Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027/28: Funding, Eligibility, Deadlines

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship pays the full cost of a postgraduate degree at the University of Cambridge for citizens of countries outside the United Kingdom, so applicants from every African country are eligible. Around 70 scholarships are awarded each year. In the international round for 2027/28, the deadline is either 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, depending on your course, and you apply through the University of Cambridge postgraduate application for that course.

• Funder: Gates Cambridge Trust, a foundation based in the United Kingdom
• Current call: Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027/28: Fully Funded PhD and Master's
• Maintenance allowance: GBP 23,152 for 12 months at the 2026-27 rate
• Also covered: the University Composition Fee, one economy flight at the start and one at the end, inbound visa costs and the Immigration Health Surcharge
• Eligible courses: a PhD, an MLitt or a one-year postgraduate course, in any subject
• Deadline: 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027 at 23:59 UK time, set by your course

What does the Gates Cambridge Scholarship cover?

The award is designed to remove the cost of the degree, not to reduce it. It has four core parts.

1. The University Composition Fee at the appropriate rate.
2. A maintenance allowance for a single student of GBP 23,152 for 12 months at the 2026-27 rate, paid pro rata for courses shorter than 12 months.
3. One economy single airfare at the beginning of the course and one at the end.
4. Inbound visa costs and the cost of the Immigration Health Surcharge.

For PhD scholars the award runs for up to 4 years.

Two details deserve attention before you build a budget. The allowance is quoted at the 2026-27 rate, so check the figure that applies when your own course begins rather than treating GBP 23,152 as fixed. And it is calculated for a single student: if you intend to bring a partner or children, their costs sit outside that number and need a plan of their own.

On a one-year course the pro rata rule matters too. A course shorter than 12 months receives a proportionally smaller allowance.

Who can apply from Africa?

Nationality is the first test, and it is generous. You must be a citizen of a country outside the United Kingdom, which covers every African country.

The second test is the course. The scholarship funds a PhD, an MLitt or a one-year postgraduate course at Cambridge, with some exceptions that the official page lists, and any subject is eligible. The real constraint is therefore the type of degree rather than the field.

The third condition follows from the way you apply. The scholarship application is part of the University of Cambridge postgraduate application for your course, and departments rank their own applicants early in the process, so a place on the course and the scholarship are decided in the same pipeline. Treat the course application as the foundation of the whole file.

Deadlines for 2027/28: 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027

The international round has two closing dates, and the one that binds you is set by your course.

• 8 December 2026 at 23:59 UK time, for courses with the earlier date
• 6 January 2027 at 23:59 UK time, for courses with the later date

Your date is shown in the University's Course Directory, on the page of the course you are applying to. The two dates are about four weeks apart, which is a real difference when references and transcripts have to come from institutions in Africa.

In December and January, UK time is GMT. Countries on GMT share the UK clock, but for anyone on West Africa Time, Central Africa Time or East Africa Time the cut-off falls after midnight, in the early hours of the next morning. Do not plan around those hours. Submit on your own calendar day.

How selection works

Selection runs in stages after the deadline. Departments rank their applicants between December and February. Every applicant in the round then hears by early March whether the application goes forward, selection panels meet in late March, and scholarships are offered by early April 2027.

The Trust names four selection criteria: outstanding intellectual ability, reasons for choice of course, a commitment to improving the lives of others, and leadership potential. Each one needs evidence rather than adjectives.

Intellectual ability shows in your transcripts, your research or professional record and what your referees can say about it. Reasons for choice of course means a specific account of why this Cambridge course, and not a similar one elsewhere, serves your plan. Commitment to improving the lives of others is judged on what you have already done, so name the project, the people it served and what changed. Leadership potential is easier to believe when it comes with an example in which you carried responsibility and something depended on your decision.

Around 70 awards a year sounds like many until you consider that they are spread across every subject at the University. Roughly two thirds of them go to PhD students, and most are made in the international round.

How to choose a course and prepare

Choose the course before anything else, because almost everything follows from it: your deadline, whether the degree is eligible, and how long the funding lasts. A PhD can be funded for up to 4 years. A one-year course gets a shorter, pro rata allowance if it lasts less than 12 months.

Next, open the course page in the Course Directory and write the deadline at the top of your plan. Work backwards from it. Transcripts, degree certificates and references from African universities can take weeks to arrive, and the earlier December date leaves about four weeks less room than the January one.

Then build the course application and the scholarship case as one piece of work. Every part of the file should tell the same story about your academic record, why this course, and what you intend to do for others with it, since the criteria cover all three.

Finally, write the budget. Start from the allowance for a single student, check the rate for your start year, and plan separately for anyone who will travel with you.

FAQ

Is the Gates Cambridge Scholarship fully funded?

Yes. It covers the University Composition Fee, a maintenance allowance of GBP 23,152 for 12 months at the 2026-27 rate, an economy flight at the start and end of the course, inbound visa costs and the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Can African students apply for Gates Cambridge?

Yes. Citizens of any country outside the United Kingdom can apply, so every African country is eligible.

When is the Gates Cambridge deadline for 2027/28?

It is 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027 at 23:59 UK time, depending on the course. The Course Directory shows which date applies to yours.

Is there a separate application for the scholarship?

The scholarship application is part of the University of Cambridge postgraduate application for your course, so both are prepared and submitted together.