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General funding opportunities for postgraduate study at Cambridge

You can apply to many funding opportunities through the Cambridge University Postgraduate Funding Competition. This coordinates funding from multiple sources including:

  • Cambridge Trust
  • Gates Cambridge
  • ESRC, NERC and AHRC Research Councils
  • University funding, including The Vice Chancellor's Award and The Cambridge International Scholarship Scheme
  • College partner funding for the above schemes

The University holds two main rounds of competition for postgraduate study on October and January for admittance the following academic year. Funding deadlines and further information on the Postgraduate Funding Competition is provided by the Postgraduate Admissions Office.

Please make sure you are aware of the Postgraduate Funding Competition Timeline.

Some colleges also offer postgraduate funding; current and prospective postgraduate students can use the Cambridge Funding Search tool to locate funding within the University.

  • European Funding Guide

The European Funding Guide is the largest online-platform in the EU for finding financial aid. The platform contains over 12,000 scholarships, grants and awards across the whole EU worth more than 27 billion Euros per year. Over 4,000 of these are specifically targeted at UK students.

Snowdon Trust Scholarship Opportunity (master's programme)

The scholarship offers up to £30,000 of funding for disabled students seeking to do a master's programme at a UK institution in 2022/2023. Successful students will receive up to £15,000 towards their fees and a £15,000 allowance while studying. There are up to 12 scholarships available, and students can apply for any master's course at any UK university. Applications are open for both National and International Students and usually close in early April. https://www.disabilityinnovation.com/projects/snowdon-masters-scholarships

 

Funding opportunities specific to MPhil Degrees in Archaeology at Cambridge

  • Department of Archaeology MPhil Bursary

The department offers a bursary of £15000 which may be awarded to any highly ranked candidate applying for an MPhil programme in the department, including programmes in Biological Anthropology. All applicants will be automatically considered for this award.

  • The McBurney/St Edmund's College MPhil Bursary in Geoarchaeology

This bursary is for the best qualified new UK/EU/Overseas entrant to St Edmund's College who intends to take the MPhil in Archaeological Science and specialise in any aspect of Geoarchaeology. It is jointly funded by the McBurney Laboratory  and St Edmund's College, Cambridge.

 

Funding opportunities for the Postgraduate Study of Egyptology at Cambridge

  • Thomas Mulvey Egyptology Fund

Studentships: each year candidates who are applying to undertake research in Egyptology or Egyptian Archaeology for the MPhil or PhD degree in Cambridge are eligible for consideration for a studentship. One award of £5000 for each of the two degree programmes will be available to applicants, to be held for one academic year, and which may be used to cover fees and/or maintenance costs. A successful PhD candidate may apply to extend their Mulvey funding in subsequent years (see below). A separate application is not required at the admissions stage, but only applicants who have selected ‘yes’ on the ‘apply for funding’ option on their postgraduate application form, and who have submitted it by the University’s prescribed deadline, will be considered. The Management Committee of The Mulvey Fund will assess eligible applicants and will make the appropriate recommendations for the award. The results will be communicated to successful candidates by 1 March.

Current PhD students may apply for a studentship of £5000 in their second and third years of study, but a separate application is required and must be submitted to the departmental Administrator no later than 10 January. Two letters of reference should be sent directly to the departmental Administrator by referees, to arrive no later than the closing date of 10 January. Email is acceptable.

 

Funding for the Postgraduate Study of Assyriology at Cambridge

Bursaries and small grants available specifically for the study of Assyriology at Cambridge (within the specialised degree track or within the broader MPhil in Archaeology) can be found on the Mesopotamian Funding Information page.

Studentships may be available through Doctoral Training Programmes within the University of Cambridge, funded by several of the UK Research Councils. 

For studentships offered by Cambridge Colleges, please use the University's Funding Search tool.

 

Additional Bursaries and Grants for Archaeologists

  • Anthony Wilkin Ethnology and Archaeology Fund
The Anthony Wilkin Fund is devoted to the encouragement of research in Ethnology and Archaeology. The completed online application form must be submitted no later than 31st May. Letters of reference (two for the Studentship, one for grants) should be submitted at the same time (uploaded to the application form). The value of individual awards, including both grants and the Studentship, will be decided by the Management Committee after reviewing all applications.

 

  • The Wiener - Anspach Foundation

The Wiener - Anspach Foundation awards research grants to Cambridge PhD students who wish to spend up to one year at the Université libre de Bruxelles as part of their PhD studies. These non-renewable grants are open to students from all fields. Please note they are not available for the first year of study. More information is available on the Wiener - Anspach Foundation website.

  • The Dorothy Garrod Memorial Trust Fund

The Dorothy Garrod Memorial Fund makes grants to young archaeologists intending to carry out archaeological fieldwork abroad during the Long Vacation. Applications for fieldwork within the UK are not eligible. More information about eligibility etc. can be found on the first page of the online application form.The deadline is 31st May 5PM. Applications cannot be made retrospectively. 

  • University Fieldwork Fund

All students undertaking a PhD with an element of fieldwork are eligible to apply to the Department for support with the costs of fieldwork. Students who are funded by the AHRC may be able to apply for additional fieldwork funding through this scheme.

Click here to access the application form. There are three rounds a year with deadlines on 1st November, 1st February and 1st May.

Students in Assyriology are eligible for the same funding as students in Archaeology (see above). In addition, see the Mesopotamian Funding page.

  • Evans Fund (run by the Department of Social Anthropology)

https://www.socanth.cam.ac.uk/about-us/funding/research-funding/evans-fund

A graduate of any university is eligible to apply for a Fellowship, provided that they intend to engage in research in anthropology and archaeology (broadly defined as ethnological, ethnographic or archaeological research) in relation to South East Asia. Preference will be given to applicants who intend to engage in research in relation to Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and Thailand. The research shall contribute to the furtherance of the study of anthropology and archaeology in Cambridge. It is expected that the successful candidate(s) will either be based in Cambridge, or will spend a substantial period of time during or after their period of research in Cambridge.

The tenure of a Fellowship shall be for one or two years in the first instance as the Advisory Committee shall determine; candidates applying for election for an initial period of two years will be expected to be of postdoctoral status. A Fellow shall be eligible for re-election for a year at a time subject to a maximum tenure, save in exceptional circumstances, of three years in all; re-election shall be dependent on the receipt by the Advisory Committee by a specified date of a satisfactory report on the Fellow’s diligence and progress in research during his or her tenure.

The stipend of a Fellow will be determined by the Advisory Committee at the time of the election and will not exceed £6,000 a year. The Advisory Committee reserves the right not to make an election in any one year. However the Advisory Committee may also, or alternatively, be able to award a number of grants towards the cost of research in areas covered by the remit of the Fund, as outlined above.

Please note: For the purposes of the fund South East Asia is defined as: Borneo, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. China and the Indian sub-continent are not included in this definition.