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University funding to help with your postgraduate studies

The University of Cambridge offers a range of funding opportunities to support postgraduate students with their studies.

Use the search to find details of what’s currently available from across the University’s departments, Colleges, and affiliated funding bodies including Cambridge Trust , GATES Cambridge and Research Councils(UKRI).

If you are applying for an MSt, PGDip or PGCert, please visit ICE Bursaries website.

Please note:

• Whilst we make every effort to include as many funding opportunities as possible, we cannot guarantee its completeness. You are encouraged to do your own research for other funding, particularly opportunities outside the university.
• This is a live database and funders reserve the right to update information if circumstances change. Please contact the funder directly if you have any queries.
• The University of Cambridge does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in this search.

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Each year Gates Cambridge offers c.80 full-cost scholarships to outstanding applicants from countries outside the UK to pursue a postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. Approximately two-thirds of these awards will be offered to PhD students, with approximately 25 awards available in the US round and 55 available in the International round.

The selection criteria are:

outstanding intellectual ability

reasons for choice of course

a commitment to improving the lives of others

leadership potential

There are approximately 250 Scholars from c. 50 countries studying in Cambridge at any one time who pursue the full range of subjects available at the University and are spread across its departments and Colleges, as well as forming their own distinctive community.

There is also a community of more than 1,700 Gates Cambridge Alumni spread across the world.

The Gates Cambridge mission is to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others. It aims to achieve this mission by selecting outstanding scholars, providing them with financial and non-financial support at one of the world’s leading universities and facilitating community building at and beyond Cambridge.

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship programme was established in October 2000 by an historic  donation of US$210m from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge. 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.

A Gates Cambridge Scholarship covers the full cost of studying at Cambridge. It also provides additional, discretionary funding.

Core components

the University Composition Fee at the appropriate rate*

a maintenance allowance for a single student (£20,000 for 12 months at the 2023-24 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

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:

Academic development funding – from up to £500 to up to £2,000, dependent on the length of your course, to attend conferences and courses.

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.

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).

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

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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All students admitted to Cambridge Judge Business School’s PhD programme receive 3 years of full funding (including University fees and a maintenance stipend) as well as a 4th year of funding that is conditional on progress. 

In addition, all students who enter the PhD via the MRes route will also receive full funding for their MRes year. 

Funding deadlines

Applying for a PhD

The usual route to a Cambridge Judge Business School PhD is via one of our 3 research MPhils, via our Master of Research (MRes), or in exceptional cases via a Cambridge MPhil in Economic Research.

Learn how to apply

How the PhD funding works

PhD and MRes applicants must apply for any and all funding for which they are eligible. This includes funding from the Cambridge Trust, College funding, Gates Cambridge Scholarships and any external sources of funding. At the point of the PhD or MRes admission offer (February), some eligible applicants will be awarded an ESRC scholarship. 

Covering any shortfall in funding

With all offers, we guarantee that any shortfall in funding from the University or other sources will be covered by a Cambridge scholarship.

In addition to making up the shortfall, the Business School also increases the maintenance stipend for all PhD students to the level of a research council stipend (for the 2023/24 academic year, this is expected to be £18,622 per annum). We also award bursaries over and above the value of the maintenance stipend in the form of:

• Cambridge Judge Director’s Scholarships, which are awarded to the best applicants and are worth £1,000 per annum for 3 years.
• Research bursaries for students who successfully secure external funding, worth £500 per annum for 3 years.

Supplement your maintenance funding

You may supplement your maintenance funding by doing paid work within the department (eg supervision and teaching assistance). Some students may be offered work as research assistants with a supervisor for the period between the MPhil and PhD programmes or for short periods in the summer.

Funding for the 4th year of the PhD

In the 4th year of the PhD programme, no fees are payable, and we offer full maintenance funding to all students who have received a ‘revise and resubmit’ invitation from a top-tier journal in their placement discipline or can demonstrate equivalent progress towards placement at a top university. Other sources of funding for the 4th year include research and teaching assistantships.

PhD scholarships and bursaries

Explore the scholarship and bursary options that may provide you with further financial support. 

• ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership Cambridge Trusts funds Other Cambridge funding External funding
• Cambridge Trusts funds ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership Other Cambridge funding External funding
• Other Cambridge funding ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership Cambridge Trusts funds External funding
• External funding ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership Cambridge Trusts funds Other Cambridge funding

ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership

Cambridge Judge participates in an ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) at the University of Cambridge. A range of studentships are available across the social sciences at Cambridge. If you are interested in how society works and how it can handle global challenges, an ESRC DTP studentship will give you a world-class training programme, with access to leading international scholars both at Cambridge and other DTPs, and a wide community of fellow social scientists. 

Each year the programme obtains a number of ESRC Doctoral Training Centre scholarships (3 years or one+3 years). If you are a PhD applicant, you will be automatically considered for one of these (along with applicants to the MPhil Strategy, Marketing & Operations and MPhil Innovation, Strategy & Organisation programmes) by submitting your online application before the funding deadline and ticking the “Apply for Cambridge Scholarships” box. Home and EU applicants are eligible. 

Please refer to the Cambridge  ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership for Social Sciences  for more information about benefits for DTC students. 

Cambridge Trusts funds

There are many Trust funds within the University (known as “the Cambridge Trusts”, and including Gates scholarships) that provide funding for PhD and MPhil students. Most of these scholarships are only available to students at the start of their programme. 

To be automatically considered for most scholarships for which you are eligible, you must submit your application form by the funding deadline, stating ‘yes’ in the Funding section of the form. 

There are a small number of Cambridge Trust scholarships which require a separate application . 

Other Cambridge funding

Take a look at the  Cambridge Funding Search database , which contains details of awards available from all departments, faculties, colleges, central offices and other internal sponsors. CJBS is listed under ‘Technology’. Some of these schemes require a funding application in addition to the graduate application form. 

Many Cambridge colleges offer scholarships, bursaries, hardship funding and prizes. Of particular note is the  Benavitch Scholarship ; thanks to a generous bequest from the late Maurice and Natalie Benavitch, St Catharine’s College offers this scholarship for outstanding PhD candidates in Management. The value of the scholarship is £10,000 per annum for the 3 years of the PhD programme. 

External funding

Several organisations fund students to undertake PhD and MPhil programmes. We recommend looking at the list of  external scholarships relevant to our MPhil programmes , some of which may be relevant. Please note these scholarships are not administered by Cambridge Judge Business School, so please follow the links direct to the organisations’ websites for more information and contact the organisations directly if you have any questions. 

Explanation of fees at Cambridge

Postgraduate students at Cambridge are expected to meet the following costs: 

• The University Composition Fee, which covers the teaching and supervision you will receive from Cambridge Judge Business School as well as College membership. This is payable for 9 months of the masters and for 3 years of your PhD; in the PhD 4th year, no fees are payable. 
• Maintenance, which is an estimate of your likely basic living expenses and personal costs, including accommodation. The University sets a minimum annual maintenance figure. You must have this sum available in order to cover your living expenses for 9 months of the masters and in years one to 4 of the PhD programme. 

These costs vary depending on whether you are a Home/EU or international student.  Visit the Postgraduate Admissions website to find out more . 

In years 2 to 4 of the PhD programme you should be prepared for maintenance costs to increase, reflecting rising inflation (note that fees are not applicable in your 4th year). 

Research and skills funding

Generous funding is available for conference travel, academic workshops and other research expenses.

Learn more about the application process and deadlines

Explore fees and funding options

Contact the admissions team

Funding for Graduates

Grant-making bodies, studentships at king's, other studentships at king's.

We appreciate that for many applicants, studying for a postgraduate degree would be impossible without adequate funding to cover the University Composition Fee and requisite amount necessary to pay for maintenance costs. At Cambridge, there are a number of funding opportunities from a wide variety of sources, including Research Councils, the Cambridge Trust, Gates Cambridge, central University funds, and from the Colleges themselves.  

External grant-making bodies include the seven UK Research Councils, which offer awards across all disciplines. You can apply for grants from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the University's Graduate Funding pages, linked below. Applicants in other disciplines will usually be automatically considered for a grant from a Research Council, but it is worth checking whether you need to make a separate application.

Most grant-making bodies pay your full fees plus maintenance costs, although some may only provide awards that partially cover your costs - for instance, fees only. If this is the case, it is important to ensure that you can cover your maintenance costs by other means. The College recommends that at least £17,500 is needed for maintenance per year.

King’s is fortunate in being one of the best-funded Colleges in Cambridge for graduate studentships. To maximise our funding for studentships, around 50% of our overall studentship funds are allocated into a Collegiate University Shared Funding Scheme. Academic achievements to date and potential for academic excellence in future research, will play a key part in any decisions. For some King's studentships, we will also take into account other factors, such as applicants who have been disadvantaged in their studies. 

