University of Cambridge

Cambridge

Cambridge 2016 Postgraduate Entry

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Oh, cool. Is your MPhil going to have a German component to it, do you think? I studied philosophy and political science at NYU.

Actually, no. :P My thesis deals with the U.K. I'm trying to widen my geographic focus in grad school (although Germany will always have a special place in my heart... haha).

Did you apply for the Cambridge Trust?

University of Cambridge

Cambridge

Reply 941

Impune

Original post by richarsl

Oh, nice. Do you have an idea of what modules you'd like to take yet? I'm thinking International Relations Theory, International Security, and International Organization.

I applied for basically everything. Haha. But yes, the Trust was amongst them. Haven't heard anything yet, but I think that's normal -- I don't even think the funding application deadline has passed yet.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 942

Josb

Original post by Impune

I didn't. I looked up potential supervisors, briefly reviewed their work/overarching themes of their research, and then listed the one's I wanted to work with most in my research proposal. I'm doing an MPhil program, however; I think it's much more common for PhD candidates to get supervisor support before filling out their application.

It depends on the department. For a PhD in History, they advise it.

Original post by SiaSiaSia

I thought so?! But then It seemed to say on the form they were still waiting for my documents?! I found a form where you cross a box saying "I'm an English native", so I did that, PDFed it and added it to my supporting documents, but obviously now it's two months after I submitted everything else. So, automatic rejection here I come...

Your application will be examined after the January deadline. They are waiting for all the applications to arrive before making a decision, probably because they rank their applicants and want to see the big picture.

Don't worry about your English test (if you are from the USA, UK, Aus, NZ, Can, Ireland).

Original post by SiaSiaSia

Did everyone contact a supervisor before they applied?! I literally just put 50 quid in, spent a few weeks on/off working on my application, and asked my references to fill it in as soon as possible. I am way out of touch with this uni process, I think :frown:

Masters or PhD?

Reply 943

sj27

Original post by SiaSiaSia

Well I just realised I didn't submit my language proficiency test... So that's probably why I haven't heard anything even though I'm an English native. And I should have submitted it in November. For ****'s sake. :frown:

Original post by SiaSiaSia

Even if you were a non-native speaker it would not be an automatic rejection. Stuff like English language tests, if required and not completed by the time of application, would become a condition of an offer. I know this because that's what happened to me (after which I told them I was a native English speaker and they then removed it). Just be patient: while there are some people here who seem to have moved very swiftly through the process, average wait time for Cambridge is 3 months.

Reply 944

BSDladla

Original post by sj27

I'm really hoping you get funding. With the rand having crashed the way it has I fear there will be even fewer SA students making their way to Cambridge :frown:

....The cost of my masters at Cam has literally doubled in rand terms (increase in fees + rand fall) in 3 years.

It is a difficult period. We reached 17.50 against a dollar. I was hoping to use some of my savings to support my family and now I am 25% short

Reply 945

biologynerd95

Original post by tj23

If it's of help for anyone, my timeline was (but your timeline will probably be different)

Application submitted: 21/11/15
Under consideration by department: 23/11/15
Application with Degree Committee: 09/12/15
Awaiting consideration by BoGS: 10/12/15
Under consideration by BoGS: 14/12/15
Conditional Offer Made: 17/12/15
College Offer: 18/12/15

I applied for a PhD in Physics.
Now waiting for funding...

Well done on the offer! I have a few questions about the way funding works? I've seen a few people say they have offers but need to wait for funding, where does the funding come from and how long will you be waiting to find out? How does funding work in physics and is it competitive?
Did you have an interview or did it just go straight to BoGS?
Also what grades did you get at uni?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 946

username2228735

Original post by biologynerd95

There are a number of sources of funding:
- You have the ones you apply for during your application;
- Ones you can apply to externally;
- College funding.

(I've probably missed a few options but someone with more knowledge will be able to help).

Reply 947

dani284

Original post by 05autyt

Now I've had my interview I am back to checking camsis every 10 mins or so! Help me!

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How did go your interview? Duration and sort of questions?

