Cambridge International Scholarship 2027-28: Full PhD Funding, Eligibility and Deadline

The Cambridge International Scholarship is a full-cost PhD award from the Cambridge Trust for students from any country other than the UK and Ireland. It pays your international tuition fees and a maintenance allowance for a single person, and the Trust also contributes to the student Immigration Health Surcharge. In 2025-26 the Trust offered about 80 of these awards, across every subject and every Cambridge college.

You do not fill in a separate scholarship form. You apply for a Cambridge PhD, answer “Yes” to funding in the Applicant Portal, and submit everything by your course’s funding deadline. For October 2027 entry there are two main funding deadlines: Tuesday 8 December 2026 and Wednesday 6 January 2027, both at 23:59 GMT. Your course page tells you which one applies.

Key facts about the Cambridge International Scholarship

1. Awarded by: the Cambridge Trust, which funds students at the University of Cambridge.
2. Also listed as: part of the Cambridge International Scholarships and Vice-Chancellor’s Awards. The Vice-Chancellor’s Awards are the matching scheme for UK and Irish students.
3. Number of awards: about 80 in 2025-26. The Trust has not published a 2027-28 figure.
4. Level: PhD only, full-time or part-time. Master’s (MPhil, LLM, MBA) applicants are not eligible for this award.
5. Subjects: any PhD subject at Cambridge, at any college.
6. Nationality: any country except the UK and Ireland, paying fees at the overseas rate.
7. Selection: academic merit only. Your financial situation plays no part.
8. Extra questions: none in the Applicant Portal for this award.
9. Start date: October 2027 for this cycle.

What the scholarship covers

The award is “full cost”. That covers more than tuition, but less than some students expect.

The Trust does not print a maintenance figure on its public pages; your offer letter states it. For comparison, Cambridge told external funders that its minimum PhD stipend for 2026-27 is £21,805 a year, the UKRI rate. Treat that as a floor for planning, not as the Trust’s own figure.

How the money is paid

Maintenance goes into a UK bank account in four instalments for courses of 11 months or more: on or before 30 September, then 7 January, 7 April and 7 July. New scholars may get the first payment a little later, once the Trust has your bank details and confirmation from your college. Paid work is allowed only within the University’s rules for full-time students, and internship income must be declared.

Who is eligible

You can be considered if all of these apply:

1. You are applying for a PhD at the University of Cambridge starting in 2027-28.
2. You are not a UK or Irish national, and you will pay fees at the overseas rate.
3. You submit your full application, references included, by your course’s funding deadline.
4. You tick that you want to be considered for funding in the Applicant Portal.
5. Your department ranks you highly. Departments nominate candidates; you cannot apply to the Trust directly.

There is one ranked list across all disciplines, and the Trust looks at academic ability, research potential, examination results and references. A reference that speaks to your research potential, from someone who has seen you do research, helps your ranking more than a general character letter.

Eligibility edge cases

• EU students: since the UK left the EU, most EU students pay overseas fees and can be considered. Irish citizens cannot, because they are covered by the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards.
• Dual UK and other nationals: if you hold UK nationality you fall under the home scheme instead.
• Part-time PhD: allowed, with fees and maintenance adjusted. Contact the Trust before you change mode, as it can affect your visa.
• Already started your PhD: the award is for new applicants in the funding round. Continuing students follow other routes.

Cambridge International Scholarship deadline and funding round

The scholarship has no deadline of its own. It uses the University’s funding deadlines for 2027-28 entry.

Your course page in the Postgraduate Course Directory may show a different date, and if it does, the course page wins. Submit early rather than on the night: references count as part of a complete application, and late references can take you out of the funding round.

How to apply, step by step

1. Find your PhD: use the Postgraduate Course Directory to check entry requirements and the funding deadline.
2. Contact a supervisor: many departments expect you to have spoken with a potential supervisor before you apply.
3. Open the Applicant Portal: start your application and pay the £20 doctoral application fee (it covers up to seven doctoral applications in one year of entry).
4. Answer the funding question: choose “Yes, I wish to apply for funding”. The portal then lists the funds you are being considered for.
5. Upload your documents: research proposal, CV, transcripts, references and English test results if needed.
6. Name a college if a fund asks: some college awards require you to list that college as a preference.
7. Submit by 23:59 GMT on your deadline: with all references in.
8. Wait for the department ranking: the department assesses your admission, then your funding, and passes top candidates to the Trust.

