Application Deadline: December 3 2013

Gates Cambridge Scholarships are prestigious, highly competitive full-cost scholarships. They are awarded to outstanding applicants from countries outside the UK to pursue a full-time postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge.

Each year, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funds the cambridge gates scholarship to pursue a full-time postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. 90 Scholarships are awarded annually. These are prestigious and highly competitive awarded to citizens of any country outside the UK. Bill gates scholarship covers the full cost of studying at Cambridge.

The programme aims to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others.

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); or a one year postgraduate course (e.g. MPhil, LLM, MASt, Diploma, MBA etc.)
• OR already a student at Cambridge and want to apply for a new postgraduate course. For example, if you are studying for an MPhil you can apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to do a PhD. However, if you have already started a course, you cannot apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to fund the rest of it.
• OR already a Gates Cambridge Scholar and want to apply for a second Scholarship. You must apply by the second, international deadline and go through the same process of departmental ranking, shortlisting and interviewing as all other candidates.

Courses which are NOT eligible for Gates Cambridge Scholarships:

• BA (undergraduate)
• BA affiliated (a second BA)
• MBBChir Clinical Studies
• Part-time degrees
• Non-degree courses
• Courses at universities other than Cambridge

Scholarship value: 

A Gates Cambridge Scholarship covers the full cost of studying at Cambridge, namely:

• The University Composition Fee and College fees at the appropriate rate.

• A  maintenance allowance for a single student (£13,000 for 12 months at the current 2012-2013 rate; prorata for courses shorter then 12 months)

•  The cost of the most economical airfare from the scholar’s normal country of residence to the UK at the beginning of their course and the cost of the most economical airfare from the UK to the scholar’s normal country of residence at the end of the course

The Trust also considers applications for several types of additional funding on a discretionary basis such as family allowance, conference attendance, fieldwork allowance, some fourth year funding for PhD scholars and hardship funding.

The Trust also considers applications for several types of additional funding on a discretionary basis:
-Family allowance – up to £7,775 for a first child and up to £1,200 for a second child. No funding is provided for a partner.
– Conference attendance: up to £500 a year if you are presenting.
-Fieldwork – you may apply to keep up to your normal maintenance allowance while on fieldwork as part of your PhD.
-Some fourth year funding for PhD Scholars may be provided – but the termly maintenance allowance reduces per term for up to a year
-Hardship funding – if there are unforeseen difficulties.

HOW TO APPLY

Standard applications (via the Graduate Admissions Office)

Applicants apply for both a Gates Cambridge Scholarship and admission to their chosen postgraduate course at the University of Cambridge via the Graduate Admissions Office, using the GRADSAF form and supporting documents. It is not possible to apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship without applying to the University of Cambridge in the first instance.

You must apply for admission as a postgraduate student to the University of Cambridge and a Gates Cambridge Scholarship at the same time, using the one application pack.

[If you are applying for admission to the MBA or Master of Finance programme you apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship via the Judge Business School (see below)]

To be considered for postgraduate admission and a Gates Cambridge Scholarship all applicants must submit the following documents to the Graduate Admissions Office by the relevant deadline:-

• GRADSAF application form (which includes a Gates Cambridge section)
• Academic transcripts
• 2 academic references
• 1 personal reference (for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship)

Although not specifically required for the Gates Cambridge application, the Graduate Admissions Office or academic department may require some applicants to submit the following for admission to the University:

• English language test scores (if English is not your first language)
• A research proposal, an example of your written work, a GRE/GMAT score, etc. Not all applicants will be required to submit such documents – you will find details of what you need to submit in the Graduate Studies Prospectus and department website.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure they submit all documents required so they can be considered for both admission and a Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

Applications for the MBA and Master of Finance

For the MBA and MFin programmes you need to apply direct to the Judge Business School, using their on-line application system. You will find all the information you need here.

Deadline:

Next applications open 1 September 2013.   The deadline for applications is 3 December 2013 for citizens other than the US and 15 October 2013 for US citizens.

For More Information:

Visit the Visit the Gate Cambridge Official Webpage