Tuition fees

The fees postgraduates have to pay for a specific course are the same across the University. They are all explained clearly on the University's website.

Living costs

Your personal costs will of course depend on your lifestyle. As the circumstances of postgraduates differ widely, the University has provided a helpful maintenance calculator which can give you an idea of what your living costs per year will be.

Caius provides reasonably-priced, high-quality accommodation to all Postgraduates, including a guaranteed three years of accommodation for PhD students. We also offer excellent dining and social facilities within Caius - including the MCR (the Middle Common Room - the common room for graduates) in our Harvey Road building - and the wider University, so you really can keep costs down. Add to that the world-class libraries, IT facilities and support for student research and you are very unlikely to incur much additional expense in the course of your day-to-day studies.

Costs at Caius

Establishment Charge – This charge is a contribution to the college’s costs which are not related to your education (covered by your tuition fee) nor related to college living accommodation that you occupy. The charge is a contribution to cost of the non-academic facilities in the college including function rooms, sports and welfare facilities and other common parts of the college and the services and overhead needed to support them which you may use and enjoy and are free at the point of use to current Caians.

Minimum Dining Requirement (MDR) – To promote community and the exchange of ideas, we strongly believe in the value of members of the College eating together regularly, so we set a minimum number of meals (a three-course dinner in the evening in Hall) you pay for in College per term. You can find more information about the MDR and Postgraduate dining at Caius here.

Postgraduate studentships

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.

Most of these studentships are co-funded with other funding bodies including the Cambridge Trust as well as the UK Government-sponsored research institutions. To be considered for many of these co-funded studentships, you will need to indicate this on your application via the Postgraduate Applicant Portal. Please check and apply by the funding deadline specific to your course. There are two general course deadlines of 1 December 2022 and 5 January 2023. 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.

Studentships are awarded in partnership with the Cambridge Trust and the UK Research Councils, with the exception of the W.M. Tapp Studentships and the Caius Engineering Trust Studentship. As such no separate application is required. Applicants will be considered for any 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. The only studentship for which a separate application is required is the W.M. Tapp Studentship (click below for further information). 

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.

W.M.Tapp Studentships - Tapp Studentships are awarded annually for research or other postgraduate study in Law. These normally cover full fees and maintenance.

Gonville Research Studentship – Awarded to candidates for admission to a PhD course, in any subject funded by the AHRC or ESRC Doctoral Training Programmes. The Gonville Research Studentships are tenable for up to three years; these normally cover University fees and maintenance.

Caius Engineering Trust Studentship – Intended to support outstanding students who wish to pursue doctoral research in Engineering

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.

Stanley Elmore Studentship in Biomedical Sciences – Intended to support outstanding students pursuing Postgraduate Research in the Biomedical Sciences.

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

J.R. Bellerby Award in Economics – Intended to support outstanding students pursuing a Master’s degree in Economics; the studentship normally covers University fees and maintenance.

Richard Darlington Studentship – Intended to help gifted students from Somaliland pursue advanced study at Cambridge. The scholarship is primarily intended to support postgraduate students pursuing a Master’s course, but undergraduate candidates (including those wishing to pursue a second BA) may be considered. The Darlington Studentship normally covers University fees and maintenance.

Bauer Fund – Intended to support of outstanding students in any subject and to whom Postgraduate funding would not otherwise be available.

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.

Awards for postgraduates

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.  

Bell-Wade Bursary (for sport together with academic excellence)

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.

Other sources of funding

Outside of the College, there are a number of opportunities available for funding your Postgraduate studies. These include your University Department or Faculty and the Gates Trust. Students studying for Postgraduate degrees can now also take out a Postgraduate student loan - more information can be found on the government website.

Students are strongly advised to research what funding options are available to them when applying to Cambridge – the University has a very useful funding search page which you may wish to refer to.