Gates Cambridge Scholarships for International Students at University of Cambridge

The Gates Cambridge Scholarships pay for a full-time postgraduate degree at the University of Cambridge. The Gates Cambridge Trust awards them to outstanding applicants from countries outside the UK. You can study any subject that Cambridge offers. The award covers the full cost of study, including tuition fees, a maintenance allowance, airfare and visa costs.

University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

• PhD (full-time or part-time*)
• MLitt (full-time)
• One year postgraduate course (full-time), with some exceptions – see below

Courses which are NOT eligible for Gates Cambridge Scholarships:

• Any Undergraduate degree, such as BA (undergraduate) or BA affiliated (a second BA)
• MASt courses
• Master of Business (MBA)
• Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) and Global EMBA
• Master of Finance (MFin)
• Executive Master of Accounting
• Business Doctorate (BusD)
• PGCE
• MBBChir Clinical Studies
• MD Doctor of Medicine degree (6 years, part-time, Home students only)
• Graduate Course in Medicine (A101)
• Part-time degrees other than the PhD
• Non-degree courses

About 80 scholarships are awarded each year.

Citizens of any country outside the United Kingdom.

A Gates Cambridge Scholarship covers the full cost of studying at Cambridge including tuition fees, maintenance allowance (£22,000 for 12 months at the 2025-26 rate; pro rata for courses shorter than 12 months) – for PhD scholars the award is for up to 4 years), one economy single airfare at both the beginning and end of the course and inbound visa costs & the cost of the Immigration Health Surcharge.

It also provides additional, discretionary funding such as academic development funding, family allowance, fieldwork, etc.

Read about the full scholarship value at this link.

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: PhD (full-time or part-time*), MSc or MLitt (full-time), or a one year postgraduate course (full-time) with some exceptions (see list above).

Applications open September 2026.

Applicants submit their application for admission and funding (Gates Cambridge and other funding) via the University’s Graduate Application Portal. To be considered for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship you must complete the section to apply for admission to a course and a College place and the Gates Cambridge part of the funding section.

There are two Gates Cambridge application deadlines: 14 October 2026 (for US citizens resident in the USA) and either 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027 depending on the course (for all other eligible applicants).

It is important to read the How to Apply section and visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.