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Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Gates Cambridge Trust (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation endowment) · Checked September 26, 2026

Gates Cambridge offers around 70 full-cost scholarships a year to students from any country outside the UK for a postgraduate degree at Cambridge. Selection looks at academic excellence, reasons for the course, commitment to improving others' lives and leadership.

Deadline: 8 December 2026 72 days left
International round: deadline depends on your course, either 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027 (11:59pm UK time). Check your course's funding deadline in the Course Directory.
Add the deadline to my calendar (with a reminder 2 weeks before)
FundingFully funded
LevelMaster's, PhD
Study inUnited Kingdom
SubjectsAll subjects at the University of Cambridge (with some course exclusions such as MBA and MFin)

What it covers

  • University Composition Fee (full tuition)
  • Maintenance allowance (GBP 23,152 for 12 months at the 2026-27 rate)
  • Inbound visa costs and Immigration Health Surcharge
  • Academic development funding (GBP 750 to GBP 4,000 depending on course length)
  • Discretionary dependent children allowance and maternity/paternity funding

Who can apply

You can apply if you:

  • Are a citizen of any country outside the United Kingdom (Pakistanis are eligible).
  • Are applying for a full-time PhD (part-time PhD is being piloted), a full-time MLitt, or a full-time one-year postgraduate course at Cambridge.
  • Are not applying for excluded courses: undergraduate degrees, MASt, MBA, EMBA, MFin, PGCE, BusD, clinical medicine and similar professional degrees.
  • Have not already started the course you want funding for.

Pakistani applicants go in the International round. You are judged on intellectual ability, fit with your chosen course, commitment to improving the lives of others, and leadership potential.

How to apply

  1. Pick your course and note its funding deadline in the Cambridge Postgraduate Course Directory.
  2. Apply through the University's Graduate Application Portal and complete the Gates Cambridge part of the funding section.
  3. Answer the four Gates Cambridge questions and, for a PhD, upload a research proposal.
  4. Arrange two academic references plus a separate Gates Cambridge reference.
  5. Shortlisted candidates are interviewed; final decisions come by early spring.

Documents you usually need

  • Cambridge graduate application (admission and funding sections)
  • Answers to the four Gates Cambridge questions
  • Research proposal (PhD applicants)
  • Two academic references
  • Gates Cambridge reference
  • Transcripts and other documents required by your course
Official page Apply on the official portal

Scholarship rules and deadlines change every cycle. This page summarises the official information; always confirm on the official page before applying. Official applications are free.

Prepare your application

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