Application fee waiver

Nationals of certain low-income countries who have lived there since birth get the fee waived automatically when they submit. The list is reviewed each year and includes countries such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Syria and Yemen. African applicants in the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program who are not on that list can request a waiver; that form is due by 20 November 2026.

Documents checklist

See our recommendation letter guide for what to ask your referees to cover.

Writing a research proposal that ranks well

Because selection depends on the department’s ranking, your proposal and references do most of the work. A proposal that ranks well usually follows this shape:

1. The question: one sentence stating what you want to find out.
2. Why it matters: the gap in current work, with two or three key studies.
3. Method: data, sites or experiments, and why they fit the question.
4. Fit: the supervisor, group or facilities at Cambridge that make this possible.
5. Feasibility: a rough three to four year plan and what you have already done.

A sample opening (invented for illustration): “Malaria rapid tests in rural Ghana miss up to a fifth of low-density infections. I want to test whether pooled molecular screening at district labs can close that gap at a cost health services can carry.”

Gates Cambridge in one paragraph

Gates Cambridge Scholarship is a separate full-cost scholarship for master’s and PhD students from outside the UK, and you are considered through the same funding section of the Applicant Portal. Non-US applicants use the same 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027 deadlines (US citizens had an earlier deadline of 14 October 2026).

Costs you still need to plan for

• The student visa application fee.
• Flights to the UK at the start, and home at the end.
• The part of the Immigration Health Surcharge your offer letter does not cover.
• Any family members’ living costs, visas and health surcharge.
• Your first weeks in Cambridge before the first maintenance payment arrives.

Common mistakes

• Applying for a master’s and expecting this award. It is PhD only.
• Missing the funding deadline and applying at a later admissions deadline.
• Forgetting to answer “Yes” to funding in the portal.
• Late references, which leave your application incomplete.
• Sending a general proposal with no named supervisor or group.
• Waiting for a rejection email. The Trust does not send one.

How it compares with similar UK awards

If you are from Africa and still choosing where to apply, our scholarships for African students list covers fully funded options in other countries.

Who should apply, and who should not

Apply if you have a strong master’s or first-class bachelor’s degree, research experience you can show (a thesis, publications, a research job), and a supervisor at Cambridge who is interested in your project.

Look elsewhere if you want a taught master’s, if you are a UK or Irish national, or if your grades and references are not yet competitive. A funded master’s first, such as the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann at Oxford, can make a later PhD application much stronger.

FAQ

Is the Cambridge International Scholarship fully funded?

Yes. It pays international tuition fees and a single person’s maintenance allowance, and the Trust contributes to the Immigration Health Surcharge. Visa fees and flights are not covered unless your offer letter says so.

What is the Cambridge International Scholarship deadline for 2027?

It is your course’s funding deadline: 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, at 23:59 GMT. Check your course page to see which date applies.

Do I need a separate application for the Cambridge Trust scholarship?

No. Apply for your PhD and answer “Yes” to funding in the Applicant Portal. Your department nominates you to the Trust if it ranks you highly.

Can master’s students get the Cambridge International Scholarship?

No. It is for PhD students only. Master’s applicants can still be considered for other Cambridge Trust awards and for Gates Cambridge through the same funding question.

Sources and updates

Eligibility, coverage, the number of awards and the awards period come from the Cambridge Trust’s fund listing for the Cambridge International Scholarship on the University’s student funding site. The 2027-28 funding deadlines, the funding decision timeline and the application process come from the University of Cambridge postgraduate funding page; the fee and waivers from its application fee pages. Payment dates and what the award does not cover come from the Cambridge Trust’s Guidelines for Scholars (December 2025). The £21,805 stipend floor is from Cambridge’s 2026-27 letter to external funders. Checked on 25 October 2026. I will add the 2027-28 award count when the Trust publishes it.

Jude Chinecherem

I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.