You will be required to demonstrate that you are able to meet the minimum financial commitment of your course. For information on course cost see the Postgraduate Admissions website.
Funding opportunities are very competitive. You are strongly advised to apply for all sources of funding for which you might be eligible for, both internal and external to the University. Please discuss opportunities with your prospective supervisor.
In your application, when asked ‘Do you wish to apply for funding?’ please tick the box ‘Yes - I wish to apply for funding’.
There are many funding opportunities at Cambridge from a wide variety of sources including the Cambridge Trust Scholarships, Gates Cambridge Scholarships, Colleges and Research Councils. Full details can be found on the Postgraduate Admissions website. You can also use the Cambridge Funding page to find out which type of funding they might be eligible for and how and when to apply.
Funding opportunities enabling widening participation can be found on the Widening Participation page. UK-domiciled students of Black or Black-mixed ethnicity are eligible for Alexander Crummel Scholarships. Please visit the Cambridge Funding page for the latest information. We invite students from Africa who wish to study for an MPhil (advanced study or thesis) with us to consider their eligibility for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme.
UKRI-funded opportunities
The CTP SAI brings business, charities and research providers together in food security research to fund 4 year PhDs in Sustainable Agricultural Innovation. This includes an industrial placement. Applicants must apply to the CTP, not the University, in the first instance (various deadlines so please check individual projects).
Funding for a PhD may be available from a School of the Biological Sciences BBSRC DLA in relevant areas of plant biology, including fundamental science, or that underpinning food security, crop improvement or energy transitions. This is a 1+3 PhD course with project rotations in the first year; Targeted and iCASE studentships may also be available. It requires a separate application to the BLPS22 PhD course. You can make an application to both PhD courses.
Funding for a PhD in climate change biology, conservation, ecology and environmental plant/microbial physiology may be available from a NERC CREATES Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA).
Please note that funding deadlines often differ to course application deadlines and you should check relevant deadlines very carefully. You must apply by the earlier deadline.
The deadline for University Funds applications (including Cambridge Trust and Gates Cambridge) for academic year 2025-2026 is 7 January 2025. For US citizens resident in the USA, who want to be considered for Gates funding, the deadline is 16 October 2024. For full details see the page on how to apply for funding.
We also welcome applications from international applicants seeking national Government scholarships or local awards. In all cases, we ask that potential applicants identify an appropriate Research Group leader and agree a joint area of research before submitting a full application via the centralised University Postgraduate Admissions. Our departmental Postgraduate Administrator will respond directly to any enquiries (pgadmin@plantsci.cam.ac.uk).