Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027 for Africans: Eligibility, Deadlines, Benefits and How to Apply

Also see: Chevening Scholarships 2027/2028

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027 round is open for students who want to start a postgraduate degree at the University of Cambridge in the 2027–28 academic year. It pays the full cost of study, and applicants from every African country are eligible.

There is no separate scholarship form to post or email. You apply for your Cambridge course and tick the Gates Cambridge option in the same online application. This guide explains who qualifies, what the award pays, the two possible deadlines, the documents you need and how to give your application its best chance. All facts were checked on Gates Cambridge and University of Cambridge pages on 11 November 2026.

Other fully funded UK postgraduate options include the Commonwealth Shared Scholarships 2027/28 and the Beit Trust Postgraduate Scholarships 2027/2028.

What the Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027 is

Gates Cambridge was created in October 2000 with a US$210 million gift from the Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge. Its stated mission is to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others.

Each year the Trust offers around 70 full-cost scholarships to outstanding applicants from outside the UK. About two-thirds go to PhD students. Roughly a third of the awards are made in the US round and the rest in the international round, which is the round for African applicants.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027 deadlines and timeline

Gates Cambridge runs two rounds. The early round in October is only for US citizens living in the US. Everyone else, including all African applicants and US citizens living abroad, applies in the later international round, which is aligned with the University’s own postgraduate funding competition.

Which deadline applies to you? Open your course in the University of Cambridge Course Directory and look for the course funding deadline in the column on the right. Your full application, including all references, must be in by that date. Note that 11:59pm UK time in December and January is 12:59am the next day in West Africa and 2:59am in East Africa.

What the scholarship pays

A Gates Cambridge Scholarship covers the full cost of studying at Cambridge. The core award includes:

• the University Composition Fee (tuition) at the rate that applies to you
• a maintenance allowance for a single student of £23,152 for 12 months at the 2026–27 rate, pro rata for shorter courses; PhD scholars are funded for up to four years
• one economy single airfare at the beginning and at the end of the course
• inbound visa costs and the Immigration Health Surcharge

The 2027–28 maintenance rate has not been published on the scholarship page yet, so the figure above is the latest one available.

The Trust can also consider extra funding on a discretionary basis. This includes academic development funding (from up to £750 to up to £4,000, depending on course length), a dependent children allowance (up to £12,793 a year for one child and up to £18,244 for two or more), maintenance during PhD fieldwork, parental leave funding and hardship funding. There is no funding for a partner.

The scholarship does not pay bench fees or the cost of scientific equipment. If you also receive a salary or another large scholarship, the Trust may reduce or stop the maintenance allowance, so tell it about any other funding.

Who can apply for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027: eligibility in plain English

• Nationality: you must be a citizen of a country outside the United Kingdom. Every African nationality qualifies. Dual UK citizens are also eligible, according to the Gates Cambridge FAQ.
• Course: you must be applying for a full- or part-time PhD, a full-time MLitt, or an eligible full-time one-year postgraduate course such as an MPhil, MRes or LLM.
• Admission: you must also apply for, and win, a place on the course and a place at a Cambridge College.
• Grades: there is no minimum GPA, but academic excellence is one of the four selection criteria and is judged across the whole application.

Courses Gates Cambridge does not fund include undergraduate degrees, MASt/MSt, PGCert/PGDip, MBA and Executive MBA, MFin, PGCE, the MD, the Graduate Course in Medicine and part-time degrees other than the PhD. See the eligibility page for the full list.

The four selection criteria

Gates Cambridge says it is needs-blind: your financial situation is not considered. Instead, every candidate is judged on four criteria:

1. Outstanding intellectual ability, shown through transcripts, references, experience and potential to succeed on the course.
2. Reasons for choice of course: a strong case for this particular Cambridge degree and how it fits your plans. PhD and most research MPhil applicants should contact a potential supervisor.
3. A commitment to improving the lives of others, which applicants define for themselves with past, current and future evidence.
4. A capacity for leadership, which can take many forms, from starting a change to bringing people together to reach a goal.

How to apply for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027: step by step

The official page is Gates Cambridge: application timeline.

1. Choose an eligible course. Use the Course Directory to confirm entry requirements, the funding deadline and whether you need a supervisor.
2. Open the Applicant Portal. On your course page, select “Apply Now”, then register or sign in.
3. Complete the admission section. Give your academic background, plans, suitability for the course and College preference.
4. Complete the funding section. Select the Gates Cambridge sub-section and answer its four questions (details below). Without this sub-section you will not be considered.
5. Upload your documents. These include transcripts, your CV and any course-specific documents. PhD applicants must include a research proposal.
6. Arrange three references. You need two academic references for admission plus one Gates Cambridge reference. All must be submitted through the Referee Portal by your deadline.
7. Pay the application fee or check the waiver. Then submit before 11:59pm UK time on your deadline. You cannot edit an application after submitting it.

