Postgraduate costs, funding and studentships

Understanding costs and funding options is a vital aspect of the application process for Postgraduates. All students are expected to have their finances in place before the start of their course, to ensure they can afford to study and live in Cambridge. At Caius, we hope to provide as much information and assistance as possible to make this process easier.

Expand the sections below for more information.

 

Costs

As a postgraduate student, you will have two costs to cover annually: the University Composition Fee and your Maintenance (living expenses).

The University Composition Fee

The University Composition Fee (tuition fee) covers the cost of your teaching and supervision, and access to University and College facilities supporting your studies. This will vary depending on the course you are taking, and whether you are a home or overseas student. 

The University webpage allows you to search for your proposed course and provides both the home and overseas rates. The University Composition Fee for home students is typically between £12,000 and £15,000 per annum for Masters level courses and £9,500 and £12,000 for Doctoral study. Overseas fees can be considerably more than this, with most courses costing between £31,000 and £40,000 for Masters courses and £29,000 and £38,000 for Doctoral study. 

Maintenance costs

Your maintenance costs may vary depending on lifestyle and your choice of course. As the circumstances of Postgraduates differ widely, the University has provided a maintenance calculator which can give you an idea of what your living costs per year will be.

Factors that affect your maintenance costs will include rent, food, entertainment, and any additional resources you will require for your course. The UKRI recommended minimum stipend for 2023-24 is £18,622.

Costs at Caius

Accommodation at Caius is provided to all Postgraduates, including a guaranteed three years of accommodation for PhD students. Our accommodation is reasonably-priced and high-quality.

The Establishment Charge is a contribution to the College’s costs of non-academic facilities including function rooms, sports and welfare facilities and the service and overheads needed to support them. These are available and free to use for all current Caians.

The Minimum Dining Requirement is a fixed charge which pays for a minimum of 16 dinner tickets each term. Each dinner ticket entitles you to a standard 3-course dinner at Caius. We aim to promote community and the exchange of ideas, as we strongly believe in the value of College members eating together regularly. You can find more information about the MDR and Postgraduate dining at Caius here.

 

Funding

Funding options

There are multiple sources of funding available to postgraduates. The most common sources are College Studentships, Department Awards (such as Doctoral Training Partnership awards), UKRI Studentships and Cambridge Trust or Gates Awards. 

Gonville and Caius College is committed to providing opportunities for a wide range of applicants who wish to pursue fully-funded Postgraduate research, and Caius has a number of Postgraduate studentships available to candidates applying to the College.

Shubham (Law PhD 2022) talks about the importance of funding

College Choice

The University’s Postgraduate Funding Search page details all collegiate, departmental and university studentships. It also includes studentships offered by affiliated funding bodies such as the Cambridge TrustGATES Cambridge and UKRI Research Councils.

It is important to bear in mind that there are many College studentships which give preference to those who have applied to that College as their first-choice College. All Caius studentships prioritise applicants who have entered Caius as their first-choice college. Think carefully about the studentships provided by each college and which may be best suited to your course of study. The Postgraduate Funding Search should help you find the studentships offered by colleges which you are eligible for to help aid your choice. 

How to apply

With the exception of the W.M. Tapp Studentship and Caius Engineering Trust Studentship, all remaining Caius Studentships are awarded in partnership with the Cambridge Trust and the UK Research Councils. As such no separate application is required. Applicants will be considered for all departmental, collegiate and University awards for which they are eligible automatically if they have selected that they wish to be considered for funding on their University postgraduate admissions application form.

Please check and apply by the funding deadline specific to your course. There are two general course deadlines of 5 December 2023 and 5 January 2024. In some cases, such as for the Research Council Doctoral Training Programmes, a separate application is required and therefore please go to the relevant website. For further information on how to apply for funding Postgraduate research in Cambridge, see here.

Priority will be given to those candidates who choose Caius as their first-choice college. The availability of Postgraduate Studentships changes from year to year and not all studentships are awarded every year. Full details of the studentships available each year is available on the University’s Funding Management Portal.

 

Studentships

Master’s Studentships

J.R. Bellerby Studentship in Economics

One J.R. Bellerby Award is intended to support an outstanding student pursuing a Master’s degree in Economics.

This Studentship covers full University fees at the home rate and a maintenance stipend at the UKRI recommended rate.

Richard Darlington Studentship

One Darlington Studentship is intended to support a gifted student from a Somaliland university to undertake a Master’s degree at Cambridge. Undergraduate candidates may be considered. 

This Studentship covers full University fees and provides a maintenance stipend at the UKRI recommended rate. 

Bauer Studentship

One Bauer Studentship is intended to support an outstanding postgraduate student in any subject pursuing a Master’s degree.  

This Studentship covers full University fees at the home rate and a maintenance stipend at the UKRI recommended rate.

