The University of Cambridge has been successful in attracting a particularly wide range of studentships to support research training. In the Postgraduate School of Life Sciences, the proportion of our postgraduate students obtaining a full or partial studentship from one of these sources is very high. Around 400 (30%) of our current UK postgraduate students are funded by the UK Research Councils (BBSRC, MRC, NERC). Many others receive funding from major medical research charities (Wellcome Trust, CRUK, BHF, ARC etc). Nearly 20% of our students receive funding from the University itself and almost 25% of our overseas students have been successful in obtaining full or partial studentships from one of the Cambridge Trusts.
The deadlines for applying for funding are one of the main considerations in the schedule for applying for admission to the University, so applicants should familiarise themselves with the funding deadlines set out in this section. For some scholarship programmes, applications for specific advertised funding should be made direct to the programme before completing the University online application form.
Studentships from a range of sources are awarded to Departments and Institutes to be awarded competitively to the best candidates either in any subject falling within the remit of the funding body and the department/institute or for a specific programme of study.
Some departments and institutes advertise all their studentships in one go and hold a single round of interviews. Others advertise and interview for programme studentships separately. Consult the Department and Institute websites for full details of awards and how to apply.
When applying to the University students usually apply to the course and for funding, which can be University or College Funding, funding from the Research Councils, Departmental Studentships or external funding. However in the PSLS we also offer a number of funded programmes where students apply for a combined offer of a place and funding for a particular programme or area of research. See Funded Programmes and Projects for more information.
