Postgraduate Funding
Please note that funding application for 2027-2028 entry is now open.
Applicants are able to apply for various Cambridge funding schemes within their Postgraduate application form. You can use the Cambridge Funding Search page to find out which type of funding you might be eligible for.
More information on Postgraduate funding opportunities can be found at Postgraduate funding | Postgraduate Study
Department Funding:
We have a number of Department funding opportunities for 2027-28 entry, details of which can be found below:
1. IASHK funding
Through the partnership between the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Sun Yat-sen University Institute of Advanced Studies Hong Kong (IASHK), funding is available for up to two students each year on the MPhil in Stem Cell Medicine. Eligibility is restricted to applicants who hold Chinese nationality and/or Hong Kong Permanent Resident status and who are admitted to the MPhil in Stem Cell Medicine.
Who is this for: Applicants who hold Chinese nationality and/or Hong Kong Permanent Resident status and who are admitted to the MPhil in Stem Cell Medicine. Standard University eligibility rules apply.
What does it cover: ‘International’ rate fees for the 10-month Masters course and an annual maintenance stipend.
How to Apply: Applicants wishing to be considered for these funds, must apply to the MPhil in Stem Cell Medicine by the Cambridge funding deadline of 8 December 2026, and tick the box in your application to "apply for Cambridge funding".
Applicants are not required to identify a supervisor at the application stage. Research projects and supervisors will be allocated once your place has been confirmed.
Application Funding Deadline: Tuesday 8th December 2026.
2. CSCI International Widening Participation Scholarship
The Cambridge Stem Cell Institute is committed to widening participation in postgraduate education.
Who is this for: The scholarship aims to increase access to postgraduate study for applicants whose personal circumstances, educational background, or access to resources may have limited their opportunities to pursue research training or postgraduate study. Applications are assessed holistically, recognising that disadvantage and barriers to opportunity can take many forms.
What does it cover: This scholarship supports talented international students undertaking the Masters in Stem Cell Medicine, a fully funded 10-month postgraduate course covering tuition fees and a maintenance stipend.
How to Apply: Applicants wishing to be considered for this scholarship, must apply to the MPhil in Stem Cell Medicine by the Cambridge funding deadline of 8 December 2026, and tick the box in your application to "apply for Cambridge funding".
Expression of Interest: In addition, applicants seeking consideration for the scholarship should email postgrad@stemcells.cam.ac.uk to register their interest.
Note: As this scholarship is intended to support widening participation, shortlisted applicants may be invited to provide additional contextual information at a later stage. This information will provide an opportunity to tell us about factors that may have influenced your educational journey, including any financial, personal, educational, or practical barriers you have experienced in accessing postgraduate study. Applicants may also describe their experience of accessing information, advice, funding opportunities, and other forms of support.
Any information provided will be treated confidentially and used solely for the purpose of assessing eligibility for widening participation funding.
The Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine Doctoral Training Programme in Medical Research (SCM DTP-MR) are offering a number of fully funded PhD studentships commencing in October 2027. Departments can submit nominations for these in early 2027, once we have completed Department interviews. Eligible students applying to the PhD in Stem Cell Biology, will therefore automatically be considered for these without the need for an additional application.
If you are nominated for DTP-MR funding, you will be required to attend an additional interview organised by the Clinical School. Further details will be provided if you are nominated / shortlisted for an interview. We will contact our nominated candidates in advance, to confirm that you have no objections to being considered for this funding.
It is expected that students on this Programme (DTP-MR) will undertake 2 rotation projects prior to commencing their PhD studies with their preferred supervisor/project. The expectation however is that applicants will have a clear rationale for wanting to join this specific department for the PhD and be able to talk about relevant areas of interest, rather than applying for rotations.
Who is this for: ‘Home’ fee rate applicants. A small number of international fee bursaries are also available. Standard University eligibility rules apply.
What does it cover: Fees, an annual stipend at the UKRI rate for 3.5 years, and a contribution towards relevant travel and consumables costs.
