Professor Laing Barden CBE. 1931 – 2018

Professor Laing Barden CBE was the first Vice-Chancellor of Northumbria University, following the transition of Newcastle Polytechnic to Northumbria University in 1992.  He was awarded a CBE in recognition for his contribution to higher education in the New Year Honours 1990.

Professor Barden studied at Washington Grammar just after the Second World War.  He won a state scholarship to Cambridge University but decided to remain in the region to study civil engineering at Newcastle University in 1950, followed by Masters in Civil Engineering.  Following a series of appointments in higher education as a lecturer, senior lecturer and then Professor, he became the first Deputy Director and later Director of Newcastle Polytechnic before becoming Vice-Chancellor of Northumbria University.

To be eligible for The Barden Scholarship you must:

• Be a UK/Home applicant with 'Home' fee status
• Have applied to study on an eligible Full-Time programme*, commencing September 2025 at the Newcastle Upon Tyne campus
• Met the terms and conditions and accepted your offer
• Be a self-funded student - ie; not have fees which are paid in full or in part through a sponsorship arrangement (employer funded

• The student selected for The Barden Scholarship will not be eligible for other Northumbria Postgraduate scholarships
• If you are selected and are a Northumbria Alumni, you will also be eligible for the Alumni Discount
• The Barden Scholarship is awarded as a cash sum
• The successful student will receive a £2,000 cash payment on an eligible one year Full-Time programme* studied at the Newcastle Upon Tyne Campus
• The cash award will be paid as: 25% in November 2025, 25% in February 2026, and 50% in May 2026
• The successful student will be required to send a thank you letter and progress updates to the donor
• If you do not provide a thank you letter and progress updates to the donor, the scholarship may be withdrawn
• If you defer your place, the scholarship offer will be withdrawn
• If you decide to leave your course after a scholarship payment has been made, the University will not make efforts to reclaim the amount
• Northumbria reserves the right to withdraw this scheme at any point
• The University's decision is final and cannot be challenged; there is no right of appeal

• There is a competitive selection process for this scholarship scheme.  Applicants need to apply via ; a selection panel will consider all eligible applications.
• In no more than 3000 characters (500 words);  In your future career, describe how you will address society’s needs.  What are they (in summary) and how can the knowledge you would gain from your Master’s degree help overcome them.  Provide 3 examples - Applications will be considered on the strength of response.

• The successful applicant will be notified once the evaluation panel has met, by no later than Friday 03 October 2025.