Application Deadline: January 3rd 2019
The Gates Cambridge Scholarship programme was established in October 2000 by a donation of US$210m from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge; this is the largest ever single donation to a UK university.
Gates Cambridge offer 90 full-cost scholarships each year to outstanding applicants from countries outside the UK to pursue a full-time postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. The selection criteria are:
- outstanding intellectual ability
- leadership potential
- a commitment to improving the lives of others
- a good fit between the applicant’s qualifications and aspirations and the postgraduate programme at Cambridge for which they are applying
Eligibility Requirements:
You can apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship if you are:
- a citizen of any country outside the United Kingdom
- applying to pursue one of the following full-time residential courses of study at the University of Cambridge:
- PhD (three year research-only degree)
- MSc or MLitt (two year research-only degree)
- One year postgraduate course (e.g. MPhil, LLM, MASt, Diploma, MBA etc.)
You can use the form below to quickly check if you are eligible to apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship and, if so, in which of the two application rounds you must apply.
Scholarship Worth:
The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is one of the most generous international scholarships available. It covers the following costs:
Core components
- the University Composition Fee at the appropriate rate*
- a maintenance allowance for a single student (£17,500 for 12 months at the 2018-19 rate; pro rata for courses shorter than 12 months)
- one economy single airfare at both the beginning and end of the course
- inbound visa costs & the cost of the Immigration Health Surcharge
Discretionary components
The Trust also considers applications for several types of additional funding on a discretionary basis:
- Academic development funding – from £500 to £2,000, dependent on the length of your course, to attend conferences and courses.
- Family allowance – up to £10,120 for a first child and up to £4,320 for a second child (2018-19 rate). No funding is provided for a partner.
- Fieldwork – you may apply to keep up to your normal maintenance allowance while on fieldwork as part of your PhD (the Trust does not fund other fieldwork costs as these should be funded by the University Composition Fee).
- Hardship funding – for unforeseen difficulties
- Maternity/Paternity funding – should you require it, you may apply to intermit your studies for up to 6 months and continue to receive your maintenance allowance during this time
Selection Criteria:
1. Departmental ranking
In order to ensure only the most academically outstanding candidates are considered, the Trust asks academic departments in Cambridge to rank eligible applicants on academic ability only. Those who are put forward by their departments are considered the most academically outstanding applicants they have received that year.
2. Shortlisting
Once the Trust has a list of all ranked candidates, these are divided into broad subject areas and passed to our Shortlisting Committees. These Committees look at the candidates’ entire application pack (including the Gates Cambridge Statement and Reference) and apply all four Gates Cambridge criteria in order to identify those who will be invited for interview. Everyone who is shortlisted for interview will have gone through an exceptionally competitive process and will show evidence of meeting the four Gates Cambridge criteria.
3. Interview
All shortlisted candidates have a short interview to assess how they meet all four Gates Cambridge criteria and Scholars are selected after interview. More details are available from the interview page.
Feedback
Please note that Trust is not able to provide feedback to applicants.
How to apply
- Apply for admission, a College place and funding via the University’s Graduate Applicant Portal.
- For the majority of courses you can apply for admission and mutiple funding opportunities (including Gates Cambridge) at www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk.
Timeline:
| What stage? | Round 1 | Round 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Applications open | 3 September 2018 | 3 September 2018 |
| Application deadline | 10 October 2018 | Dependent on your course – either 5 December 2018 or 3 January 2019 |
| Departmental ranking | October – November | December – February |
| Trust shortlisting | Mid-December | Early March |
| Shortlisted candidates invited to interview | Late December | Early March |
| Interviews | 25 & 26 January 2019 (USA) | 26 & 27 March 2019 (Cambridge, UK) |
| Scholarships offered | Early February | Late March |
| Scholarships accepted | 48 hours after offer | 48 hours after offer |
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship Programme 2019