How to Apply: Candidates are advised to contact prospective supervisors about potential projects in advance of submitting an application. You can then submit your application to the PhD in Stem Cell Biology, detailing the supervisor name and project details on your application form. A list of advertised projects can be found at PhD Projects | Cambridge Stem Cell Institute.
Candidates must tick the box in your application to "apply for Cambridge funding" to be considered for these.
Application Deadline: Tuesday 8th December 2026
The Trinity Cambridge Research Studentship program is a 3.5 years studentship which offers a stipend at the current Trinity stipend rate plus Home rate fees and a contribution towards consumables costs.
Departments can submit nominations for these in early 2027, once we have completed Department interviews. Applicants should therefore apply to the PhD in Stem Cell Biology, without the need for an additional application.
It is expected that applicants will have a clear rationale for wanting to join this specific department for the PhD and be able to talk about relevant areas of interest.
Who is this for: ‘Home’ fee rate applicants only. Standard University eligibility rules apply.
What does it cover: ‘Home’ rate fees for 3.5 years, an annual stipend at the Trinity stipend rate, and a contribution towards consumable costs.
How to Apply: Candidates are advised to contact prospective supervisors about potential projects in advance of submitting an application. You can then submit your application to the PhD in Stem Cell Biology, detailing the supervisor name and project details on your application form. A list of eligible supervisors will be listed here soon.
Candidates must tick the box in your application to "apply for Cambridge funding" to be considered for these.
Application Deadline: Tuesday 8th December 2026
The Trinity Cambridge Research Studentship program is a 3 year studentship for overseas students only. Funding covers the overseas fee rate and a stipend. .
Departments can submit nominations for these in early 2027, once we have completed Department interviews. Eligible students applying to the PhD in Stem Cell Biology, will therefore automatically be considered for these funds without the need for an additional application.
It is expected that applicants will have a clear rationale for wanting to join this specific department for the PhD and be able to talk about relevant areas of interest.
Who is this for: ‘International’ applicants only. Standard University eligibility rules apply.
What does it cover: ‘Overseas’ rate fees for 3 years and an annual stipend.
How to Apply: Candidates are advised to contact prospective supervisors about potential projects in advance of submitting an application. You can then submit your application to the PhD in Stem Cell Biology, detailing the supervisor name and project details on your application form. A list of eligible supervisors will be listed here soon.
Candidates must tick the box in your application to "apply for Cambridge funding" to be considered for these.
Application Deadline: Tuesday 8th December 2026
The BBSRC are offering a number of fully-funded PhD studentships supported by the BBSRC Doctoral Landscape Awards, commencing in October 2027.
You can apply for a Targeted and/or iCASE studentship in the same application and will need to indicate your choice(s) in the application form. You can select up to two projects (including a combination of Targeted / iCASE projects).
The programme is also open to international students (EU and non-EU).
What does it cover: Fees, an annual stipend, and a contribution towards relevant travel and consumables costs. A limited number of studentships are available for international students.
How to Apply: Applications should be submitted to the PhD in Biological Sciences.Candidates can review the available projects at this link. See How to apply | Cambridge Biosciences DTP PhD Programme for full details.
Projects being advertised by Cambridge Stem Cell Institute groups:
Targeted Projects
- Dr Richard Tyser: 'Quantifying Mammalian Heart development: Defining the emergence of congenital heart defects' (Project Ref: TRG27-SCI-RT1)
- Dr Mekayla Storer: 'Investigating the regenerative microenvironment as a barrier to tumourigenesis' (Project Ref: TRG27-SCI-MS1)
- Prof Sarah Teichmann: 'Mapping the rules of barrier tolerance in the gut' (Project Ref: TRG27-SCI-ST1) and 'Closing the loop in human heart failure: AI-guided spatial multi-omics and perturbation for therapeutic discovery' (Project Ref: TRG27-SCI-ST2)
iCASE Projects
- Dr Chiara Herzog: 'Rejuvenation in a dish: elucidating the functional and epigenetic effects of lab-grown human foetal plasma on ageing human cells' (Project Ref: ICS27-SCI-CH1)
- Prof Elisa Laurenti: 'Modelling and Reversing Age-Associated Immune Dysfunction Using Human Blood Stem Cells' (Project Ref: ICS27-SCI-EL1)
- Prof Sarah Teichmann: 'From genetic variation to immune cell function: combining cell-type-specific deep learning with experimental validation' (Project Ref: ICS27-SCI-ST2) and 'Gut to Blood: Resident versus Circulating Bacteria-Reactive T Cells' (Project Ref: ICS27-SCI-ST1)
Candidates must also tick the box in your application to "apply for Cambridge funding".