Reply 948

biologynerd95

Original post by Aceadria

It's just that PhDs usually come with funding already attached or funded by a research council and there are more projects than funding. I'm wondering if that is the case here or are the physics PhDs funded by the Cambridge trust/Colleges?

Reply 949

05autyt

Just got my official offer through :biggrin:

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Reply 950

BSDladla

Original post by 05autyt

Just got my official offer through :biggrin:

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congratulations. :smile:

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 951

05autyt

Original post by BSDladla

congratulations. :smile:

Thank youuuuu! So happy!

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Reply 952

omoz

Original post by 05autyt

Now I've had my interview I am back to checking camsis every 10 mins or so! Help me!

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Just had my interview, and the tension has spiked up for me

Reply 953

econuggets

Been under consideration by the degree committee for almost 3 months now 🙁 anyone heard anything from the Economics department?

Reply 954

tj23

Original post by biologynerd95

Are you interested in a PhD in Physics (your username seems to suggest some slightly different area :wink:

)? For the Department of Physics the funding depends a bit on what you want to do. There are of course positions with attached funding from research councils (usually advertised on the website of the potential supervisor or as a job on the cam website. Often they are only open to UK applicants and maybe EU applicants, and rarely to internationals. Plus you are bound to a specific project and can only choose up to a certain extent what you're going to do (a lot of people are happy with it).

Another avenue are of course industry funded PhDs but then again you're limited in your project choice. In Dep of Physics groups like TCM, HEP or LSC have a lot of industry connections, some of these groups are actually able to fund PhD students on their own (i.e. not bound to a company or whatever) but that is actually rare.If you want to propose your own project or work in a group which does not have that much money (or are an international) funding opportunities as mentioned by Aceadria are open to you. You can narrow it down to the relevant scholarships with a search on camfund.

There are some specific to physics. Besides that, the department also has some scholarships which do not consider you automatically but are also not listed on camfund, so it's worth checking the website whether they apply to you. Furthermore, there are three CDTs relevant for the Dep of Physics, which also offer funding for home and EU students.

Re competitiveness: last year 160 applicants were made an offer for a research degree (includes a few MPhils afaik) of which 89 were confirmed. The Winton scholarship (one of departmental funding avenues) offers 10 scholarships this year so you can see yourself how competitive it is.

That's all I can think of at the moment...

Original post by biologynerd95

Did you have an interview or did it just go straight to BoGS?

I did an MPhil at the Dep of Physics last year. My prospective supervisor was my internal examiner and we also discussed the project before I left, so not much need for a formal interview.

Usually applicants for the PhD in Physics (and often the MPhils as well) have interviews but the way it's organised depends on the specific research group your applying to.

Reply 955

neverbegin

Original post by econuggets

Been under consideration by the degree committee for almost 3 months now 🙁 anyone heard anything from the Economics department?

Same!!! I applied in Oct for finance and economics, but still have not heard from them. Wonder if that's usual :frown:

Reply 956

GregJR

Hey. Im a long time stalker of this page! haha. Just wondering if anyones applied for pure maths MAST?

Reply 957

econuggets

Original post by neverbegin

Same!!! I applied in Oct for finance and economics, but still have not heard from them. Wonder if that's usual :frown:

I have a friend who applied in early November anf got an offer in December! She's probably in the top 1% of our cohort at uni though

Reply 958

sj27

Original post by neverbegin

Same!!! I applied in Oct for finance and economics, but still have not heard from them. Wonder if that's usual :frown:

Original post by econuggets

I have a friend who applied in early November anf got an offer in December! She's probably in the top 1% of our cohort at uni though

This is exactly usual for eco. Top students get early offers and most people wait till they have most of the applications in.

Reply 959

hugsy

Original post by econuggets

Been under consideration by the degree committee for almost 3 months now 🙁 anyone heard anything from the Economics department?

I am at the same stage and have been for months now. The only correspondence I have received from Cam was an e-mail letting me know that my app was on hold so I assume I will be waiting for a while longer. My feeling is that they give out a majority of the offers in March/April