While the decision regarding an offer of a Ph.D. place is made on academic grounds, including an assessment of a student’s application and the availability of suitable projects/supervisors, for the majority of students the question of funding for the Ph.D. is also key.
The Institute of Astronomy will be allocated a number of STFC-funded Ph.D. Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) studentships which pay the full costs of maintenance and fees for a three and a half year Ph.D. Several STFC data-intensive science Ph.D. positions will also be available where the full costs of maintenance and fees are also covered. The data-intensive science Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) Ph.D.s are of four years duration, including a six month work placement with a company [with data science activities]. If you might be interested in such a Ph.D. position it would be helpful to indicate that on the application form. The majority of the STFC studentships are only available for students with Home-fee status.
All students with Home-fee status will be considered automatically for an STFC award. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed in late February and those offered an STFC Ph.D. studentship will have the ability to explore project and supervisor options when they arrive to begin their Ph.D. in October 2024.
It is not necessary to identify a supervisor or provide a project description in your application, however, it is helpful if applicants indicate any general area(s) of interest if known, e.g. "primarily theoretical", "observational", "extragalactic", "planet or star formation", etc. If there are particular academic researchers, expected to be offering PhD projects, with whom you might be interested in working please also include their names in the Reasons for Applying section of the University application form.
Students with Home-fee status are also eligible for a number of University scholarships which are available for applicants in all research subjects covered by the more than 100 departments in the University. The competition for these awards is intense with a ranking for awards based on 30-point scale. Applicants need to score 29 or 30 to have a realistic chance of securing a scholarship. While there are a number of options to take account of individual/special circumstances, to score maximum marks in the “Academic” section a student must be the “Best in five years” in their undergraduate course. When completing the University Application Form applicants should check the “Apply for funding” box.
The Postgraduate Admission Committee will assess applications, including the quality of their statement of interest, in January. The Committee will contact students with applications that may score 29 or 30 to see if they are interested in developing a project proposal and establish a link with a potential supervisor that would allow their nomination for University scholarships in early February.
For students considering part-time study please read carefully the relevant entry in our FAQs.
All students who are eligible will be considered for STFC studentships (as described in the Home-fee Students section above) automatically.
Students are also eligible for University, Cambridge Trust and Gates Cambridge scholarships and all stiudents who are eligible will be considered for nomination to the University, Trust and Gates Cambridge. See the instuctions in section c) below.
It is not necessary to identify a supervisor or provide a project description in your application, however, it is helpful if applicants indicate any general area(s) of interest if known, e.g. "primarily theoretical", "observational", "extragalactic", "planet or star formation", etc. If there are particular academic researchers, expected to be offering PhD projects, with whom you might be interested in working please also include their names in the Reasons for Applying section of the University application form.
For students considering part-time study please read carefully the relevant entry in our FAQs.
All students who are eligible will be considered for STFC studentships (as described in the Home-fee Students section above) automatically. However, only one or two Oversees-fee students can be allocated an STFC Ph.D. studentship.
In order to be nominated by the Institute of Astronomy for University, Cambridge Trust and Gates Cambridge Scholarships, which are the main source of funding, it is necessary for a research project and supervisor to be identified before the nomination deadline in early February.
The Postgraduate Admission Committee will assess applications, including the quality of their statement of interest, in January. The Committee will contact students with applications that may score 29 or 30 to see if they are interested in developing a project proposal and establish a link with a potential supervisor that would allow their nomination for University scholarships in early February.
When completing the University Application Form applicants should check the “Apply for funding” box and, if appropriate, “Gates Cambridge Scholarship” funding box. Note, that to apply for Gates funding applicants must also complete the “Gates Personal Statement” which will need to include significant content relating to the “leadership” and “helping others” criteria of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship. The application procedure will expect you to upload a project description (Research Proposal). Make up a PDF document including the sentence 'The research project will be developed in collaboration with a supervisor after the application deadline.' and upload the PDF when asked for the project description.
While it is not necessary to identify a supervisor or provide a project description in your application, it is helpful if applicants indicate any general area(s) of interest if known, e.g. "primarily theoretical", "observational", "extragalactic", "planet or star formation", etc. If there are particular academic researchers, expected to be offering PhD projects, with whom you might be interested in working please also include their names in Reasons for Applying section of the University application form.
Applications to funds, administered from within your own country, for study abroad are definitely worth exploring. Your own current university should have information about the range of options available. For well-qualified candidates we can supply some assistance in completing application forms that require information relating to research projects and potential supervisors.
For students considering part-time study please read carefully the relevant entry in our FAQs.