GET READY TO APPLY: Gates Cambridge Scholarship, 2027 entry
Gates Cambridge Trust
Apply on their own site: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/how
This checklist: https://qualifyafrica.com/o/gates-cambridge-2027
Built only from what the listing states. Lines marked (our advice) are ours.
A long application, by our reading.

1. CHECK YOURSELF AGAINST WHAT THEY ASK
[ ] a national of one of the 32 African countries on Cambridge's fee waiver list, who has lived there since birth (among them Ethiopia, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia). Nationals of other countries pay the £85 application fee, so we do not show it as open to them
[ ] applying for a PhD, an MLitt or a one-year postgraduate course at Cambridge, so a first degree at the standard your course asks
[ ] the University's admission application and the Gates Cambridge part of its funding section, with a Gates Cambridge statement and a Gates Cambridge reference
[ ] Sudanese nationals: the UK government has announced a 'visa brake' on new Student visas for nationals of Sudan

2. WHAT TO GET READY
[ ] References: two (Ask your referees now and send them the listing. Give them time.)
[ ] Essay, statement or proposal (Answer the question they ask, in your own words, with real examples.)
It also names something beyond these; read their words below.
In their words: "The University of Cambridge postgraduate application with its supporting documents and two academic references, plus a Gates Cambridge statement and a Gates Cambridge reference; a research proposal for a PhD."

3. DATES
- Closes 8 December 2026, in 47 days.
- On the date, the listing says: The deadline depends on the course: Tuesday 8 December 2026 or Wednesday 6 January 2027, 11:59pm UK time, as the University Course Directory states for each course. We show the earlier date so nobody misses it.
- Ask your referees by 24 November 2026, two weeks before it closes. Others need time to write and send. (our advice)
- Aim to send it by 5 December 2026. Websites slow down near a deadline, and data runs out. (our advice)

4. WHAT IT COSTS YOU
- Fee: £85 to apply, waived for nationals of the 32 countries on its list.

A job never asks you to pay to apply. A listing that charges shows the fee above, and it is paid only to the organisation. If anyone asks for money any other way, stop, and tell us: hello@qualifyafrica.com