Eligibility

The competition for a King’s studentship is open to any individual beginning a new graduate degree as a member of King’s College and the University of Cambridge. When you apply, we strongly advise you to choose King’s as your first-choice College on the application form, as this will maximise your chances of being offered membership here and of being eligible for a King’s studentship. Most studentships are for full-time students, although part-time students can be considered in exceptional cases.

Value of Studentship

Most of our awards for doctoral students provide full funding for University Composition Fees and living expenses. The value of awards will take into account any existing funding or offers from other funding bodies for the same course. Moreover, some awards may not fully fund applicants for Master's degrees. King’s studentships are tenable for up to the normal length of the degree and are renewed annually subject to satisfactory progress.

How to Apply

Applications are made via the  Cambridge University Applicant Portal .  Simply tick ‘Yes - I wish to apply for funding' in the funding section of the Applicant Portal. This will mean that you will be automatically considered for some funding (e.g. most Cambridge Trust funds, Research Council awards, etc.) You will also be presented with any other funds that you are eligible for, allowing you to choose which ones you wish to apply for and answer any necessary questions. 

There are other funds you can also be considered for which require further information from you.  Details can be found at https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/funding/how-apply-funding

Closing Date for Studentship Applications

There are two deadlines and departments choose which they want to have for each course.  The deadlines for 2024/25 applications are 5 th December 2023 and 4 th January 2024.  To find out the deadline date for a specific course, please refer to the course directory to find the course you are looking for and check the Funding Deadline for the date assigned to that course.

If you are submitting your application after 4th January 2024, you may still be eligible to apply for some of our specific King's studentships. Please visit the relevant pages shown below, for more details. 

Funding and Admissions FAQs

Graduate Fees

Outside of this shared scheme, there are other funds for King’s studentships that, due to donor restrictions, are wholly administered by King’s College. When available, these studentships will be advertised below, with full requirements and selection criteria as well as information on how and when to apply.

Current studentships wholly administered by King's:

King's-Yale Fellowship

The Fielder Studentship

The Quantedge – Cambridge Refugee Masters Scholarship

The douton studentship, king's college additional studentships, study at king's.

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There are a number of funding opportunities for prospective postgraduate students available with the department and the University, which can be applied for via a number of different routes. Some funders require separate applications, whilst for other funding opportunities you only need to tick a box indicating that you wish to be considered for funding on the online application form for admission, without needing to submit further information. Further details can be found on the Postgraduate Admissions website .

Search for funding opportunities

The University Funding Search allows you to search for funding opportunities across the University and its Colleges, although it is currently not completely comprehensive. Details of how to apply for each source of funding, including deadlines, can be found within the database.

Sources of funding

The majority of postgraduate students in the Engineering Department are funded via one of the sources listed below.

University Postgraduate Funding Competition (Cambridge Trusts and Gates)

EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTP)

EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs)

Other funding for Engineering students

Tips for finding funding

Research early

Start researching funding opportunities at least a year before your course begins.

Apply early

Many scholarship deadlines are around early December, for admission in the following year. If your course starts in January you may need to apply for funding 18 months in advance.

Get funding or financing before you start studying

Without proof of finances you will not be admitted to the University and will not be able to study here. Do not expect to be able to find funding after your course starts.

Apply for many funding opportunities

Apply for all the funding sources you’re eligible for, both internal and external to the University. If you’re applying for a departmental award or funded place do also apply for other funding schemes – so that you won’t miss the deadlines for other funding opportunities if the department does not offer you an award.

If you are awarded more than one full scholarship, you have to choose just one and reject the others. But you are allowed to hold multiple scholarships for smaller amounts that total a full award.

University Postgraduate Funding Competition

The annual Postgraduate Funding Competition is coordinated by a dedicated student funding team within the University, and awards students through a variety of sources, including;

• Gates Cambridge
• ​Cambridge International Scholarships
• Vice-Chancellor's Awards
• College studentships (note that some Colleges run their own funding competitions outside of the University funding competition)
• Many other smaller sources of funding
• Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholarships 

In order to be considered you need to ensure that you complete the relevant funding section on your application form, and select 'Yes' for each funding option you wish to apply for. Please note that if you wish to apply for funding from the Gates Cambridge Trust, you will need to supply some additional information as part of your application. Further information can be found on the Gates Cambridge website .

The department will review your application, score it based on internal criteria and submit this information to the funding bodies.

These deadlines encompass both Michaelamas Term 2023 and Lent Term 2024;

*Please note that if you have not received any notification of funding by the end of July you should assume you have not been successful in this funding round. 

If your application is not completed and submitted by the published deadlines, we will not be able to include you in the funding competition. It is crucial that you ensure  ALL of your supporting documents are submitted by the deadline, including your references. Remember, you can check on the Applicant Portal whether these have been submitted, and chase them if not.  

