Gates Cambridge Scholarship Programme 2018 for Study in the United Kingdom (Fully Funded)

1. Departmental ranking

In order to ensure only the most academically outstanding candidates are considered, the Trust asks academic departments in Cambridge to rank eligible applicants on academic ability only. Those who are put forward by their departments are considered the most academically outstanding applicants they have received that year.

2. Shortlisting

Once the Trust has a list of all ranked candidates, these are divided into broad subject areas and passed to our Shortlisting Committees. These Committees look at the candidates’ entire application pack (including the Gates Cambridge Statement and Reference) and apply all four Gates Cambridge criteria in order to identify those who will be invited for interview. Everyone who is shortlisted for interview will have gone through an exceptionally competitive process and will show evidence of meeting the four Gates Cambridge criteria.

3. Interview

All shortlisted candidates have a short interview to assess how they meet all four Gates Cambridge criteria and Scholars are selected after interview. More details are available from the interview page.

How to Apply:

Applicants must submit an application for graduate admission, a College place and funding – including a Gates Cambridge Scholarship – via the University’s Graduate Applicant Portal.

In addition to the section for admission, the University’s graduate application form includes a specific Gates Cambridge section which asks applicants to submit the following:

A 3,000 character (500 word) statement about their fit with the Gates Cambridge programme
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The statement is used by the Gates Cambridge shortlisting committees to distinguish between candidates who have been highly ranked by departments on academic grounds. It helps the our committees identify those candidates who, as well as being academically outstanding, possess a capacity for leadership and commitment to improving the lives of others. This is the only part of the application form where applicants are specifically asked about their fit with the Gates Cambridge programme.
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A (non-academic) reference about their fit with Gates Cambridge
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The Gates Cambridge reference is used in the same way as the statement – to reduce the large number of well-qualified applicants to those who best match the Gates Cambridge criteria.
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Referees may paste/type up to 4,000 characters into the on-line reference or upload a separate letter; they are also asked some specific questions about how they rate the applicant for the scholarship.
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Your referee should be someone of appropriate standing who is able to answer the question with authority and who will and fully understand the Gates Cambridge criteria.

Other materials

All applicants must submit an up to date CV/resume.

For PhD applicant only a research proposal is also required – if it has not already submitted as part of the application for the course. Where there is specific guidance from the department about word length and format for the research proposal applicants should follow this. If you are a PhD applicant but your department does not require a research proposal then you should submit a document af roughly two pages outlining your research plans to be considered for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship.