The Gates Cambridge Scholarship will soon be accepting applications for the 2027–  2028 school year. The University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom accepts applications for master’s or doctoral degrees.

About the opportunity

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship program was established in October 2000 with a 210 million USD grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation provides 80 full scholarships annually to help students from throughout the globe pursue master’s or doctoral degrees at the University of Cambridge. Two-thirds of the scholarships will go to PhD applicants, with 25 going to US students and 55 to international students. The University of Cambridge is home to at least 250 international academics and students. Already, 1700 students have graduated and become part of the Gates scholarship alumni network.

Important Details

•  There are 80 scholarships total (55 for international).
•  Scholarship Type: Full Scholarship
•  Award Duration: Every year
•  Study level: postgraduate
• Scholarship duration: Ph.D.: up to four years
•  MSc or MLitt (a two-year degree focused only on research)
• MPhil, LLM, MASt, Diploma, MBA, etc. are examples of one-year postgraduate courses.

Scholarship important timeline:

•  Open for Applications: September 2026.
• The deadline for applications is between 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, depending on the course.
• Results Announcement: early March.
•  Scholarship Offer notice: early March.
•  Scholarship Acceptance: 72 hours following receiving of the offer announcement for citizens of the United States:
•  September 2026 is the application deadline.
• The application deadline is October 14 at noon in the local US time zone.
• Results Notification: December 2026.
•  Scholarship Offer Notification: early February.
•  Scholarship Acceptance: 72 hours following receipt of the offer notification.

Advantages of the scholarship:

• The entire cost of studying Cambridge will be covered for applicants. Additionally, it offers extra and optional funding.
• PhD Scholars get funding for a maximum of four years, including a health care payment of £22,050 for a year at the 2025–2026 rate.
• The costs at the host university
• One round-trip ticket in economy class Immigrant
•  health surcharge and incoming visa fees

Extra funds:

• Family Support: £12,184 for the first child and £17,375 for two or more children, based on the 2025–2026 cost;
•  academic development financial support: £500–2000 to attend conferences and courses
• Field Study
•  Payments for Maternity or Paternity
• Funding for financial challenges

Field of study

Applicants can apply for any field offered by the University of Cambridge

Competition Listings

Fields not eligible to apply for:

• Any Undergraduate degree, like a BA (undergraduate) or a BA affiliated (a second BA)
• Business Doctorate (BusD)
• Master of Business (MBA)
• Master of Finance (MFin)
• MASt courses
• 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

Scholarship eligibility for Gates Cambridge Scholarship

•  Those who match the following criteria are eligible to apply:
• have citizenship in any nation other than the United Kingdom
• Apply to one of the University of Cambridge’s postgraduate programs listed below:
• PhD (full-time or part-time)
•  MLitt (full-time)
• Full-time, one-year postgraduate program with some exception.

What criteria are used for selection?

•  Academic excellence:
• The motivation for the course selection
• Could manage
• Make a commitment to making improvements in the lives of others
• The ability to control

Required Documents

Applicants for the Gates Cambridge scholarship should prepare the following documents:

Student Resources

• CV/Resume
• Research proposal for Ph.D. applicants only
• Two academic references
• Gate Cambridge References, in addition to the two academic references
• Gate Cambridge Statement
• Personal Statement (Max 3000 Characters- around 500 words): Write your reason for applying to the Gates Cambridge Scholarship and how you meet the minimum criteria of this scholarship.

How to apply?

• Candidates must complete the admission and financing part of the University of Cambridge’s Graduate Application Portal in order to apply for admission and scholarships.
• For more information on the 2027-2028 Gates Cambridge Scholarship, please visit the Gates Cambridge Scholarship webpage.

for more informationa about Gates Scholarship progrem visit the official website