Gates Cambridge Scholarship — Overview, Eligibility, Application, Rewards

7 min readApr 25, 2019

is an internationally acclaimed scholarship programme run by the Gates Cambridge Trust. The scholarship is meant for international students who wish to pursue a full-time residential postgraduate or doctoral degree programme at the University of Cambridge. Started in the year 2000, with the largest ever donation of USD 210 million by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the scholarship programme has so far helped more than 1,700 students from over 100 countries. The key objective of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship is to build a worldwide network of outstanding future leaders who show commitment towards improving the lives of others.

Want to know more about the Gates Cambridge Scholarship? If yes, this article will provide you with in-depth information related to the scholarship, such as its important dates, eligibility criteria, selection criteria, the application process, award value, and more. Before heading on to the details about the scholarship, here is a complete overview of the scholarship for your information:

Gates Cambridge Scholarship — Overview

*The timeline mentioned above is tentative and may change every year on the discretion of the scholarship provider.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship — Timeline

The selection for Gates Cambridge Scholarship is made in two rounds every year. The students who are US citizens and are living in the USA can apply in round 1. Remaining eligible students can apply in round 2. What are the important dates to remember for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2019? Get an answer to this question in the table below. It highlights the timeline of the scholarship for both the rounds in detail.

Application Timeline for Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2019

*The dates mentioned above are applicable for entry in October 2019. These dates may vary every year.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship — Eligibility

If you plan to pursue postgraduate or PhD level study in UK, the University of Cambridge is undoubtedly one of the best options for you. Adding to your benefit, you can cover your full study expenses at the Cambridge University with Gates Cambridge Scholarship. To be eligible for this scholarship, you need to fulfil certain eligibility conditions, which include:

The applicant should be a citizen of any country outside the UK.
They must be applying to any of the following full-time course (residential) at University of Cambridge -
PhD (3-year research degree)
MLitt or MSc (2-year research degree)
MPhil, LLM, MASt, MBA, Diploma, etc. (1-year PG course)
The students, who are currently studying at Cambridge and are willing to apply for a postgraduate course can also apply for this scholarship.
The students pursuing the following courses are not eligible -
Non-degree courses
Part-time courses
BA or undergraduate courses
BA affiliated (a second BA)
MD Doctor of Medicine degree (part-time, 6 years)
MBBChir Clinical Studies

Gates Cambridge Scholarship — Application Process

If you find yourself eligible for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, you can head on to its application process. For Indian students, the application timeline for round 2 is applicable, which means they can apply between the months of September and January, depending on their respective course deadline. The application process is simple and online. The students can follow the below-given steps to apply for this scholarship -

Step 1: Visit the Graduate Applicant Portal of the University of Cambridge for majority of courses.

Step 2: Apply for the scholarship along with the admission application form.

Step 3: Once the application form is filled, upload the supporting documents.

Step 4: Submit the application.

Important Documents for Scholarship Application

In addition to the scholarship application form, the applicants also need to provide certain supporting documents that include -

Statement of purpose, in not more than 3000 characters or approximately 500 words
Updated resume/CV
Research proposal (applicable for PhD applicants only)
References

Gates Cambridge Scholarship — Award Details

What kind of financial assistance is given under the Gates Cambridge Scholarship? What is the amount of scholarship? What are the expenses covered under this scholarship? Find an answer to all these questions in this section. Given below is a detailed description of the rewards that each scholar receives through this scholarship. The scholarship covers the complete cost of your study at Cambridge. The details of the scholarship value are given hereunder -

Covers the University composition fee (inclusive of College accommodation rent & cost of food taken in College) at the appropriate rate
Maintenance allowance of approximately GBP 17,500 for 12 months
Economy class single airfare at the beginning and the end of the course
Inbound cost of Visa
Cost of the immigration health surcharge

Adding to this, it also offers discretionary funding (additional) to some of the students. The details of discretionary funding are given hereunder -

Academic development funding of up to GBP 2,000 based on the course duration
Family allowance of up to GBP 10,120 for the first child and up to GBP 4,320 for the second child (Note: No funding is available for the partner)
Covers the cost of fieldwork
Hardship funding for unexpected difficulties
Maternity or paternity funding for up to 6 months
Fourth-year funding for PhD scholars (if required)

Gate Cambridge Scholarship — Selection Procedure

In order to select the scholars for Gates Cambridge Scholarship, a three-stage selection process is followed that includes Departmental ranking, shortlisting and interview. Each stage has its own significance and ensures that the scholars meet all the criteria. A detailed description of each selection stage has been given hereunder -

Departmental ranking — In this stage, the Gates Cambridge Trust asks different academic departments of the University to rank all the eligible candidates on the basis of their academic ability. The departments put forward the names of academically outstanding students for the further selection process.
Shortlisting — After the Trust receives the departmental ranking list, they divide it into major subject areas and forward it to the Shortlisting Committee. The committee does the scrutiny of all the applications and shortlists some of the applicants for the interview.
Interview — All candidates who are shortlisted by the Committee are invited for a short interview after which the final selection of scholars is made.

At each stage of selection, the applicants are judged on the basis of following selection criteria -

Outstanding intellectual ability
Leadership potential
Commitment towards improving the lives of others
Good fit between the candidate’s aspirations and qualifications and the postgraduate programme for which the application has been made

Gates Cambridge Scholarship — About the Interview

If any of the students are called for the interview, they have to go through an extremely competitive process. The duration of the interview may range from 20 minutes to 25 minutes based on where the applicant is. The candidates are open to attend the interview either in person or through Skype. The interview is conducted under four broad subject-based panels, namely, arts, biological sciences, social sciences, and physical sciences.

Each panel comprises two academics and a representative of the Trust. The interview conducted under each panel has further four sections that include -

Welcome and introduction
Knowledge about Gates Cambridge
Academic as well as career plans
Final thoughts and addressing the questions of the candidates

Gates Cambridge Scholarship — Selected Indian Scholars

How many Indian students have been able to avail the benefits of Gates Cambridge Scholarship? This is a common question that strikes in the mind of every student. Given below is the list of Indian scholars who received the Gates Cambridge Scholarship in the past five years. The list is not exhaustive. A large number of Indian students are capable of finding a place at Cambridge University with the help of this scholarship.

Scholar List of Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Gates Cambridge Scholarship — About Gates Cambridge Trust

The Gates Cambridge Trust is run by the Office for Students in England through the University of Cambridge. Since its establishment in 2000, the trust looks after the complete process of disbursing the Gates Cambridge Scholarship to outstanding students outside the UK. The trust comprises a Board with nine eminent Trustees. Out of these nine trustees, 7 are appointed by the University of Cambridge and remaining two by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In fact, in the year 2012, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates became the Honorary Patrons of the Trust.

Have a query related to Gates Cambridge Scholarship? Feel free to contact the scholarship provider on the below-given address. Also, the students can ask their queries through email to info@gatescambridge.org.

Gates Cambridge Ground Floor, The Warehouse 33 Bridge Street Cambridge CB2 1UW United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 1223 338467

Originally published at https://www.buddy4study.com on April 25, 2019.