The Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027 round for most international applicants closes on either 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, depending on the course, according to the scholarship’s official application timeline. The earlier US-resident round closed on 14 October 2026, so the dates below matter mainly to applicants from outside the USA. Everything in this article comes from the official pages we read; check the University of Cambridge course directory before you apply.
Contents
- The deadlines
- Who can apply
- Which courses count
- What happens after you apply
- A worked example
- What to do now
- Gates Cambridge questions
The deadlines
Round 2, for all eligible applicants other than US citizens living in the USA, opened on 11 September 2026. The deadline is either Tuesday 8 December 2026 or Wednesday 6 January 2027, depending on your course; the timeline tells applicants to check the Course Funding Deadline in the University Course Directory. The timeline says most applicants fall into this later round, which is aligned with the University’s postgraduate funding competition.
Who can apply
According to the eligibility page, you must be a citizen of any country outside the United Kingdom. US citizens who live in the USA had to apply in the October round and cannot apply later, while US citizens studying, working or living overseas at the time of application should apply in the later round. The pages we read do not describe the selection criteria or what the scholarship pays for, so check those pages on the official site.
Which courses count
Eligible courses are PhD study (full-time, with part-time PhD funding in a pilot scheme), the full-time MLitt and one-year full-time postgraduate courses, with some exceptions. Undergraduate degrees, MASt courses, part-time degrees other than the PhD and professional or non-standard degrees such as the MBA, PGCE and MD are excluded. Current Cambridge students can apply for a new postgraduate course but not for funding to finish one already started, and current Gates Cambridge Scholars can apply for a second scholarship for a new degree.
What happens after you apply
For Round 2, departmental ranking runs from December to February, outcomes are notified by 11:59pm UK time on Monday 8 March 2027, and the panel reviews cases on 22 and 23 March 2027. Scholarship offers follow by early April 2027, and candidates must accept within 72 hours of an offer.
A worked example
As an illustration, not a real case: an Indian mechanical engineer applying for a one-year MPhil should look up the course’s Course Funding Deadline first, because it decides whether the date is 8 December or 6 January, then plan documents backwards from it. A student weighing other UK options can also read our reports on the Chevening 2027/28 timeline and the Clarendon Scholarship at Oxford, and use the visa eligibility checker to prepare for the study visa that follows an offer.
What to do now
Check your course’s funding deadline in the University of Cambridge Course Directory, confirm that your course is on the eligible list, and work back from either date. Because the whole decision cycle runs to April 2027, applicants should also line up a second funding route in case the outcome is not positive; scholarship timelines at other universities differ, and we have not verified them here.
Gates Cambridge questions
When is the Gates Cambridge 2027 deadline for non-US applicants?
8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, depending on the course, per the official timeline.
When did the US-resident round close?
14 October 2026, 11:59pm UK time.
Who is eligible?
Citizens of any country outside the UK, applying to eligible Cambridge courses.
Is an MBA eligible?
No. The eligibility page lists the MBA, PGCE and MD as excluded.
When are outcomes announced for Round 2?
By 11:59pm UK time on Monday 8 March 2027.
How long do I have to accept an offer?
72 hours, according to the timeline.
Sources
- Gates Cambridge — Application timeline. https://www.gatescambridge.org/apply/timeline/
- Gates Cambridge — Eligibility. https://www.gatescambridge.org/apply/eligibility/
Image: King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
