Gates Cambridge Trust
Gates Cambridge Scholarship
One of the best-known scholarships in the world, paying the full cost of postgraduate study at Cambridge. You apply through your Cambridge course application and tick the Gates scholarship box.
Application round
Applications for 2027 entry opened on 9 September 2026. Depending on your course, the funding deadline is 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027 at 11:59pm UK time, so check your course page. Results are out by 8 March 2027.
The IELTS requirement
Gates Cambridge sets no English score of its own: your course's requirement applies. Many Cambridge courses ask for IELTS Academic 7.5 with 7.0 in each element, but it varies, so check your course page. For most courses you only send the result after you get an offer, and it must be no more than two years old when the course starts. Cambridge also accepts IELTS One Skill Retake.
Where is your IELTS score now?
Your university sets the IELTS score for this scholarship. Take the free level test to get an estimated band for each skill before you apply.
What it covers
- University tuition fees
- A maintenance allowance (£23,152 a year at the 2026–27 rate)
- One economy flight each way
- Visa costs and the Immigration Health Surcharge
- Discretionary academic development funding and a child allowance
Who can apply
- Citizen of any country outside the UK; no age limit and no work experience required
- Applying for a full-time master's (most one-year courses), MLitt or PhD at Cambridge
- Not open to undergraduate degrees, MBA, MFin, MASt, PGCE or other professional degrees
- Selected on academic excellence, your reasons for the course, leadership and commitment to improving the lives of others
Key facts
- Provider
- Gates Cambridge Trust
- Where you study
- UK
- Study level
- Master's, PhD
- Funding
- Fully funded
- Application round
- Opens September 9, 2026 · Closes January 6, 2027
Already know your score?
Build an IELTS plan for this scholarship
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What band do you need?
Your overall IELTS target.
We checked these details against the provider's official page on November 1, 2026. Rules and dates change every round, so confirm them there before you apply.
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