We appreciate that for many applicants, studying for a postgraduate degree would be impossible without adequate funding to cover the University Composition Fee and requisite amount necessary to pay for maintenance costs. At Cambridge, there are a number of funding opportunities from a wide variety of sources, including Research Councils, the Cambridge Trust, Gates Cambridge, central University funds, and from the Colleges themselves.
External grant-making bodies include the seven UK Research Councils, which offer awards across all disciplines. You can apply for grants from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the University's Graduate Funding pages, linked below. Applicants in other disciplines will usually be automatically considered for a grant from a Research Council, but it is worth checking whether you need to make a separate application.
Most grant-making bodies pay your full fees plus maintenance costs, although some may only provide awards that partially cover your costs - for instance, fees only. If this is the case, it is important to ensure that you can cover your maintenance costs by other means. The College recommends that at least £17,500 is needed for maintenance per year.
King’s is fortunate in being one of the best-funded Colleges in Cambridge for graduate studentships. To maximise our funding for studentships, around 50% of our overall studentship funds are allocated into a Collegiate University Shared Funding Scheme. Academic achievements to date and potential for academic excellence in future research, will play a key part in any decisions. For some King's studentships, we will also take into account other factors, such as applicants who have been disadvantaged in their studies.
Eligibility
The competition for a King’s studentship is open to any individual beginning a new graduate degree as a member of King’s College and the University of Cambridge. When you apply, we strongly advise you to choose King’s as your first-choice College on the application form, as this will maximise your chances of being offered membership here and of being eligible for a King’s studentship. Most studentships are for full-time students, although part-time students can be considered in exceptional cases.
Value of Studentship
Most of our awards for doctoral students provide full funding for University Composition Fees and living expenses. The value of awards will take into account any existing funding or offers from other funding bodies for the same course. Moreover, some awards may not fully fund applicants for Master's degrees. King’s studentships are tenable for up to the normal length of the degree and are renewed annually subject to satisfactory progress.
How to Apply
Applications are made via the Cambridge University Applicant Portal. Simply tick ‘Yes - I wish to apply for funding' in the funding section of the Applicant Portal. This will mean that you will be automatically considered for some funding (e.g. most Cambridge Trust funds, Research Council awards, etc.) You will also be presented with any other funds that you are eligible for, allowing you to choose which ones you wish to apply for and answer any necessary questions.
There are other funds you can also be considered for which require further information from you. Details can be found at https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/funding/how-apply-funding
Closing Date for Studentship Applications
There are two deadlines and departments choose which they want to have for each course. The deadlines for 2024/25 applications are 5th December 2023 and 4th January 2024. To find out the deadline date for a specific course, please refer to the course directory to find the course you are looking for and check the Funding Deadline for the date assigned to that course.
If you are submitting your application after 4th January 2024, you may still be eligible to apply for some of our specific King's studentships. Please visit the relevant pages shown below, for more details.
Outside of this shared scheme, there are other funds for King’s studentships that, due to donor restrictions, are wholly administered by King’s College. When available, these studentships will be advertised below, with full requirements and selection criteria as well as information on how and when to apply.
Current studentships wholly administered by King's:
