Gates Cambridge Scholarship
Website: www.gatesscholar.org
Deadline: October 15, 2012, for U.S. citizens (the deadline for international students studying in the U.S. is early December). Note: Citizens of the U.K. are not eligible to apply.
Adviser: Dr. Deirdre Moloney, moloney@princeton.edu, 8-1998
Fields of Study: Open
Description: Established in 2000 through an endowment from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gates Cambridge Program enables 80 and 100 students from around the world to pursue 1-4 years of graduate study at the University of Cambridge.
Eligibility
- Citizen of any country outside the United Kingdom.
- Must apply to pursue one of the following full-time residential courses of study:
- Ph.D. (three year research only degree)
- One-year post-graduate course (e.g. MPhil, LLM, Diploma, MBA etc.)
- MSc or MLitt (two year research only degree)
- MBBChir Clinical Studies (3 year taught degree)
- Must be admitted to one of the degrees above at Cambridge through the University's normal admission procedures. The Trust does not admit students.
Criteria for Selection
- Intellectual ability
- Leadership capacity
- A good fit with Cambridge
- A desire to use knowledge to contribute to society
Application Process
There is no Princeton process for the Gates Scholarship. Students apply directly through the Gates online application, which is available as a part of the Cambridge University Graduate Studies Prospectus.
Criteria for Selection:
It is necessary for a student to undertake significant research about the program, the faculty and the college in which he/she wishes to study. Contacting faculty at Cambridge and gaining familiarity with their work is appropriate. This will be an important element for consideration.
While leadership skills will help to differentiate candidates and the trust seeks to fund well-rounded individuals, the focus is on a demonstrated intellectual hunger and a sense of future application of the knowledge gained.
There is not a GPA cutoff for the Gates; however, a 3.5 minimum GPA is advised. A poor first year may be redeemed by outstanding work in later years, for instance. The key is that the student demonstrates adequate preparation for the course of study intended.
Most Cambridge M.Phil. programs are for one year and most Ph.D.’s are for three to four years. Students must be self-starters and must not be daunted by the prospect of producing a substantial thesis or dissertation.