The Gates Cambridge Scholarship programme was established in October 2000 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. Each year Gates Cambridge offers 80 full-cost scholarships to outstanding applicants from countries outside the UK to pursue a full-time postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. Approximately two-thirds of these awards are offered to Ph.D. students, with approximately 25 awards available in the US Round and 55 available in the International Round. There are at least 225 scholars from 50 countries studying in Cambridge at any point of time to pursue the full range of subjects available at the university and are spread across its departments and Colleges. 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.
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Selection criteria:
The trust expects the applicants to possess outstanding intellectual ability, valid reasons in terms of the choice of course, a commitment to improve the lives of others and leadership potential. To be eligible for the scholarship, the applicants must be a citizen of any county outside the United Kingdom. The applicants must be applying for a full-time residential course such as Ph.D., MSc/MLitt or a one-year postgraduate course at the University of Cambridge.
Funding
A Gates Cambridge Scholarship covers the full cost of studying at Cambridge, apart from additional, discretionary funding. At its core, the Gates Cambridge scholarship covers almost all conceivable expenses for the applicants, including the university composition fee at the appropriate rate and a maintenance allowance for a single student (£17,848 for 12 months at the 2021-22 rate; pro rata for courses shorter than 12 months) – for Ph.D. scholars the award is for up to 4 years. The scholarships also take care of additional expenses such as paying for one economy single airfare at both the beginning and end of the course and inbound visa costs & the cost of the Immigration Health Surcharge.
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How to Apply?
Interested candidates can submit their applications for admission and funding via the university’s graduate application portal. The selection process contains three stages of departmental ranking, shortlisting and the interview. Applicants also have to submit a 3000 words essay specifying the reason to apply to the scholarship, research proposals(for Ph.D. students) and three reference letters.
For further information on the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, please click here.
