Funding for postgraduate students
Foraminifera slide from the Charles Elcock microscope slide collection, 1872–1910 (Wh.6601). Image credit: Whipple Museum.
Some options for obtaining funding are given on this page. See the Postgraduate Funding Search for details of other awards that are available.
We recommend that you apply for all funding for which you are eligible. Do not wait for the outcome of one application before submitting other applications.
Please note that the Department has no general funds to help students meet the costs of fees and maintenance.
AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Doctoral Landscape Awards are studentships for PhD study. They are open to applicants from any country, but the majority are reserved for UK students.
To apply for an AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award you must submit your PhD application by 8 December 2026 and complete the funding application section of the Applicant Portal.
Cambridge Trust
The Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust offers scholarships for MPhil and PhD study. These include Cambridge International Scholarships (for overseas PhD students), Vice-Chancellor's Awards (for PhD students from the UK and Ireland) and Cambridge Masters Studentships (for MPhil students).
To apply for Cambridge Trust funding you must complete the funding application section of the Applicant Portal. Some scholarships offered by the Cambridge Trust have their own additional application process: see the Trust's website for details.
You must submit your MPhil or PhD application by 8 December 2026 to be eligible for Cambridge Trust funding.
Churchill College History and Philosophy of Science Studentship
This award is offered for full-time PhD study in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science as a member of Churchill College. To apply, complete the funding application section of the Applicant Portal and submit your PhD application by 8 December 2026. Priority may be given to applicants who select Churchill as their first preference College.
Colleges
Some of the Colleges offer postgraduate funding. See Postgraduate Funding Search or each College's website to find out what is available and how to apply.
Gates Cambridge Scholarships
The Gates Cambridge Trust offers scholarships for MPhil and PhD study. They are open to applicants from any country other than the UK.
To apply, complete the funding application section of the Applicant Portal, which includes four questions about how you fit the Gates Cambridge criteria.
You must also have a Gates Cambridge reference, which is in addition to your two academic references. It is important to ensure that your Gates Cambridge referee is fully briefed about the scholarship and its selection criteria so they can write the most appropriate reference for you.
To be eligible for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, you must submit your MPhil or PhD application by the correct deadline:
- 14 October 2026 is the deadline for US citizens normally resident in the USA.
- 8 December 2026 is the deadline for citizens of all other countries (except the UK) and US citizens normally resident outside the USA. This includes US citizens who are current MPhil students applying to continue to the PhD.
- Gates Cambridge
Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholarships
The Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars Programme offers fully-funded scholarships for PhD study.
To apply, complete the Harding section of the Applicant Portal and submit your PhD application by 8 December 2026.
HPS Futures Studentship for Widening Participation in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine
The Department of History and Philosophy of Science will offer a fully funded studentship for a student starting the MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine in October 2026. This studentship aims to address challenges of equity and inclusion in the history and philosophy of science, medicine and technology by widening access and participation. We also encourage work deepening understanding of these issues. Home and International students are invited to apply.
We encourage applications from those of Black or mixed Black backgrounds, from low-income households, affected by war, and/or in locations where research training in disciplinary HPS is unavailable, as well as from others interested in transformative research and pedagogy in HPS.
Applicants for this studentship may choose to address topics related to equity, inclusion and widening participation and the varied ways these have been and are significant in science, medicine and technology, but the Department offers scope for research in many other fields.
Those wishing to be considered should apply in the usual way by the funding deadline, ensuring that their Statement of Purpose describes how their background and/or research plans address the aims of the studentship.
Rausing, Williamson and Lipton Awards
The Department of History and Philosophy of Science will automatically consider all applicants for postgraduate study in HPS for trust fund awards. Assessment will be based on information provided in the Applicant Portal. The number of awards made in any year will be conditional on previous commitments and income generated by the fund. Initial offers of funding will be made in March each year, and awards will continue to be allocated until the application deadline has been reached, or all the available funding has been committed.
Student loans
UK Government student loans are available for master's and doctoral students. There are also student loan schemes for students from the United States and Canada.
Trinity-Henry Barlow Scholarships
Trinity College, in association with the HS Barlow Charitable Trust, offers these awards for PhD students from developing countries. Citizens, or normal residents, of all countries in Asia, Africa and Central and South America are eligible. All subjects are considered, but there is a preference for projects focused on 'green' research, widely construed.
To apply, complete the funding application section of the Applicant Portal and submit your PhD application by 8 December 2026.
Other sources of funding
British Society for the Philosophy of Science
The British Society for the Philosophy of Science offers one PhD scholarship each year.
British Society for the History of Science
The British Society for the History of Science offers up to three bursaries each year to support students taking a master's degree.
Cambridge Philosophical Society
The Cambridge Philosophical Society awards research studentships, either to provide for the continuation of an exceptionally promising piece of research beyond the usual standard of the PhD, or to allow extra time for the completion of a PhD thesis which has been delayed by circumstances outside the applicant's control. Applicants must be fellows of the Society of at least one year's standing.
Institute of Medical Ethics
The Institute of Medical Ethics offers scholarships to support UK medical undergraduates who wish to undertake an intercalated degree – such as an MPhil – that has medical ethics as a substantial component.
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society offers a number of research grants for those undertaking postgraduate research.
PhD Completion Grants
The Degree Committee of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science will consider applications for PhD completion grants of up to £5,000 from PhD students registered in the Department. Students are eligible for this funding in their fourth year only if they have applied for all other possibilities for funding and are in urgent need of funds for subsistence. They must provide a letter of application that includes a PhD submission plan with an outline of the thesis, a description of what has been completed so far, and estimated completion date. The application should also include a letter of support from the PhD supervisor. This funding only be applied for once. If students have not already applied for it in their fourth year, they can apply in their fifth year.
Travel and research expenses for postgraduate students
PhD students can apply for £300 per year from the Peter Lipton Fund for travel to attend conferences where they are giving a paper.
They can also apply for travel or research expenses of up to £300 a year from the John Forrester and Lisa Appignanesi Travel and Research Expenses Fund to help with the cost of conducting research on their thesis.
Funding for conference attendance/research expenses and/or travel is sometimes available through Colleges, so students should check with their College before applying and confirm that they have done this when making their request.
Please send an email to the Department Administrator (administrator@hps.cam.ac.uk) in advance of any financial commitments being made to ask for permission to use the Department funds. Once you have received confirmation you can claim reimbursement by submitting an expenses claim form with receipts. All claims should be submitted to the Departmental Administrator by 31 July of each academic year.
We expect students to consider the University's guidelines for Sustainable Business Travel when planning conference and research trips.
In exceptional circumstances this funding can be extended to MPhil students, but permission must be sought from the Departmental Administrator.
Hardship
Students experiencing hardship should consult their College tutor for advice about sources of funding for which they may be eligible. In addition, the Student Registry administers the Postgraduate Financial Assistance Fund, which provides support for current postgraduate students in unforeseen financial need.
Managers of the Department's Williamson, Rausing and Lipton Trust Funds are willing to consider applications out of cycle from genuine hardship cases, as long as the applicant can demonstrate that they have approached all other available sources.