Funding

Postgraduate research  Finance overview  Funding  How to apply

If your application is successful, it will be a condition of your admission that you have adequate funds to cover your fees and living expenses for the duration of your course. In many cases, these will derive from a scholarship or grant, and we provide information below on potential sources of such funding. Other students are self-funding throughout their time in Cambridge, relying on personal savings or support from family.

It is essential that you think realistically about your funding before embarking on a research degree. Both full-time and part-time research is demanding and time-consuming: to try to do that work whilst subject to worries regarding your financial situation is very difficult, and under no circumstances will the University accept the need to earn money as a valid reason for failure to complete your research on time.

You must also bear in mind that the University's regulations prohibit full-time research students from undertaking any non-academic-related employment during their course, and strictly limit the amount of paid academic-related employment that research students are permitted to undertake during their course: no more than ten hours a week, and then only with the permission of their research supervisor and college tutor. Overseas applicants should note that this limit may be lower than the limit on paid employment permitted by your visa. Applicants who have funding from a grant should also be careful to ensure that they comply with any conditions from their funder regarding paid employment: for example, some permit no more than six hours of paid work per week.

Funding Opportunities for Prospective Students

There are many funding opportunities at Cambridge from a wide variety of sources including University central funds (eg. the Cambridge Trust and Gates Cambridge,) Colleges, and Faculty and Departmental funding, In addition, prospective PhD students in Law may apply for an Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP Studentship through the Open-Oxford-Cambridge Doctoral Training Partnership (OOC DTP) but must be nominated by the Faculty for an Economic and Social Research Council (ESCR) CAM-DTP Studentship.

The most comprehensive information about such funding can be found on the Postgraduate Admissions website which provides detailed information about the University-wide funding competitions to which you can apply by completing the funding section of the Application Form (via the Postgraduate Applicant Portal). You should take a look at the really useful Postgraduate Funding search tool which allows you to search for funding you are eligible for according to what course you are applying to and your fee status. You should also consult the websites of individual Colleges.

In addition to the central funding awards, the Faculty of Law is pleased to be able to offer the following awards that provide either full or partial funding. Details are provided below.

Maitland Studentship in Legal History

Not on offer for 2025-26.

Wright Rogers Law Scholarships

There will be an election to two Wright Rogers Law Scholarships in August 2025. Candidates for the Scholarships must have successfully completed a course of study qualifying them for a degree in any university or similar institution in the United Kingdom and have spent at least one year in the study of law. If elected, a Scholar will be required to carry out study or research relating to the Laws of England under the direction of the Electors. The tenure of a Scholarship will be for one year from 1 October 2025 in the first instance, but a Scholar may be eligible for re-election for a further two years. A Scholar must already be or must become a member of the University.

The annual value of each Scholarship will be at least £3,000 and will be determined by the Electors of the Wright Rogers Scholarship Fund after taking into account any other financial resources that may be available to the Scholar. Applications for a Scholarship should include a Curriculum Vitae, details of proposed course of study at Cambridge, a statement of funding secured to date towards the proposed course of study and/or details of any applications for funding that are pending. Completed applications should be sent by email to Mrs Alison Hirst, Faculty of Law (ash26@cam.ac.uk) by not later than 1 July 2025. Candidates must also arrange for two persons each to send a reference to Mrs Hirst so as to arrive by the same date.

Arnold McNair Scholarship in International Law

The Arnold McNair Scholarship Fund supports a one-year Arnold McNair Scholarship in the area of international law. The Scholarship is open to any member of the University of Cambridge who has kept at least eight terms and who is a candidate for, or has been classed in, Part II of the Law Tripos. A letter of application, together with a statement of the nature of the further study or research that the applicant proposes to undertake, a statement of funding secured to date and/or details of any applications for funding that are pending should be sent by email to Mrs Alison Hirst, Faculty of Law (ash26@cam.ac.uk) by 25 June in any year.

The present value of the scholarship is at least £5000. If the available income of the Fund is sufficient, a second Scholar may be elected.

The Bill Cornish Scholarship in Intellectual Property Law

The Bill Cornish Memorial Fund supports a one-year Bill Cornish Scholarship in the area of intellectual property law. The Scholarship is open to a PhD student who is researching an area related to intellectual property.

A letter of application, together with a statement of the nature of the research that the applicant proposes to undertake, a statement of funding secured to date and/or details of any applications for funding that are pending should be sent by email to Mrs Alison Hirst, Faculty of Law (ash26@cam.ac.uk) by 27 September in any year.

The value of the scholarship will be a minimum of £3,000.