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 to 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, which means that for every £1 we contribute to the scheme, the University or one of its shared funding partners will match. Our studentships are awarded purely on academic merit.
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, it is advisable 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.
Value of Studentship
Most of our awards for doctoral students provide full funding for University Composition Fees and living expenses. In some circumstances, awards may be reduced to take into account existing awards or offers from other funding bodies for the same course. Some awards for applicants for Masters degrees may not be fully funded. King’s studentships are tenable for up to the normal minimum length of the degree and are renewed annually subject to satisfactory progress.
How to Apply
Applications for funding are made via the Cambridge University https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/application-process.
By ticking ‘I want to be considered for funding’ when applying through the Applicant Portal, you will automatically be considered for:
- Most Cambridge Trust funds, including the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards
- Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholarships
- ESRC (where eligible)
- EPSRC (where eligible)
- STFC (where eligible)
- Some Department and College funds
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 2 deadlines and departments choose which they want to have for each course. The deadlines are the 3rd December and 7th January. 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.
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:
