| Gates Cambridge Scholarship | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | Post-graduate study at theUniversity of Cambridge |
| Sponsored by | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Location | Cambridge, England |
| Established | 2000 |
| Website | gatescambridge.org |
TheGates Cambridge Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at theUniversity of Cambridge. The scholarship is extremely competitive with around 1.2% of applicants receiving an award in recent years.[1]
TheBill and Melinda Gates Foundation established the Gates Cambridge Scholarships in 2000 with a $210 million donation to support outstanding graduate students' study at theUniversity of Cambridge.[2] The gift is the largest single donation to aBritish university.[3][4] The Gates Cambridge Trust's endowment is valued at £333.9 million as of 2023.[5]
The scholarship covers the cost of a postgraduate degree at the University of Cambridge and includes funding for academic and professional development. As of 2023,[update] 2,156 students from more than 112 countries have received the scholarship and more than 200 Gates Cambridge Scholars are studying at any time.[6]
Applicants from any country other than the United Kingdom are eligible to apply for the Gates Cambridge Scholarships. Candidates must apply to pursue one of the following full-time residential degrees at the University of Cambridge:
Applicants concurrently apply to a course, college and department and the offer of a Gates Cambridge Scholarship is conditional on the student gaining full placement in each.
The Gates Cambridge Trustees use four criteria to choose Scholars:
Generally, each class of Gates Cambridge Scholars is composed of2⁄3 PhD and1⁄3 one-year Scholars. The Gates Cambridge Trust uses a three-stage selection process to select its Scholars. The application process begins with prospective students applying to study for an eligible degree at the University of Cambridge, either during the U.S. or the global round. Following the initial application, each academic department at the University of Cambridge ranks and nominates eligible applicants for the scholarship. Departmental nominees are the most academically outstanding applicants for postgraduate studies in the department. The list of departmental nominees is then forwarded to the Gates Cambridge Trust, where it is divided into broad subject areas and passed to the Shortlisting Committees. Each Committee reviews the entirety of a departmental nominee and applies the Gates Cambridge selection criteria to shortlist applicants for interview. All shortlisted candidates are interviewed to assess how they meet all Gates Cambridge criteria and Scholars-Elect are selected only after the interview.[8] For 2023 entry, 75 Scholars were selected from a pool of 6,184 applicants.[6]
The aim of the Gates Cambridge programme is to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others. Scholars and alumni are already becoming leaders in their fields and contributing to finding solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems.
In 2002, Gates Cambridge Scholars organized and elected a student committee titled The Gates Scholars' Council. The Council aims to represent the Gates Scholars at Cambridge and to build a scholar community interwoven into the fabric of the university. In cooperation with the Gates Cambridge Trust, the university and various academic and professional organizations, the Scholars' Council organizes a number of academic, social and professional events that have distinguished and built the reputation of the Gates Scholars at Cambridge University. The scholarship is particularly known for its strong academic and social community at Cambridge.[citation needed]
In 2005, the Scholars once again self-organized to create the Gates Scholars Alumni Association, which aims to build upon the friendships and contacts that were first made at Cambridge and to bridge the gap between the different generations of scholars.[9] It is an active and growing organization, with members dispersed all over the world.[citation needed]
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation reduced its investments in non-renewable energy in 2016, after recipients of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship had urged the Foundation's trustees todivest fromfossil fuels a year earlier.[10][11]
The Foundation gave Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi its 2019Global Goalkeeper Award for theSwachh Bharat Mission[12] and the "progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership."[13] More than 100 Gates Cambridge Scholars and alumni had condemned the Foundation's decision, following the Indian government's decision to withdraw the special status of the disputed territory ofJammu andKashmir.[14][15]
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