Epsrc doctoral training partnerships .

The EPSRC provides funding for Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) studentships to support doctoral training in engineering and physical sciences. The Engineering Department DTP funds up to 20 new students in the department per year. 

The awards are a minimum of three years in duration, and provide an annual stipend at the minimum UKRI rate, in addition to covering fees and providing a small contribution towards additional training costs, such as attendance at conferences. 

A number of our DTP studentships are offered in collaboration with an industrial partner, giving students with this type of award the opportunity to take up a placement with the industrial partner during the PhD, to broaden their experience. 

Eligibility 

EPSRC DTP funding is predominantly available to Home (UK) students. Home students who meet the residency requirements (resident in the UK for three years before the start date of the course) are eligible for a full, ie fees and maintenance, award. A limited number of DTP awards are available each year for EU and international students, but these may not cover the full international fee rates. In 2023/24, the University is offering a fee waiver for these students, so that the award covers their full financial commitment.

The department allocates studentships to specific projects under named academic supervisors. The available projects are advertised on the University jobs website . Most adverts are published between October and March, although they may close early if a suitable candidate is identified. It is therefore advisable to keep checking the listings, and to apply early if you see an opportunity that interests you. Details of how to apply will be given on the advert. Any offer of funding will be dependent on you being made an offer of admission and meeting all its associated conditions.

All applications must be made via this route, it is not possible to make an application for the PhD and automatically be considered for our DTP funding. 

Each studentship has its own application deadline to observe, and these are advertised year round, so if you are interested in applying please keep checking the jobs website. 

EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training

The EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training (CDT)  offer four year studentships which provide funding for both for the initial MRes year and the first three year of the PhD. Students are encouraged to ensure that they submit their PhD thesis within the funded period.

Eligibility

As with the EPSRC DTP studentships, Home (UK) students who meet the residency requirements (resident in the UK for three years before the start date of the course) are eligible for a full, ie fees and maintenance, award. There are a very limited number of funded CDT places available for EU and international students, and these may not cover the full international fee rates.

Applicants to the CDT can also apply for funding from the Cambridge Trusts and other sources.

Applicants to the CDT programmes will be automatically considered for funding by the CDT. Information on  how to apply  can be found on our website.

Other funding opportunities for Engineering students

Wd armstrong studentship.

The School of Technology also administer the W.D Armstrong studentship, a three year award that is usually open to home, EU and overseas students.The studentships are offered for full-time postgraduate work in a field related to the application of engineering in medicine. Each Armstrong scholar will be co-supervised jointly by academics from the School of Technology and the School of Clinical Medicine.

The W D Armstrong managers offer studentships to specific projects that are managed by the academic members of staff in the department. The studentships are then advertised on the University jobs website. 

Usually interested applicants will need to contact the supervisor with a CV and discuss the opportunity further, and if successful will conditional upon submitting an application for the PhD via the applicant portal.

Supervisors

Some supervisor have funding available for projects that they are working on, although this is usually partial funding. Opportunities may be advertised on the  University jobs website  or may be directly offered by supervisors in discussion with applicants.

Industrial partners

Applicants may be able to secure funding directly from industrial partners to sponsor projects of interest to them.

The Cambridge ESRC DTP usually fund one or two Engineering Department students per year who are working under the remit covered by the research council. These students are generally based within the Institute for Manufacturing and Management. Studentships are allocated by the DTP grant managers directly to supervisors and projects, who may advertise them on the  University jobs website , or they may be offered directly by supervisors in discussion with applicants. 

Self-funding

Many students self-fund, either through savings, family support or through postgraduate loans (especially Masters students). Almost all of the funding competitions are only open to applicants, not to current students. Once you have commenced a course of study, there are no internal sources of funding available that would cover fees and maintenance, so it is important to ensure that you have full funding in place at the outset. You will be asked to sign a declaration to confirm that you have funding in place for the duration of the course, as a condition of your offer.

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Financial Information

Studying at the University of Cambridge is an investment in your future, and there are a range of funding opportunities available to prospective postgraduate students.

The cost of studying a postgraduate degree at the University of Cambridge is broken down into two areas:

• University Composition Fee : a payment made via your College to the University to cover the cost of your education and your College membership
• Maintenance : the estimated minimum cost of living during your time at the University.

These, along with any additional costs, make up the minimum financial commitment you will be required to demonstrate before you can be admitted to the University. For more information about financial commitments, please visit the Postgraduate Admissions website .

The Department of Sociology puts first-round applicants forward for the Postgraduate Funding Competition , which comprises of a number of sources of funding including the ESRC , Gates , Cambridge and Harding Trusts. The process is streamlined so that applicants are automatically considered for the Postgraduate Funding Competition providing that:

• the application is made in time for the University funding deadlines (5 Dec 2023).
• Applicants check the relevant boxes in the Applicant Portal relating to the funding for which you would like to be considered/are eligible.
• Applicants ask for an extra reference (only if applying for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship).

Applicants can search for funding sources through the Postgraduate Admissions website, the student funding search tool , as well as the webpages of their chosen college .

UK nationals may be eligible for a postgraduate study loan from the UK Government. There are also many other sources of external funding to which prospective students can apply.

Accommodation

If you wish to undertake full-time postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge, you will be required to live in or close to Cambridge for at least the minimum period of study. ( Please check the MPhil or PhD application FAQs for more details).

To find out more about the accommodation on offer, applicants should check the provision of College accommodation for postgraduates. Some Colleges offer postgraduate students accommodation on or off the College site and can provide estimated costs. Other Colleges require students to find their own private accommodation in Cambridge .

Saving money

• Low transport costs - Cambridge is a small city and most students walk or cycle between their college and department, and there is also a Universal (U) bus service which is just £1 per journey with a Cambridge student card.
• Low course costs - With excellent library provision across the University, students will need to buy few, if any, books. There are also lots of computer and WiFi facilities that students can use.
• Low social costs - Much of the Cambridge social life is based in Colleges or University clubs and societies. Many clubs and societies are free or highly discounted for students.
• Low living costs - All Colleges have their own dining hall, many have a gym and bar, and some even have a pool. Your student card also acts as a discount card for many of the shops around Cambridge.

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Pure Research Degrees (1 year MPhil, 3-4 year PhD)

MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit

Using cognitive theory and innovations in neuroscience to understand and improve mental wellbeing across the lifespan

Funding a PhD or MPhil at the CBU

Funding a phd or mphil at the mrc cbu.

An important note about self-funding : Following careful consultation and consideration, the CBU adopted a policy of not permitting ‘self-funded’ PhDs. That is, the CBU accepts only PhD applicants who are funded for the duration of the PhD by an MRC studentship or other award, from for example Gates Cambridge, Cambridge Trust, ESRC DTP, other charitable organisation, or the applicant’s home government. This is motivated by our commitment to the ideals of fairness, inclusivity, and equality of opportunity. It is also our experience that self-funding can place the student and supervisor under considerable strain with potential to seriously impact wellbeing. Note this is not the case for our taught MPhil in Cognitive Neuroscience , for which we will accept both funded and self-funded students.

An offer of a place to undertake postgraduate training with us and being offered funding are independent processes. If we offer you a PhD or MPhil place, we will nominate you for all available funding schemes that we consider you to be eligible for. However, being offered a ‘place’ does not guarantee funding. To take up a PhD studentship at the CBU, you will need to be awarded a minimum of 3 years of funding that covers the University Composition Fee and provides you with a maintenance stipend.

These include our own MRC studentships (see MRC eligibility details ), which typically run for 4 or sometimes 3 years (for PhDs) or 1 year (for the MPhil in Cognitive Neuroscience ) and cover the University composition fee while also providing a maintenance stipend (£18662 per annum from October 2023). Other funding awards tend to vary in duration and can be for 3, 3.5, or 4 years. We automatically consider all our applicants for our MRC studentships, but please also be sure to indicate in your online application any funding that you think you may be eligible for so that you are given due consideration. If we offer you a place, we will also enter you into the University postgraduate funding competition (Cambridge Trust awards), and where appropriate, for Gates Cambridge, ESRC DTP, or other funding awards.

The good news is that in 2021, 75% of new PhD students and 25% of new Masters students at the University were awarded full or partial funding. You can learn more about the different funding opportunities from across the collegiate University using the University’s Postgraduate Funding Search . For more information about funding sources outside the University, please see the External Funding Page .

Once we have entered you into the above funding competitions, decisions are out of our hands. Applicants begin to hear about funding decisions in March, though decisions can be communicated as late as June or July. As the University funding rounds are highly competitive, we always recommend that you seek out and apply for any additional funds that could support your PhD (e.g. funds from the government of your home country or a charity). We are always happy to do what we can to assist, and so please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you with your application.

