Gates Cambridge Scholarships 2027-2028 for International Students

Apply for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027/2028, a fully funded programme offering around 70 full-cost scholarships to outstanding postgraduate students from outside the UK. You can study any subject at the University of Cambridge, with approximately two-thirds of awards reserved for PhD students.

The scholarship covers the full University Composition Fee, a maintenance allowance of £22,050 per year, economy airfares, visa costs and the Immigration Health Surcharge. Additional discretionary funding is available for academic development, dependent children, fieldwork, parental leave and hardship.

Application deadline: 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, depending on your course

Contents

• Overview
• About the scholarship
• Selection criteria
• Eligibility requirements
• Funding: what's covered
• Application timeline
• Official links

Overview

Criteria	Details
Scholarship	Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027/2028
Host University	University of Cambridge, UK
Number of Awards	Around 70 full-cost scholarships
Program Level	PhD, MLitt, one-year postgraduate courses
Eligibility	Citizens of any country outside the UK
Funding Type	Fully funded
Maintenance Allowance	£22,050 per year (2025-26 rate)
Application Deadline	8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027 (course-dependent)

About the Gates Cambridge Scholarship

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is an international scholarship programme at the University of Cambridge, established for outstanding postgraduate students who share a potential for social leadership and a genuine desire to improve the lives of others.

Each year, Gates Cambridge offers around 70 full-cost scholarships to exceptional applicants from countries outside the UK, to pursue a postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University. Approximately two-thirds of these awards go to PhD students, with roughly a third of awards available in the US round and the rest in the International round.

The programme maintains a community of approximately 250 scholars studying at Cambridge at any one time, across the full range of subjects, departments and Colleges.

If you are exploring other fully funded government scholarships, consider the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships, which offer similar funding for international researchers.

Selection criteria

Candidates are evaluated on four criteria:

Criterion	Description
Intellectual Ability	Outstanding academic achievement and scholarly potential
Reasons for Course Choice	Clear motivation and fit for the chosen programme
Commitment to Others	Demonstrated desire to improve the lives of others
Leadership Potential	Capacity for social leadership and impact

Eligibility requirements

You can apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship if you are a citizen of any country outside the United Kingdom and are applying to pursue one of the following courses at the University of Cambridge:

Course Type	Mode
PhD	Full-time or part-time
MLitt	Full-time
One-year postgraduate course	Full-time (with some exceptions)

Gates Cambridge continues to pilot a scheme allowing applicants to apply for funding for a part-time doctoral degree.

Gates Cambridge is among the most competitive scholarships in the world, and admission to Cambridge is required before funding is considered. If your profile is not yet at that level, Unicaf offers partial scholarships for online Bachelor's, Master's and doctoral degrees that can strengthen your academic record while you continue to work.

Funding: what's covered

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

Core components

Component	Details
University Composition Fee	Covered at the appropriate rate
Maintenance Allowance	£22,050 for 12 months (2025-26 rate); up to 4 years for PhD scholars
Airfare	One economy single airfare at the start and end of the course
Visa Costs	Inbound visa costs covered
Health Surcharge	Immigration Health Surcharge covered

Important: where a student secures a fee award from public authorities such as UKRI, they should accept that award. The Trust will then not pay their fee, or may share fee and maintenance costs.

Discretionary components

Type	Amount
Academic Development Funding	£750 to £4,000, depending on course length, for conferences and courses
Dependent Children Allowance	Up to £12,793/year for one child; up to £18,244/year for two or more
Fieldwork	Maintenance allowance retained during PhD fieldwork
Maternity/Paternity Funding	Intermit studies up to 6 months with continued maintenance allowance
Hardship Funding	Support for unforeseen difficulties

No funding is provided for a partner.

Application timeline

Stage	Date
Applications Open	11 September 2026
Application Deadline	8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, course-dependent, 11:59pm UK time
Departmental Ranking	December 2026 to February 2027
Applicants Notified	By 11:59pm UK time on Monday 8 March 2027
Review and Selection by Panels	22 to 23 March 2027
Scholarships Offered	By early April 2027
Scholarships Accepted	72 hours after offer

Note the 72-hour acceptance window. Once an offer arrives, you have three days to accept. Sort out your decision-making and any competing offers before early April.

Official links

Resource	URL
Official Website	www.gatescambridge.org
Course Directory	postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses

Visit the official Gates Cambridge site

Read also

• Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships
• Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme
• Yenching Academy Scholarship in China

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