Tammy Chen Studentship

The Tammy Chen Studentship is intended to support postgraduate students studying Humanities subjects at Caius. 

This Studentship provides £6,000 worth of top-up funding, normally in conjunction with the Cambridge Trust.

Rita Cavonius Studentship

One Rita Cavonius Studentship is intended to support a Master’s student in Plant Sciences who has recently graduated from Caius.

This Studentship is intended to cover full University fees and a maintenance stipend at the UKRI recommended rate in conjunction with the Cambridge Trust. If partnership is not possible, a grant of up to £15,000 may be awarded as a contribution towards costs.

 

PhD Studentships

Stanley Elmore Studentship in Biomedical Sciences

One Stanley Elmore Studentship is intended to support an outstanding student pursuing a PhD in the Biomedical Sciences. 

This Studentship is intended to cover full University fees and a maintenance stipend at the UKRI recommended rate. 

Goodhart Fund 

The Goodhart Fund is intended to top-up funding received by a student undertaking a PhD where research is focused on forestry or birds. 

Caius Engineering Trust Studentships

One Caius Engineering Trust Studentship is intended to support an outstanding candidate wishing to pursue doctoral research in Engineering.

This Studentship covers full University fees and a maintenance stipend at the UKRI recommended rate. There is an additional stipend of £1,800 per annum for three and a half years, and research expenses up to a maximum of £1,500 per annum for three years. 

 

Master’s and PhD Studentships

W.M. Tapp Studentships 

W.M. Tapp Studentships are awarded annually for LLM and PhD courses in Law. Applications should be made via the application form on the Tapp webpage and emailed to pg.admissions@cai.cam.ac.uk.

These Studentships tend to cover full University fees and a maintenance stipend at the UKRI recommended rate. 

 

Not available for 2024-25 entry

Phyllis Barclay-Smith Studentships 

Intended to support students from Malawi but, failing this, the College will use the studentship to fund an international student in any PhD subject.

Shuttleworth Studentships 

Awarded to candidates for admission to a PhD course, in Zoology, Physiology, or any other subject funded by the BBSRC Doctoral Training Programme. The Shuttleworth Studentship is tenable for up to three years; it normally covers University fees and also includes a maintenance allowance.

R.O. Whyte Studentship in the Ecology of Monsoonal and Equatorial Asia is offered to a PhD student and is tenable for three years. 

 

External Funding

There are also external funding opportunities for postgraduate study. Some useful resources include:

British Council – Study UK – provides useful information on country specific funding and funding opportunities for international students.

UK Government Postgraduate Masters & Doctoral Loans - The UK Government provides Postgraduate Loans for Masters & PhD students through a scheme administered by Student Finance England. These typically do not cover the cost of full fees and maintenance but are a contribution to your costs.

For further information about external funding, scholarships and loans, please see the University’s website.

 

Additional financial support

In a video first made to thank donors, Alice (Geography 2022) talks about the importance of financial support at Caius and Cambridge.

Academic & Travel Grant

All Postgraduate students at Caius can apply for support for travel and expenses related to their research on a case-by-case basis over their time at Caius. There are also language learning grants, co-curricular grants, including for music tuition, and small academic grants to which Postgraduate students can also apply.

Bell-Wade Bursary

Through the generosity of two alumni of the College, the Bell-Wade Bursary Fund has been established to assist students with the costs of pursuing excellence in sport as well as academic study.

Instrumental Awards

The College offers two types of Instrumental Award: a University Instrumental Award and a College Instrumental Award. Thus instrumentalists may either apply for the University scheme, which brings the benefit of first-rate coaching for chamber music, or for a College award, which involves a greater commitment to music-making within the College. Not all instruments are included in the University scheme, but the College awards are open to all kinds of instruments. Details of the College awards are posted at the beginning of each academic year, and auditions are held at the beginning of November. The College also awards sums of money to individuals to help with specific tuition needs. Further details may be obtained from the Precentor.

Music Awards

The Holland Fund exists to provide grants to students reading Music who are in financial need. The Grabowski Bursary provides money for instrumental and other musical tuition, with preference to those reading Music.

Choral Awards

The Choir of Gonville & Caius is one of the UK’s leading collegiate choirs, with a world-wide reputation based on its extensive touring, its exciting programme of concerts and broadcasts, and highly acclaimed CD recordings.

Postgraduate members of the choir are entitled to three free meals in College a week and singing lessons worth up to £800. All choir members get free tours as well as CD recording and BBC Radio broadcast opportunities.

The Director of Music, Matthew Martin, encourages anyone interested joining the choir to apply by emailing Claire Wheeler (choir@cam.ac.uk) or him directly (precentor@cai.cam.ac.uk). Please detail any relevant choral or singing experience (though this is not essential) and your reasons for wanting to join the choir.