Additional opportunities to secure funding for a PhD at the MRC CBU

There are several funding competitions for PhDs that are run independently from the route described above and that require applicants to make a separate application. In such cases, we recommend that you also apply via the above standard route to ensure the best possible chance of being awarded funding for a PhD. As of 15th September, the details and available projects for these schemes have not yet been confirmed or detailed on the relevant websites, but we do expect projects from a number of CBU researchers to be offered in these schemes, and so do keep checking.

There are the MRC iCASE (Industrial Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering) awards. If you apply for an MRC iCASE studentship, you will need to select from the list of available projects which often includes one or more offered by MRC CBU scientists. These studentships enable successful individuals to receive high quality research training, while additionally benefitting from a placement with an industrial partner and thus gaining unique technical and transferable skills, insight into how commercial science is conducted, and knowledge of entrepreneurial opportunities. Projects will be posted at some point *after* 3rd October 2022.

The Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine Doctoral Training Programme in Medical Research may also offer some funded PhD SCM DTP-MR studentships, with projects based in a Department or Research Unit within the School of Clinical Medicine. For October 2023 starters, the program was structured as 0.5 + 3.5 years. In the first 6 months, students completed two 3-month rotation projects in different laboratories and different disciplinary areas from their main field of research. Towards the end of the second rotation, students confirmed their preferred project and supervisor for the remaining 3.5 years of the PhD. Projects were posted in October 2022 for an October 2023 start. Do check back for details on eligibility and on whether the scheme is being offered for October 2024 entry.

We are also hopeful that BBSRC DTP 4-year studentships will be on offer for entry in October 2024. If this scheme goes ahead as hoped, students will undertake 2 rotation projects in their first year and in April-May select the group in which they wish to undertake their PhD project. The DTP website will in due course offer information about potential supervisors and research areas. Further information can be found here.

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Scholarships for graduate study/research in the UK - UW application for nomination is open

UK Scholarships: 2025-26 graduate-level studies/research through the Churchill, Gates Cambridge, Marshall, Rhodes Scholarships

Interested in pursuing graduate study and/or research at a university in the UK starting in fall 2025? Consider whether these scholarship programs fit your interests and goals. Most require university nomination to apply (but not all). Get more details, information, tips and advice about exploring UK graduate programs and applying for UW nomination through our Global Fellowships Prep  resources.

  >>  Gates Cambridge Scholarships : Supports 1-4 years of graduate study at Cambridge University. Open to citizens of any country outside the UK considering almost any graduate-level program at Cambridge.

  >>  Rhodes Scholarships : Provides funding for 2-3 years at Oxford University. Open to citizens of any country, and eligibility requirements and nomination processes vary by country. US applicant eligibility requirements include a 3.7 GPA or higher and 18-23 years old by Oct. 1, 2024, or up to 27 years old if you will complete your first degree after 10/1/23.

  >>  Marshall Scholarships : Provide 1-2 years of funding to study at any university in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Eligibility requirements include US citizenship, 3.7 GPA or higher, and earn a first bachelor's degree anytime between April 2022-August 2025.

  >>  Churchill Scholarships : Support one year of graduate study in mathematics, science and engineering fields, or science policy at Cambridge University. Eligibility requirements include US citizenship and graduation anytime between fall 2023 and summer 2025.

UW Application for Nomination: https://expo.uw.edu/expo/apply/730

UW Application Deadline:  June 20, 2024

Upcoming special event:

Panel discussion with UW scholars: Study and Research in the UK via the Churchill, Gates Cambridge, Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships

Thurs., April 18, 12:30-1:30pm on Zoom.

  >>  Register to attend.

Questions? Please feel welcome to reach out to me anytime! And please join us for Global Fellowships Prep  to get additional resources and support.

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Once you've made your application, this is how it's processed.

You can track the progress of your application via the Applicant Portal .

Receipt of your application

After you've submitted your application and supporting documents via the Applicant Portal, you'll receive a confirmation email from us.

Remember, your application will not be considered until it is complete, and it's not complete without both references, so please ensure these are submitted by your referees.

Assessment of your application

Your completed application will be assessed in sequence by up to four different offices.

The time it takes to consider and process your application varies for each office.

1) Department/Faculty review

The department or faculty where you wish to study will consider your application first, including (where relevant):

• assessing all the materials you've submitted as part of your application
• finding an appropriate supervisor
• ranking you for funding
• inviting you for an interview

If your application is unsuccessful, it will not progress any further.

For information on how a particular department processes applications, check the relevant course entry in the Course Directory . Please note that if a potential supervisor says they are willing to supervise your topic this does not mean you have been offered a place.  Your proposal needs consideration by a range of academics and the offer of a place can only be made by the Postgraduate Admissions Office.

How long does it take?

