One-in-ten undergraduates are expected to get the full amount.

Mature students will be eligible for �15,000 for a three-year course and �20,000 for a four-year course.

One in five undergraduates is expected to be eligible for a bursary, with one in 10 entitled to the full amount.

The scheme has been designed to ensure that students from poorer backgrounds can cover all of their living costs.

Scheme to cost �7m a year

The scheme is designed so that every student who qualifies for the full �2,700 maintenance grant will be eligible for a Cambridge bursary worth �3,000.

Bursary income scales 1 �3,000 bursary for �16,000 2 �2,300 bursary for �20,000 3 �1,500 bursary for �25,000 4 �700 bursary for �30,000

The new scheme, which will cost the university �7m a year, will also enable more support to be offered to students with exceptional need, such as the disabled, or those with dependent children.

The university's Vice-Chancellor Prof Alison Richard said: "We are proud of the excellent education we offer our students and it is of the utmost importance to us that a Cambridge education is affordable for any student in the UK.

"We believe that no potential applicant should be deterred from applying to Cambridge for financial reasons."

There is no limit to how many students can receive this support.