Elizabeth and Daniel Peltz OBE pledge five-year commitment to boost Birkbeck postgraduate scholarships

This renewed commitment ensures that aspiring part-time home or international postgraduates will continue to benefit from vital financial support at Birkbeck - opening doors to education, innovation and social mobility.

For the first time, two scholarships have been introduced for science students – one in the School of Natural Sciences and one in the School of Psychological Sciences. Three other scholarships are available for students in the School of Historical Studies.

Hear from current Peltz scholars Marielle Birks (MA Victorian Studies), Rosie Tricks (MFA Theatre Directing) and Anne Williams (MFA Theatre Directing) on how the support has helped them access new opportunities to forge their future careers.

Daniel, who is both a governor and honorary fellow of Birkbeck, said: “Birkbeck’s distinctive model of education enables people from all walks of life to access high-quality learning while balancing work and other commitments.

“For many students, financial constraints remain a significant barrier to postgraduate study. By helping to alleviate this burden through our continued support for these scholarships, we hope to empower individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds to pursue their academic and professional aspirations. It is a privilege to support an institution that remains committed to flexible inclusive education across a wide range of disciplines, and to contribute to the success of those who are striving to change their futures through learning.”

This renewed pledge builds on the couple’s ongoing philanthropic support at Birkbeck, which has extended across research, students and facilities over the last 15 years. Strongly advocating for the value of arts education, Elizabeth and Daniel funded several School of Arts scholarships in 2019. Daniel himself studied for his own MA in Renaissance Studies at Birkbeck in 2009.

The couple’s previously philanthropic giving included the creation of the Peltz Gallery in 2013 and for cutting-edge technology in the Wohl Wolfson ToddlerLab - The Peltz CAVE. The CAVE is an audio-visual, immersive, virtual reality environment, which can transport toddlers to different surroundings to see how they react to different scenarios and stimuli.

Professor Sally Wheeler OBE, Vice-Chancellor of Birkbeck, said: “At Birkbeck, we are committed to making higher education accessible to people from all backgrounds. These scholarships have a tangible impact on social mobility, enabling talented students - many of whom are working, have family responsibilities or are the first in their families to go to university - to take their ambitions further.

“We are especially grateful to Elizabeth and Daniel Peltz for their unwavering support of this mission and their recognition of the value of multidisciplinary education. We are proud to have support from Elizabeth and Daniel, who so clearly believe in the transformative power of education.”