Gates Cambridge Program*Gustavus Fellowships Office

Initial Gustavus Deadline: N/A
Campus Interview: N/A
Cambridge Application Deadline: October 15, 2010
Web site: www.gatesscholar.org/
Campus Contact: Alisa Rosenthal, Fellowships Coordinator

Description

In October 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a donation to the University of Cambridge to establish the Gates Cambridge Trust. This benefaction created in perpetuity an international scholarship program to enable outstanding graduate students from outside the United Kingdom to study at the University of Cambridge. The Trustees are required to award scholarships on the basis of a person’s intellectual ability, leadership capacity and desire to use their knowledge to contribute to society throughout the world by providing service to their communities and applying their talents and knowledge to improve the lives of others.

Benefits

The Trust seeks to elect approximately 100 new Gates Scholars annually (although the exact number of awards may change from year to year). Approximately 45 of the 100 new scholarships each year will be awarded to U.S. citizens. A Gates Cambridge Scholarship covers the full cost of studying at Cambridge, namely:

  • The University Composition Fee and College Fees at the appropriate rate
  • A maintenance allowance sufficient for a single student (£12,250 for 12 months) at the current 2009-09 rate; pro rata for courses shorter than 12 months
  • The cost of the most economical airfare from the scholar’s normal country of residence to the UK at the beginning of their course and the cost of the most economical airfare from the UK to the scholar’s normal country of residence at the end of the course
  • A discretionary contribution towards the cost of supporting dependants at Cambridge (upon application)

Eligibility

In selecting Gates Cambridge Scholars, the Trust looks for students with enthusiasm, robustness of intellect, a willingness to engage and an appropriate humility that comes from awareness that nothing is ever really simple. In particular, Gates Scholars will be driven by the values of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which include a commitment to reducing inequities and improving lives around the world. The Foundation’s mission is to increase opportunity and equity for those most in need, particularly in the areas of health and education, often through the use of science and technology. The Trust expects a good match to be made between the applicant’s qualifications and aspirations and what Cambridge has to offer. Successful applicants will have the ability to make a significant contribution to their discipline while in Cambridge, with a strong aptitude for research, analysis and a creative approach to defining and solving problems.

The award of a scholarship is absolutely conditional on the student gaining admission to Cambridge through the University’s regular procedures. The Gates Cambridge Trust is not able to admit students.

  • Applicants may be citizens of any country outside the United Kingdom.
  • Applicants may apply to study any subject available at the University of Cambridge.
  • Applicants must apply to pursue one of the following full-time residential courses of study:
    • Research leading to the PhD degree
    • One-year post-graduate courses (e.g. MPhil, LLM, Diploma, MBA, etc.)
    • 2 year MSc degree
    • Second Bachelor degree as an Affiliated Student
    • MBBChir Clinical Studies
  • Applicants must be admitted to Cambridge through the University’s normal academic procedures. The Trust cannot admit students.
  • Applicants must have a first class or high second class honors degree, or its equivalent, from a recognized university. For universities which work according to the North American pattern, candidates will be expected to have excellent transcripts with high GPA scores showing evidence of sustained achievement in study, together with the type of academic references which speak of the candidate’s leadership potential, social commitment, intellectual ability and why further study at Cambridge is particularly appropriate. The Gates Cambridge Trust does not require candidates to take a GRE test, although some Departments in Cambridge may do so.
  • Applicants must be well prepared for the Cambridge course for which they are applying and must meet the academic criteria for admission specified by the University. Some courses may have particular requirements for admission, and details of these can be found in the relevant sections of the Graduate Studies Prospectus for graduate applicants, or the Undergraduate Prospectus for affiliated applicants.
  • Applicants who are not native speakers of English are required by the University to provide proof of their proficiency in the English language to meet the minimum standard required for admission to Cambridge.
  • Applicants from countries of the European Union who intend to pursue graduate study or research must, where eligible, apply for public fees awards offered by the Research Councilsby the relevant deadlines.

Materials for Final Consideration

While there is no internal selection process through Gustavus, applicants are strongly encouraged to draw upon the services of the Gustavus Fellowships Office to complete their application and to the “Advice for Rhodes, Marshall, and Gates Cambridge Scholarships” in the Advice section of the GFO website for tips on putting together a competitive application.

Applicants must complete the Graduate Admission and Scholarship Application Form (GRADSAF) and submit it to Cambridge’s Board of Graduate Studies by the relevant deadline. By submitting one GRADSAF form per course applied for, candidates will, where eligible, be considered for:

  • Admission to a course of graduate study or research by the Board of Graduate Studies
  • Admission to a College by one or more of the Cambridge Colleges
  • Funding offered by the Cambridge Trusts (including Gates Cambridge Scholarships)
  • Other awards offered by the University of Cambridge (Overseas Research Studentships, Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards and Domestic Research Studentships)

The completed Graduate Admission and Scholarship Application (GRADSAF) (online or paper version required), includes the following:

  • Two academic references
  • One personal reference (required for candidates for Cambridge Trust awards only)
  • Transcripts for all degree level courses you have taken
  • Degree Certificates
  • Funding letters (if available)
  • Research Proposal (required for some courses for admission)
  • Other Written Work (required for some courses for admission)
  • Curriculum Vitae (required for some courses for admission)

More about the Selection Process

Shortlisting for Gates scholarship interviews will take place during December 2009, and those selected for interview will be informed by the end of December. The interviews will be held in Annapolis, MD on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 February 2010. Successful candidates will be informed of the results shortly after the interviews have taken place.

Please note shortlisting for an interview or indeed the award of a Gates Cambridge Scholarship does not constitute an offer of admission to the University. It is a condition for taking up a Gates Cambridge Scholarship that the candidate has received an official offer of a place on the course from the Board of Graduate Studies.

Please note that applicants are responsible for all photocopying needed for the internal selection process and as required by the foundation.

*Information derived from www.gatesscholar.org