Gates Cambridge Scholarship

What the scholarship covers

• Full university composition fee
• Maintenance allowance (about £20,000 per year)
• One economy airfare each way
• Visa and health surcharge costs
• Academic development and family funding where applicable

Eligibility requirements

• Citizen of any country outside the United Kingdom
• Applying for a full-time postgraduate course at Cambridge
• Outstanding academic record
• Clear commitment to improving the lives of others

Documents you will need

• Single application via the Cambridge Graduate Admissions portal
• Gates Cambridge statement
• Research proposal for PhD applicants
• Academic references
• Transcripts

How to apply, step by step

1. 1

   Choose a Cambridge course

   Any full-time postgraduate course qualifies. Check its department deadline, which may be earlier than the Gates deadline.

2. 2

   Apply through the Cambridge portal

   One application covers both admission and the Gates scholarship, tick the funding box.

3. 3

   Meet the correct deadline

   US citizens resident in the US have an earlier deadline than all other applicants.

4. 4

   Write the Gates statement

   A dedicated section on how your work will improve the lives of others, the defining criterion.

5. 5

   Prepare a research proposal

   Required for PhD applicants and read closely by the department.

6. 6

   Provide academic references

   One must specifically address your commitment to improving others' lives.

7. 7

   Interview if shortlisted

   Held in person or online, usually within a few months of the deadline.

When to do what

Counting backwards from the deadline. Applications rushed in the final fortnight are the ones that fail.

1. 20 weeks before

   Identify the course and note its departmental deadline.

2. 16 weeks before

   Confirm which Gates deadline applies to you.

3. 14 weeks before

   Begin the research proposal for PhD applications.

4. 12 weeks before

   Brief referees on the improving-lives criterion.

5. 10 weeks before

   Draft the Gates statement.

6. 6 weeks before

   Refine with a reader outside your discipline.

7. 3 weeks before

   Submit the single Cambridge application.

What the panel is actually looking for

• Outstanding intellectual ability
• A clear commitment to improving the lives of others
• Leadership potential
• Strong fit between you and the chosen Cambridge course

Common mistakes to avoid

• Missing the earlier deadline that applies to US citizens in the US.
• Treating the improving-lives criterion as a formality rather than the core test.
• Missing a departmental deadline that falls before the Gates deadline.
• Referees who never address the scholarship's distinctive criterion.
• A research proposal written for a different institution and reused.

Fields of study