You can apply for funding to help cover your postgraduate study costs.
Students can be:
- fully funded, where funding is given for course and living costs
- partially funded, where funding is given for some costs and the student covers the rest of their costs independently
- self-funded, where the student covers their study costs independently
About 66% of our doctoral students and 14% of our Masters students are fully funded. To find out more about how students are funded at Cambridge, see 
Postgraduate funding statistics 2023/24.
Top tips for your funding search
- Start researching funding opportunities early
- Check the application process for each funding opportunity
- Know your funding application deadlines
- Apply for funding as early as possible
- Tick ‘I wish to apply for funding’ in your course application
- Give yourself enough time to complete different funding applications
- Apply to every funding opportunity you can to increase your chances of getting funding
When to look for funding
You should look for funding opportunities at least a year before your course starts. If you're starting a course in January or April, you should look for funding even earlier. You may need to apply for funding 18 months before the start of your course.
It can be hard to find funding after you have accepted a place or started your course. You should not expect to find funding at that point.
Where to find funding
For University funding check:
- The Postgraduate Funding Search - this lists most University scholarships and studentships
- Department websites - for funding in your subject area not listed in the Funding Search
- College websites - for College funding not listed in the Funding Search
- Doctoral training programmes at Cambridge - to find out about Research Council funding opportunities
- Funded studentships and research projects - for other University studentships not listed in the Funding Search
If you’re a disabled student, you can search for funding on our Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre website.
Visit our external funding and loans page for external scholarships and government financial support.
How to apply for funding
You can apply to be considered for most University funding through your course application in the Applicant Portal. Read our guidance on applying for University funding.
If you’re applying for external funding, check individual fund websites for information on how to apply.
