The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is run by the Gates Cambridge Trust, set up in 2000 with a gift from the Gates Foundation. It funds outstanding postgraduates from outside the UK to take a degree in any subject at the University of Cambridge.
About 70 full-cost awards are made each year, roughly two-thirds to PhD students. About a third are given in a US round and the rest in an international round.
Benefits & funding
- University Composition Fee at the applicable rate
- Maintenance of £23,152 for 12 months (2026–27 rate), pro rata for shorter courses; PhD awards last up to 4 years
- Economy airfare at the start and end of the course, inbound visa costs and the Immigration Health Surcharge
- Discretionary extras on request: academic development (£750–£4,000), child allowance, fieldwork, parental leave, hardship
- Maintenance may be cut or withheld if you hold a salary or another substantial scholarship
Eligibility
- Citizens of any country except the UK; dual UK nationals who also hold another citizenship are eligible
- US citizens living in the US must apply in the earlier US round; everyone else, including US citizens studying or working abroad, applies in the international round
- Applying to Cambridge for a PhD (full- or part-time), a full-time MLitt or a full-time one-year postgraduate course
- Not funded: undergraduate degrees, MASt, MBA, EMBA, MFin, BusD, PGCE, MBBChir, MD, the Graduate Course in Medicine and similar professional courses
- Current Cambridge students may apply for a new course, not to finish one already started
- No minimum GPA or Gates-specific English test; the University’s English requirement applies
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Andorra · Angola · Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Armenia · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bahamas
+ 186 more
Bahrain · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belarus · Belgium · Belize · Benin · Bhutan · Bolivia · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Botswana · Brazil · Brunei · Bulgaria · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cambodia · Cameroon · Canada · Central African Republic · Chad · Chile · China · Colombia · Comoros · Costa Rica · Côte d'Ivoire · Croatia · Cuba · Cyprus · Czechia · DR Congo · Denmark · Djibouti · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Egypt · El Salvador · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Estonia · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Fiji · Finland · France · Gabon · Gambia · Georgia · Germany · Ghana · Greece · Grenada · Guatemala · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Jamaica · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Kiribati · Kosovo · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Latvia · Lebanon · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Macau · Madagascar · Malawi · Malaysia · Maldives · Mali · Malta · Marshall Islands · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mexico · Micronesia · Moldova · Monaco · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Mozambique · Myanmar · Namibia · Nauru · Nepal · Netherlands · New Zealand · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · North Korea · North Macedonia · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Palau · Palestine · Panama · Papua New Guinea · Paraguay · Peru · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Qatar · Republic of the Congo · Romania · Russia · Rwanda · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Samoa · San Marino · São Tomé and Príncipe · Saudi Arabia · Senegal · Serbia · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Slovakia · Slovenia · Solomon Islands · Somalia · South Africa · South Korea · South Sudan · Spain · Sri Lanka · Sudan · Suriname · Sweden · Switzerland · Syria · Taiwan · Tajikistan · Tanzania · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Togo · Tonga · Trinidad and Tobago · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Tuvalu · Uganda · Ukraine · UAE · USA · Uruguay · Uzbekistan · Vanuatu · Vatican City · Venezuela · Vietnam · Yemen · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Education required
Bachelor · Master
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Application process
- 1Apply for admission and funding together in the University of Cambridge Graduate Application Portal, completing the Gates Cambridge funding sub-section for each course
- 2Answer four Gates Cambridge questions (about 200–300 words each); PhD applicants add a research proposal if their course application does not ask for one
- 3Arrange two academic references plus one Gates Cambridge reference on the scholarship criteria, all in by your deadline
- 4Pay the University application fee; Gates Cambridge does not cover it
- 5After departmental nomination, shortlisted applicants are interviewed, in person or online
Program timeline
Applications open
11 Sep 2026
Deadline, US round
14 Oct 2026
Deadline, international round (depends on course)
8 Dec 2026 or 6 Jan 2027
22–23 Jan 2027
US round interviews; offers by early Feb 2027
22–23 Mar 2027
International round interviews; offers by early Apr 2027