Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2025-26, September 7 2024
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Introduction
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Established in October 2000, the Gates Cambridge Scholarship programme was found 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. The first class of scholars came into residence in October 2001. Since then, the Trust has awarded over 2,000 scholarships to scholars from more than 100 countries.
Every year Gates Cambridge offers total of 80 full-cost scholarships to outstanding applicants from countries except the UK to pursue a postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University. Out if total of 80 awards, approximately 25 are available in the US round and 55 available in the International round. Approximately two-thirds of these awards will be offered to PhD students.
Winners for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2024-25 are selected based on outstanding intellectual ability, reasons for their choice of course, their commitment to improving the lives of others and their leadership potential.
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Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2025-26 in the UK:
Host Country:
- United Kingdom
Host University:
- University of Cambridge
Degree Level:
- PhD
- MSc/MLitt
- One-year postgraduate course
Number of Scholarships:
- 80 full-cost scholarships
Benefits of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2025-26:
A Gates Cambridge Scholarship covers the full cost of studying at Cambridge. It also provides additional, discretionary funding.
Core components
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the University Composition Fee at the appropriate rate*
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a maintenance allowance for a single student (£21,000 for 12 months at the 2024-25 rate; pro rata for courses shorter than 12 months) – for PhD scholars the award is for up to 4 years
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one economy single airfare at both the beginning and end of the course
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inbound visa costs & the cost of the Immigration Health Surcharge
* The University Composition Fee varies for different types of students; applicants should see the Graduate Studies prospectus for full details about precise amounts. Where a student has been successful in gaining a fee award from public authorities (such as the UKRI) they should accept this award and the Trust will not pay their fee or may share their fee and maintenance costs.
Discretionary components
The Trust also considers applications for several types of additional funding on a discretionary basis:
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Academic development funding – from up to £500 to up to £2,000, dependent on the length of your course, to attend conferences and courses.
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Dependent Children Allowance – up to £11,604 for one child and up to £16,548 for two or more children (2023-24 rate). No funding is provided for a partner.
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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).
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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
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Hardship funding – for unforeseen difficulties facing the scholar
Receiving a salary or substantial other scholarship?
If you are receiving a salary from an employer or have another substantial scholarship, the Trust reserves the right to reduce or not pay the standard maintenance allowance. You should let the Trust know ASAP if you are awarded any funding towards your degree at Cambridge.
What is not covered?
Most costs are covered by the Scholarship but Gates Cambridge does not cover bench fees or the costs of scientific equipment or similar academic resources. The Trust expects such core course costs to be covered by the academic department at Cambridge.
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Eligibility Criteria of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2024-25
You can apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2024-25 if you are:
- a citizen of any country outside the United Kingdom
- applying to pursue one of the following courses at the University of Cambridge:
- PhD (full-time or part-time*)
- MLitt (full-time)
- One year postgraduate course (full-time), with some exceptions – see below
* For October 2024 entry, Gates Cambridge is continuing to pilot a scheme which allows applicants to apply for funding for a part-time doctoral degree.
Timeline (for applicants outside the US)
The large majority of applicants will apply in this round, which is aligned with the University’s postgraduate funding competition. There are two possible application deadlines and these are based on the course to which you are applying. Please apply by the Course Funding Deadline referenced in the University Course Directory (found in the column on the right of the web page). All application documents should be submitted by 23:59pm (midnight) UK time on the stated date.
| What stage? | Date |
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| Applications open* | Wednesday 4 September 2024 |
| Application deadline* | Dependent on your course – either 3 December 2024 or 7 January 2025 (see Course Directory) |
| Departmental ranking | December – February |
| All applicants notified of application outcome | by Wednesday 5 March 2025 |
| Review and selection by panels | Monday 24 March 2025 and Tuesday 25 March 2025 (TBC) |
| Scholarships offered | by Friday 7 April 2025 |
| Scholarships accepted | 72 hours after offer |
*These dates are set by the University of Cambridge postgraduate admissions office and may be subject to change. Please refer to the postgraduate admissions web pages for up-to-date details.
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Courses which Gates Cambridge does NOT consider:
- Any Undergraduate degree, such as BA (undergraduate) or BA affiliated (a second BA)
- Business Doctorate (BusD)
- Master of Business (MBA)
- Master of Finance (MFin)
- MASt courses
- PGCE
- MBBChir Clinical Studies
- MD Doctor of Medicine degree (6 years, part-time, Home students only)
- Graduate Course in Medicine (A101) (however several other public health and health science disciples are available)
- Part-time degrees other than the PhD
- Non-degree courses
How to Apply for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2024-25?
- The applicant has to apply online via the University’s Graduate Application Portal.
- The applicant first has to choose a specific course and college place.
- Provide all the relevant details about personal data, and academic background, and plan for your course and apply for the course and college.
- Apply for funding from the funding section. You can apply for multiple funding offered by the university and other organizations including the Gates Cambridge Scholarship.
- You can apply for as many courses as you want but you have to apply separately for each course.
- If the course is already full, the application status will be closed even before the deadline, So apply as early as you can.
Required Documents for Gates Cambridge University Scholarship:
- Personal statement of no more than 3000 characters.
- The PhD candidates have to submit a research proposal. Even if the application for a course or college does not require a research proposal, the Gates scholarship has this requirement as a mandatory one.
- Three reference letters (One can be from a current employee if needed.
Gates Scholarship Application Deadline:
- The deadline for International students is either 3 December 2024 or 7 January 2025, depending on the course
- The deadline for US citizens is 16 October 2024.
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