bursar

American  

[bur-ser, -sahr] / ˈbɜr sər, -sɑr /

noun

• bursars
  plural

1. a treasurer or business officer, especially of a college or university.

2. (in the Middle Ages) a university student.

3. Chiefly Scot. a student attending a university on a scholarship.

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bursar British  

/ ˈbɜːsə /

noun

1. an official in charge of the financial management of a school, college, or university

2. a student holding a bursary

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underbursar
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bursars
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bursar

1400–50; < Medieval Latin bursārius a purse-keeper, treasurer ( see bursa, -ar ²); replacing late Middle English bouser, variant of bourser < Anglo-French; Old French borsier

Explanation

A bursar is the head of a college's financial office. When you pay your tuition for the semester, you'll send the money to the bursar. Colleges, universities, and private schools have bursars, who are responsible for the finances of the school. The bursar's job might include balancing the books, sending bills to students and their families, and receiving payments. You could also call the bursar the controller or the treasurer. The word comes from the Medieval Latin bursarius, "purse-bearer," from bursa, or "purse."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bursar bursars

Make it payable to the bursar instead of the student, and the tax treatment may be completely different.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026

"The strike happened two weeks ago," Sister Maria Wehbeh, the school's bursar, who came to assess the damage, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

While her unlikely role as the quiet bursar to anti-immigration organizations has been previously reported, her motivation and engagement in the immigration issue remained largely hidden.

From New York Times ● Aug. 14, 2019

College bursar David Ball said he was "really pleased" with the result.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2018

Obinze told her nothing would happen, suggested she speak to the bursar about getting on a payment plan so that she would at least have taken some action.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

English prompted Kay to draft a detailed plan for a device that would produce text and graphics on a display screen, which sprung a budget of $230,000 from PARC’s tight-fisted bursars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2020

As they prepare to raise their fees again, bursars at some of Britain's top public schools have explained that the cost of complying with Health and Safety regulations is partly to blame.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2010

With money a paramount subject at all colleges this year, pedagogs last week took special interest in the cases of two bad bursars.

From Time Magazine Archive

Nor must it be forgotten that education up to college age is free to junior county scholars and to bursars, who also receive small grants towards maintenance.

From Women Workers in Seven Professions by Edith J. Morley

The university possesses considerable endowments and has several foundations for the assistance of poor students; the “regent’s charity,” for instance, founded by Christian, affords free residence and a small allowance to one hundred bursars.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 3 "Convention" to "Copyright" by Various