Cambridge Trust (and other) Funding 2025 - MPhil Applicants

Hello everybody! Just making this thread as the 2025 Cambridge Trust funding season is due to start soon (March) and (somewhat selfishly) I thought it may be easier to have a dedicated place to talk about MPhil funding!

I have a conditional offer in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies - which feels a big achievement in itself! Cambridge is my main option for funding apart from the SFE loan (I'm a home student). I'm applying to a few other opportunities, but they would either still leave me with a big deficit or are just as competitive as CT. I sadly can't take up the offer without funding - so I'm playing the waiting game!

Either way, I wish you all luck! The lecturer who has been helping me out with my application seems hopeful because of my project's practicality, but we'll see what happens :smile:

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

I also got an offer and am now waiting for Mphil fundings. Do you, by any chance, know when they are normally release. I can't afford to go without fundings, but the deadline of acceptance is approaching.

Reply 2

Anonymous #3

Do you know if we need to accept the offer to be considered for funding? And do we need to be nominated by our department or is it automatically after an offer?

Reply 3

geoapplicant2021

4

Hi. Did you both receive these offers on the 18th / when did you go to ‘Decision Pending’?

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 4

binhanle.0333

3

Original post by geoapplicant2021

Hi. Did you both receive these offers on the 18th / when did you go to ‘Decision Pending’?

I went to Decision Pending somewhere around the 1st or 2nd of Feb, and got an offer on the 17th.

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Anonymous

I also got an offer and am now waiting for Mphil fundings. Do you, by any chance, know when they are normally release. I can't afford to go without fundings, but the deadline of acceptance is approaching.

Depends who you've applied for funding with! For Cambridge Trust, the main funding season is from March until the end of April, but offers can be made all the way up until July. The end of April is the deadline for accepting most offers (or it is for mine at least!) so that lines up (fairly) well!

College/External funding will vary significantly, but they'll usually have more info on their websites - most college funding I've seen has been around April/May onwards.

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Anonymous

Do you know if we need to accept the offer to be considered for funding? And do we need to be nominated by our department or is it automatically after an offer?

I haven't accepted mine! I think they allow a good amount of time to accept (i.e. end of April) because they know people will be waiting on funding, and I don't see why it would put you out of the competition. That's something you can check with your funders directly, though!

And I'm not sure - but I do know that you essentially get re-ranked in comparison to all applications made to whatever funding you're trying to get!

Reply 7

Anonymous #4

Hello guys, I've been coming about "departmental ranking" a lot in the aspects of funding... Can someone let me know what it is and how it works

Reply 8

Anonymous #5

Original post by Anonymous

Hello guys, I've been coming about "departmental ranking" a lot in the aspects of funding... Can someone let me know what it is and how it works

What does this mean? And is this for MPhil or PhD?

Reply 9

Anonymous #6

Hi just want to ask, are you guys who has received the offer all home students? My status is still’under review by department’, I think I am either being put into the waiting list, or they haven’t decided for international students…

Reply 10

Anonymous #2

I am international and I got mine last week.

Reply 11

Gina zhong

1

Original post by Anonymous

I am international and I got mine last week.

Thank you very much! Then I must be put into the waiting list lol

Reply 12

AriTahira

10

Hi! I'm a home student who has a conditional offer for the Political Thought and Intellectual History MPhil. I haven't accepted my offer as I've read on other threads that accepting might put you out of the funding race (although its basically March, so it shouldn't really matter at this point) - can anyone confirm this?

Reply 13

a.m.r.b16

7

Original post by AriTahira

Hi! I'm a home student who has a conditional offer for the Political Thought and Intellectual History MPhil. I haven't accepted my offer as I've read on other threads that accepting might put you out of the funding race (although its basically March, so it shouldn't really matter at this point) - can anyone confirm this?

I hope not! Where have you read this?

Reply 14

AriTahira

10

Original post by a.m.r.b16

I hope not! Where have you read this?

Can’t remember where (probably in one of the Cambridge postgrad threads some years back), but someone said that if you accepted it, it tells them that you should have the funds so they’ll put you down lower priority for funding. Don’t take my word on it as it just something I’ve read on a thread, and it might not even be true.

Reply 15

Anonymous #7

Original post by AriTahira

Can’t remember where (probably in one of the Cambridge postgrad threads some years back), but someone said that if you accepted it, it tells them that you should have the funds so they’ll put you down lower priority for funding. Don’t take my word on it as it just something I’ve read on a thread, and it might not even be true.

If you read the FAQ on zendesk it says "We encourage you to accept your offer and to do so as soon as you are ready, even if you are waiting for confirmation of funding (including funding from Cambridge) or are not yet able to meet the other conditions of your offer. If it later becomes necessary for you to cancel your acceptance, for example because you don't secure funding, you can withdraw your application/admission."

Reply 16

AriTahira

10

Original post by Anonymous

If you read the FAQ on zendesk it says "We encourage you to accept your offer and to do so as soon as you are ready, even if you are waiting for confirmation of funding (including funding from Cambridge) or are not yet able to meet the other conditions of your offer. If it later becomes necessary for you to cancel your acceptance, for example because you don't secure funding, you can withdraw your application/admission."

Thank you so much! That clears so much things up.

Reply 17

IVHollow

3

Hey all! International student with an acceptance to the mphil in political thought & intellectual history, and offer from St. John's. Very, very, very excited at the prospect of coming across the pond to study here but I am worried about the funding situation. Does anyone know anything about st. johns postgrad funding in particular? in general, does anyone know how the cambridge trust approaches funding decisions? I was accepted pretty early, late Jan. Thank you for any information you can provide and congrats to all who received their offers!