represent an undue health and safety risk; and/or 
• involve writing or sharing academic-related material for use by other students.

The overseas volunteering must: 

• take place during vacation time; 
• contribute to your personal development, your skills development and/or support your future career aspirations;
• ideally be a minimum four week duration*; and
• be completed by the end of June in the case of final year Relevant Students. 

*We encourage applications to the bursary for projects lasting four weeks or more. It can take time to acclimatise to a new country, environment and culture, and understand how the volunteer role fits into the organisation's work. Therefore, more meaningful volunteering can take place over a four-week period, which, in turn, has a greater impact on the partner and the communities they work with. Volunteering for longer periods supports the sustainability of projects, whilst also taking into account the environmental impact of travelling overseas to volunteer. If you are planning on undertaking an overseas volunteering opportunity with one of our Trusted Partners for a shorter period and would like to apply for this bursary, please get in touch with us at volunteers@manchester.ac.uk and include your reason for doing so in your application. 

The University reserves the right to assess the suitability of the overseas volunteering project as part of the application process and its decision is final. The University accepts no responsibility for the overseas volunteering or any other matters relating to, or arising out of, it and excludes its liability for all matters (including without limitation any employment-related issues) related to, or arising out of, the overseas volunteering. 

If you are unsure if the project you are interested in meets our eligibility criteria please contact us at volunteers@manchester.ac.uk. 

Choosing a project 

Please see our Preparing to Volunteer Overseas page for guidance on choosing a suitable project based on your interests and passions, and considering the relevant health and safety factors. 

What can a Trusted Partners Bursary cover? 

This bursary can be used to cover the following expenses which you may incur: 

• travel expenses i.e. flights 
• accommodation costs* 
• dependent care costs**

*We are aware that Trusted Partners might advertise 'project costs’, which may include accommodation. Each Trusted Partner will be able to provide a breakdown to show the accommodation costs. 

**Please note, "dependent care costs” refers to the costs of childcare or a dependent relative incurred whilst undertaking overseas volunteering.

The bursary cannot cover the cost of: 

• food 
• clothing 
• travel visas 
• vaccinations 
• travel insurance 
• living costs 
• retrospective overseas volunteering activity 
• opportunities taking place in 2025/6 

Health and safety requirements

Please see Health and Safety (Terms and Conditions 2024-25) for more information.

Expectations of participation

Please see Expectations of participation for details on what you will need to do before, during and after the project.