• Around 90% of applications are considered by the department within 12 weeks. Many applicants will receive a decision earlier than this.
• For those applicants who do not receive a decision within 12 weeks, it is likely your application has been placed on a reserve list and you should contact your department to check its status.
• Some departments wait until the course deadline has passed and then consider all applications together, while other departments will consider applications as soon as they are received.

2) Degree Committee review

If the department decides to recommend you for admission, the Degree Committee will then consider your application.

If they approve it, they will then make a recommendation of admission to the Postgraduate Admissions Office.

• It takes approximately ten days from departmental approval for your application to be considered by the Degree Committee.

3) Postgraduate Admissions Office (PAO) review

PAO co-ordinates the admission process, and will assess the application following the Degree Committee’s decision to admit.

If PAO approves your application, you will then receive an offer of admission.

Only PAO can issue your official offer of admission on behalf of the University.

PAO will also assess the documents submitted for meeting the conditions of your offer and confirm your admission.

If your admission is confirmed, PAO will process your CAS, if you require a Tier 4 visa.

• It takes approximately ten days from degree committee approval for you to receive a decision from the Postgraduate Admissions Office (PAO).
• If you are made an offer and provide documents to meet the conditions of your offer, these documents take around ten days to process.

The decision

A final decision on your application will be sent to you by email. You can also track the progress of your application via the Applicant Portal .

Decisions on admission to the University are made on academic merit, the availability of places on a course, and the availability of an appropriate supervisor.

If you submitted your application before the general funding deadlines in December or January, you should receive a formal decision on your application before the end of March. The majority of offers are made in February and March .

If your application is unsuccessful, you may receive notification of the outcome sooner than those who receive an offer. This is because the process for establishing all the components of an offer is more time consuming.

If you receive an offer of admission, please see the Your Offer section of our website for what happens next.

Please note there is a deadline to accepting your offer, which is different from the deadline to meet your offer conditions. You can find the deadline for accepting your offer in your Certificate of Offer.

The Postgraduate Admissions Office cannot provide feedback on admissions decisions, give reasons for not offering admission, nor advise you on how to improve your application.

Faculties or Departments may agree to provide feedback (though they are not obliged to do so and may choose not to as a matter of policy) and should be contacted directly.

College membership

Your application will only be sent to Colleges if and when a formal offer of admission has been made by the Postgraduate Admissions Office (PAO).

How long does the process take?

• You should normally receive notification of your College membership within three weeks of receiving your formal offer of admission from PAO.

If you are made an offer of admission, this will be conditional, and your admission will only be confirmed once you have met all the conditions of your offer.

For more information see the Confirmation of Admission page .

Immigration requirements

Applicants requiring a Tier 4 visa to study will receive a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) once their admission has been confirmed. These are usually issued by the Postgraduate Admissions Office in June for admission in October.

For more information see the Immigration pages .

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The University of Cambridge is committed to equal opportunity and adheres to the University's policy in relation to all admissions processes.

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MIT launches Working Group on Generative AI and the Work of the Future

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From students crafting essays and engineers writing code to call center operators responding to customers, generative artificial intelligence tools have prompted a wave of experimentation over the past year. At MIT, these experiments have raised questions — some new, some ages old — about how these tools can change the way we live and work. 

Can these tools make us better at our jobs, or might they make certain skills obsolete? How can we use these tools for good and minimize potential harm?

The generative AI wave has elicited excitement, anxiety, and plenty of speculation about what's to come, but no clear answers to these core questions. To discover how generative AI can lead to better jobs, MIT is convening a working group on Generative AI and the Work of the Future . The working group is kicking off with 25 companies and nonprofits alongside MIT faculty and students. The group is gathering original data on how teams are using generative AI tools — and the impact these tools are having on workers. 

“The world counts on MIT to turn sophisticated ideas into positive impact for the good of society,” says MIT President Sally Kornbluth. “This working group is focused on doing exactly that: In the face of broad public concern about AI’s potential to eliminate jobs, they are developing practical strategies for how to use generative AI to make existing jobs better and improve people’s lives.”

Organized at MIT’s Industrial Performance Center (IPC) and led by IPC Executive Director Ben Armstrong and MIT professors Julie Shah and Kate Kellogg, the working group recently released the first edition of its monthly newsletter, Generation AI , to share its early findings — and convened its first meeting of AI leads from a diverse cross-section of global companies. The working group also hosted a workshop on Feb. 29 highlighting responsible AI practices, in partnership with MIT’s Industrial Liaison Program.