Application Deadline: Tuesday 8th December 2026
All Cambridge Trust scholarships are available only for study at the University of Cambridge, and require that you apply to the University via the normal online application form, and in most cases, require that you apply by the relevant deadline.
A list of all Cambridge Trust scholarships available, can be found at Find a scholarship - The Cambridge Trust
Procedures for applying for postgraduate study (Masters, PhD and similar).
Deadlines for Postgraduate Study
If you are applying for postgraduate study, please check and apply by the specific course deadline. There will be two general course deadlines in December and January (see individual course to know which date to adhere to).
Please apply by the relevant deadline set for entry to your particular course and complete the 'Funding' section in the online Applicant Portal in order to be considered for funding.
There will be no differential of deadlines for application between UK or EU or International postgraduate applicants.
For intellectually outstanding postgraduate students with a capacity for leadership and a commitment to improving the lives of others.
Eligibility - Gates Cambridge considers applications from citizens from outside the United Kingdom who wish to pursue a full-time postgraduate degree at the University of Cambridge. See our eligibility page for details
Deadlines - There are two Gates Cambridge application deadlines; one for US citizens normally resident in the USA, and a later round for all other applicants. Deadlines can be found here.
For full details of how to apply, visit here.
The prestigious Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge was established in 2022 as a collaboration between the University and the Mastercard Foundation. Over 500 Scholars from the African continent will be enrolled in the program between 2023 and 2030 to undertake a wide range of Master's courses.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program would provide bright students from under-represented communities in Africa with a fully funded opportunity to complete their Master's training, develop transformative leadership skills and contribute to climate resilience and sustainable futures in Africa.
Full eligibility details: Eligibility | Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
How to apply: Students are asked to select funding bodies they are interested in applying to when completing the University application form. Please select the 'Mastercard foundation scholars programme' where you will then be required to submit a mandatory personal statement. This is the only part of the application process where applicants are specifically asked about their fit for the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Program.
Queens’ College is offering to co-fund 1 PhD student to start in the academic year 2025-26.
Eligibility: For applicants with Black or Black-Mixed ethnicity.
What does it fund?: The scholarship is at the home UK fee rate and provides a Maintenance stipend for 4 years at the UKRI level, plus research consumables for 4 years (£18,000 in total).
Please see Scholarship flyer and full details on the website: Alexander Crummell PhD Scholarships
The University of Cambridge funding competition is extremely competitive. Alongside your University application, we therefore recommend you apply for any other external funding opportunities that you can find. Some that we are aware of, are listed below.
Note that these funds are in no way linked to The University of Cambridge and it is your responsibility to review the eligibility / application processes / deadlines for each one:
- La Caixa Foundation
- Bayer Foundation
- B. Braun Scholarship
The Boehringer Ingelheim Funds
The Boehringer Ingelheim Funds awards PhD fellowships to outstanding junior scientists (max. age: 27 years) who wish to pursue an ambitious PhD project of approximately 3 years in basic biomedical research in an internationally leading laboratory.
Eligibility - For further details please refer to their webpage, PhD fellowships - Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds
Deadlines - 1 February, 1 June, 1 October of each year. Pre-selection takes place about 4 weeks after the respective deadline, and the final selection approximately 5 months after the respective deadline.