Stella McCartney funds fashion scholarship at Central Saint Martins

Designer Stella McCartney has announced that she will fund scholarships for exceptional students on Central Saint Martins's MA Fashion course.

BY Bibby Sowray | 19 July 2012

Stella McCartney receiving her Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Arts yesterday. Photo: Getty

Stella McCartney received her Honorary Fellowship from the University of the Arts London yesterday and announced that she will fund a new scholarship for MA Fashion students studying at Central Saint Martins, one of the university's six colleges.

McCartney, who graduated from CSM in 1995, described her time there as "life changing", before explaining: "To get to a college like this is so hard for so many talented young people. For that reason, I am setting up this scholarship and I encourage other fortunate fashion houses to do the same."

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The Stella McCartney Scholarship will fund home, EU and international MA Fashion students on the basis of academic excellence and financial need, and will also include a one year paid placement working at Stella McCartney fashion house. McCartney will offer £25,000 of funding each year, although it is not yet known how many students that sum will support.

The first scholarships will be awarded this October and those who are sponsored by the programme will have to commit to the designer's strict no fur, leather or other animal products policy.

Central Saint Martins MA Fashion course has nurtured some of the greatest fashion talent, including Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders and Phoebe Philo and is presided over my Professor Louise Wilson, OBE .