43% of graduate students admitted in 2014/15 received a scholarship or bursary from funds administered by the collegiate University. 41% of these students received a full award that covered both fees and living costs.
Main Funding Rounds
The University holds three main funding rounds for all graduate applicants with deadlines in October, December and January for admittance the following academic year. Funding deadlines for entry in January and April 2015 have now closed.
The following funding opportunities may be applied for by completing section B of the GRADSAF. Your application form must be submitted by the date shown, and supporting documents within two weeks, in order for your application to be considered by the funding body. Please read the page on application deadlines for more information.
| Award | Eligibility(nationality) | Eligibility (course) |
Application Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gates Cambridge (USA) | USA | MPhil + PhD | 15 October 2014 |
| Gates Cambridge (Overseas) | All but UK/USA | MPhil + PhD | 2 December 2014 |
| Cambridge International Scholarship Scheme (CISS) | Not EU | PhD | 2 December 2014 |
| Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust | All (but very limited EU awards) | MPhil + PhD | 2 December 2014 |
| Cambridge Home and European Scholarship Scheme (CHESS) | EU (inc UK) | MPhil + PhD | 9 January 2015 |
| AHRC & ESRC awards | EU (inc UK) | MPhil + PhD | 9 January 2015 |
| Other UK Research Councils | EU (inc UK) | MPhil + PhD | varies - see departmental webpages for details |
Some schemes administered by the Cambridge Trusts may also require additional application forms. For other funds, please check their respective websites for accurate information.
Other Funding Schemes
In addition to the above schemes, funding is also available from departments, colleges and independent organisations.
CamFunds is a database of student funding that is administered by offices, departments, faculties, institutions, NUI's or colleges of the University of Cambridge.
The Prospects website provides information on additional graduate funding administered outside of the University.
Important Information
Apply Early
We strongly recommend that students begin researching their funding opportunities at least a year in advance of the proposed start date of their course. For more information on the key funding deadlines, please see Application and Funding deadlines.
Don't wait until you get here
You will not be admitted to the University without a secure package of funding in place before you begin your studies, and you should not expect to be able to find funding once you have started your course.
Apply to several different competitions
Applicants are strongly advised to apply for all sources of funding for which they might be eligible, both internal and external to the University. This is the case even for those who are applying for a departmental award or funded place - should the department not be able to offer an award, applicants may have missed out on the opportunity to be considered for various other sources of funding if they have not submitted their applications by the required deadlines.