Applications must be in English, written in Latin script, and submitted by you. Cambridge says it does not accept applications from agents.

The four Gates Cambridge questions

• How you have shown academic excellence through your education and experience (about 200 words, up to 1,400 characters).
• Why you want to study this specific course at Cambridge and how it will help your future plans (about 200 words, up to 1,400 characters).
• Examples of your commitment to improving the lives of others, why it matters to you and how it links to your plans (about 300 words, up to 2,100 characters).
• Examples of your capacity for leadership and how it will help you make an impact (about 300 words, up to 2,100 characters).

Application fee and fee waiver

Cambridge charges £20 per applicant per year of entry for doctoral courses and £85 per application for other postgraduate courses. Gates Cambridge does not pay this fee.

The fee is waived automatically for nationals who have lived since birth in listed countries. The African countries on the list (last updated September 2026) are Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, DR Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.

Applicants from countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa must pay unless another waiver route applies. Check the Cambridge application fee waiver page.

Cambridge also flags a UK government “visa brake” on new Student visas for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan. If you hold one of these nationalities, read Cambridge’s guidance before you apply.

Documents checklist

• Academic transcripts and degree certificates (with English translations where needed)
• CV and any course-specific documents listed on your course page
• Research proposal (PhD applicants)
• Answers to the four Gates Cambridge questions
• Contact details for two academic referees and one Gates Cambridge referee
• English language results if the portal says you need them. For most courses, Cambridge asks for evidence only after an offer, but the LLM requires it at the time of application
• Payment for the application fee, unless it is waived

How selection works

Selection has two stages. First, Cambridge academic departments rank applicants and nominate a small number who meet all four criteria at a very high level. Second, nominated candidates are interviewed for 25–30 minutes by one of four subject panels: Arts, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences or Social Sciences.

Interviews can be in person or online and cover your motivation, academic work, choice of course and career plans. Gates Cambridge does not give feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Tips from our team

• Win the department first. The scholarship only sees candidates their departments nominate. A focused, well-researched course application matters as much as the Gates answers.
• Use concrete examples. “I founded a reading club that grew to 60 pupils in two years” is stronger than “I am passionate about education”.
• Connect the four answers. Your course, your service record and your leadership should point to the same future impact, for example in public health, agriculture or policy in your country.
• Brief your Gates referee. Send them the four criteria and a short list of examples. A former supervisor, employer or leader of an organisation where you volunteered can be a good choice.
• Contact supervisors early. For PhDs and research MPhils, an email to a potential supervisor in November is far better than one in late December.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying for an ineligible course. MBA, MFin, MASt and PGCert applicants cannot be considered.
• Forgetting the Gates sub-section. Ticking general funding is not enough.
• Late references. References are part of a complete application and must arrive by the same deadline.
• Missing the earlier deadline. Many applicants assume January when their course closes on 8 December.
• Paying an “agent”. Cambridge does not accept applications from agents, and nobody can guarantee a scholarship.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027 FAQs

Can Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans and other Africans apply?
Yes. The award is open to citizens of any country outside the UK, and African applicants apply in the international round.

Is the Gates Cambridge Scholarship fully funded?
Yes. It covers tuition, a maintenance allowance, travel at the start and end of the course, visa costs and the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Do I need IELTS or TOEFL?
The scholarship has no English test requirement of its own, but the University does. The Applicant Portal will tell you if you need a test, and for most courses evidence is requested after an offer.

How many courses can I apply for?
You can request Gates Cambridge funding for each eligible course you apply to, completing a separate Gates section each time. The Gates FAQ mentions a maximum of seven applications; confirm the current cap in the portal.

When will I hear back?
International-round applicants will be told the outcome by 8 March 2027, interviews run on 22–23 March 2027 and offers are made by early April 2027.

Related scholarships you may like

• Eiffel Excellence Scholarship 2027 for Africans
• Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2027–2028 for Africans
• DAAD EPOS Scholarship 2027–2028 for Africans
• Mastercard Foundation Scholarship at Sciences Po 2027

Official sources

• Gates Cambridge: timeline for 2027/8 entry
• Gates Cambridge: eligibility
• Gates Cambridge: how to apply
• Gates Cambridge: what the scholarship covers
• Gates Cambridge: frequently asked questions
• University of Cambridge: application fee

Disclaimer: OpportunityHanger is not the Gates Cambridge Trust, the Gates Foundation or the University of Cambridge. We do not charge fees, and we do not process applications. Rules, amounts and deadlines can change, so always confirm details on the official pages before you apply.