The MIT team driving this initiative is a multidisciplinary and multi-talented group including Senior Fellow Carey Goldberg and Work of the Future graduate fellows Sabiyyah Ali, Shakked Noy, Prerna Ravi, Azfar Sulaiman, Leandra Tejedor, Felix Wang, and Whitney Zhang. 

Google.org is funding the working group’s research through its Community Grants Fund, in connection with its Digital Futures Project , an initiative that aims to bring together a range of voices to promote efforts to understand and address the opportunities and challenges of AI.

“AI has the potential to expand prosperity and transform economies, and it is essential that we work across sectors to fully realize AI’s opportunities and address its challenges,” says Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink, director of Google.org. “Independent research like this is an important part of better understanding how AI is changing the way people and teams do their work, and it will serve as a resource for all us — governments, civil society, and companies — as we adapt to new ways of working.”

Over the next two years, the working group will engage in three activities. First, it will conduct research on early use cases of generative AI at leading companies around the world. The group’s goal is to understand how these new technologies are being used in practice, how organizations are ensuring that the tools are being used responsibly, and how the workforce is adapting. The group is particularly interested in how these technologies are changing the skills and training required to thrive at work. MIT graduate student Work of the Future Fellows are collaborating with companies in the working group to conduct this research, which will be published as a series of case studies beginning in 2024.

Liberty Mutual Insurance joined the working group as part of its long-standing collaborative relationship with MIT researchers. “In a year of extraordinary advancements in AI, there is no doubt that it will continue shaping the future — and the future of work — at a rapid pace,” says Liberty Mutual CIO Adam L’Italien. “We are excited to collaborate with MIT and the working group to harness it to empower our employees, build new capabilities, and do more for our customers.”

Second, the working group will serve as a convener, hosting virtual quarterly meetings for working group members to share progress and challenges with their uses of generative AI tools, as well as to learn from their peers. MIT will also host a series of in-person summits for working group members and the public to share research results and highlight best practices from member companies. 

Third, based on the group’s research and feedback from participating organizations, the working group will develop training resources for organizations working to prepare or retrain workers as they integrate generative AI tools into their teams.

IBM has joined the working group as part of its broader investments in retraining and job transformation related to generative AI. “Skills are the currency of today and tomorrow. It is crucial that employees and employers are equally invested in continuous learning and maintaining a growth mindset,” says Nickle Lamoreaux, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at IBM. 

The working group has already interviewed or engaged with more than 40 companies. Working group members include Amsted Automotive, Cushman and Wakefield, Cytiva, Emeritus, Fujitsu, GlobalFoundries, Google Inc., IBM, Liberty Mutual, Mass General Brigham, MFS, Michelin, PwC, Randstad, Raytheon, and Xerox Corp.

To learn more about this project or get involved, visit ipc.mit.edu/gen-ai .

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Cambridge claim victory in the 2024 Boat Race

Cambridge celebrated a double success in the 2024 Boat Race, winning both the Men's and Women's races.

The Boat Race- one of the world’s oldest and most famous amateur sporting events- is an annual event between crews from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. This year, in the 169th Men’s Boat Race, Cambridge made a rapid start that allowed them to open up a lead of more than 10 seconds. Although they slowed towards the end- with rower Matt Edge clearly struggling- the team ultimately held on for a comfortable victory. Cambridge were also victorious in the men's reserve crew race. 

In the 77 th Women’s Boat Race, Oxford made a flying start but were overtaken after about 10 minutes and could not recover. However, the Oxford team, called Osiris, triumphed in the women's reserve crew race.

The University of Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey CBE FRS FMedSci, said: 'I’m so proud of all our Oxford crews for their determination, grit and performance today. Not the results we wanted but congratulations do go to Osiris who were victorious, and of course to Cambridge on their impressive wins. Thanks go to the coaches and support teams as well as the supporters who turned up in droves - next year!' 

The Boat Race took place on The Championship Course on the River Thames in South West London. The approximately 4.25 mile course, first used in 1845, stretches from Putney to Mortlake. The average time taken to complete the course is 20 minutes, but the Cambridge men's crew holds the record for the fastest time of 16 minutes and 19 seconds, achieved in 1998.

The Boat race is held in March or early April, after the captain of the previous year's losing team issues a formal challenge. The Men’s Boat Race was first raced in 1829 and the Women’s Boat Race first took place in 1927. Typically, the event attracts over 250,00 spectators, with many millions more watching on television.

After this year’s results, Cambridge now have 48-30 and 87-81 leads in the women’s and men’s races respectively.

Previous Men’s Boat Race and Women’s Boat Race results can be found on the Boat Race website.

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