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 PhD Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) studentships which pay the full costs of maintenance and fees for a three and a half year PhD. Several STFC data-intensive science PhD 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) PhD'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 PhD 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 PhD studentship will have the ability to explore project and supervisor options when they arrive to begin their PhD in October 2025.
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. 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 December. The Committee will then contact students with strong applications 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.
For students considering part-time study please read carefully the relevant entry in our FAQs.
We have a fully funded studentship (Home/UK fee status) to work with Professor Hiranya Peiris and a highly collaborative team on a project that involves data driven approaches to cosmology using generative AI techniques. Find out more about Hiranya and her research here - Prof. Hiranya Peiris | Institute of Astronomy. This studentship will cover fees and stipend for home students at the UKRI rate. Please indicate on your application in the 'Statement of Interest' that you would like to be considered for this opportunity.
The Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe and the University of Cambridge are committed to widening participation in postgraduate students at the University of Cambridge.
Several fully funded PhD studentships are available for home (UK) students starting October 2025. This studentship will cover fees and stipend for home students at the UKRI + LCLU uplift of £2,000 per year for 4 years and research cost support will be provided.
These studentships are for students who fulfil one or more of the following criteria:
- are Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME)
- are in the first generation of their family to go to university
- who have been in care or who have been a young carer
- are from a low-income background
Please visit LCLU PhD Studentships | Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe (cam.ac.uk) for full details. If you meet the eligibility criteria and wish to be considered for one of these awards applicants should mention this in their Statement of Interest, along with the name of the supervisor and/or project they are interested in.
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. The Committee will contact students with strong applications 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.
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.