University of Cambridge postgraduate applicants for 2026 entry
Welcome to everyone, and best of luck with your applications! Prospective course:
Achieved (or expected) grade:
Nationality:
Current (or last) university:
Current (or last) course:
College preferences:
Other universities you’re applying to:
Disclaimer: Please note, unless stated otherwise, posters on this thread do not work for University of Cambridge's admissions department, therefore do not take our opinion as being 100% accurate. If you need certainty, contact University of Cambridge directly.
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Useful threads
Original FAQs thread: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6930482
2025 (last year's thread): https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7526891
2024 thread: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7397538
2023 thread: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7235098
2022 thread: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7053422
FOI request post:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7235098&page=299#post98231488
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Reply 1
Finally! Been waiting for a long time for this thread and my application window. Previously applied 2 years ago for a master's program at Cambridge and got in, but didn't get funding. Am back and applying for a PhD so let's get it!
Prospective course: Social Anthropology, Sociology (both PhD programs)
Achieved (or expected) grade: 4.9/5
Nationality: Singaporean
Current (or last) university: National University of Singapore
Current (or last) course: Sociology
College preferences: Hughes Hall, Wolfson College
Other universities you’re applying to: Edinburgh, UCL, LSE, University of Amsterdam, Johns Hopkins, UPenn, UCLA, Duke (all Anthropology)
Prospective course: Social Anthropology, Sociology (both PhD programs)
Achieved (or expected) grade: 4.9/5
Nationality: Singaporean
Current (or last) university: National University of Singapore
Current (or last) course: Sociology
College preferences: Hughes Hall, Wolfson College
Other universities you’re applying to: Edinburgh, UCL, LSE, University of Amsterdam, Johns Hopkins, UPenn, UCLA, Duke (all Anthropology)
Reply 2
Thanks for making this thread!
Prospective course: MPhil in Public Policy
Achieved (or expected) grade: 3.78/4.0
Nationality: US/UK
Current (or last) university: Brandeis University
Current (or last) course: Health Policy
College preferences: Fitz, Newnham
Other universities you’re applying to: McGill, University of Edinburgh, maybe others
Prospective course: MPhil in Public Policy
Achieved (or expected) grade: 3.78/4.0
Nationality: US/UK
Current (or last) university: Brandeis University
Current (or last) course: Health Policy
College preferences: Fitz, Newnham
Other universities you’re applying to: McGill, University of Edinburgh, maybe others
Reply 3
Prospective course: PhD in History
Achieved or Expected Grade: High pass
Nationality: Home/English
Current (or last) university: Cambridge
Current (or last) course: History MPhil
College preferences: Jesus & Corpus Christi (though thinking I might change either to Churchill for access to the archives)
Other universities you’re applying to: also applying for non-PhD courses & waiting for AHRC studentships to be advertised in 2026.
If any historians want to chat, please message me! I don't know anyone applying for this year's entry - most of my friends have either joined the workforce or already started their PhDs - and it would be great to speak to others also trying to navigate this!
Achieved or Expected Grade: High pass
Nationality: Home/English
Current (or last) university: Cambridge
Current (or last) course: History MPhil
College preferences: Jesus & Corpus Christi (though thinking I might change either to Churchill for access to the archives)
Other universities you’re applying to: also applying for non-PhD courses & waiting for AHRC studentships to be advertised in 2026.
If any historians want to chat, please message me! I don't know anyone applying for this year's entry - most of my friends have either joined the workforce or already started their PhDs - and it would be great to speak to others also trying to navigate this!
Reply 4
Prospective course: MPhil in Global Risk and Resilience
Achieved (or expected) grade: Upper 2:1
Nationality: Philippines/USA
Current (or last) university: New York University
Current (or last) course: History
College preferences: N/A
Other universities you’re applying to: Oxford MSc Migration Studies, Yale PhD Anthropology, and others.
Please let me know if you want to connect!
Achieved (or expected) grade: Upper 2:1
Nationality: Philippines/USA
Current (or last) university: New York University
Current (or last) course: History
College preferences: N/A
Other universities you’re applying to: Oxford MSc Migration Studies, Yale PhD Anthropology, and others.
Please let me know if you want to connect!
Reply 5
Original post
by thursdaygirlxProspective course: MPhil in Global Risk and Resilience
Achieved (or expected) grade: Upper 2:1
Nationality: Philippines/USA
Current (or last) university: New York University
Current (or last) course: History
College preferences: N/A
Other universities you’re applying to: Oxford MSc Migration Studies, Yale PhD Anthropology, and others.
Please let me know if you want to connect!
Achieved (or expected) grade: Upper 2:1
Nationality: Philippines/USA
Current (or last) university: New York University
Current (or last) course: History
College preferences: N/A
Other universities you’re applying to: Oxford MSc Migration Studies, Yale PhD Anthropology, and others.
Please let me know if you want to connect!
hey would love to connect, especially with otehr anthropologists!
Reply 6
Original post
by theharrisbenjihey would love to connect, especially with otehr anthropologists!
That's great to hear! Are you in bio or sociocultural anthro?
Reply 7
Original post
by pinkberries44Prospective course: PhD in History
Achieved or Expected Grade: High pass
Nationality: Home/English
Current (or last) university: Cambridge
Current (or last) course: History MPhil
College preferences: Jesus & Corpus Christi (though thinking I might change either to Churchill for access to the archives)
Other universities you’re applying to: also applying for non-PhD courses & waiting for AHRC studentships to be advertised in 2026.
If any historians want to chat, please message me! I don't know anyone applying for this year's entry - most of my friends have either joined the workforce or already started their PhDs - and it would be great to speak to others also trying to navigate this!
Achieved or Expected Grade: High pass
Nationality: Home/English
Current (or last) university: Cambridge
Current (or last) course: History MPhil
College preferences: Jesus & Corpus Christi (though thinking I might change either to Churchill for access to the archives)
Other universities you’re applying to: also applying for non-PhD courses & waiting for AHRC studentships to be advertised in 2026.
If any historians want to chat, please message me! I don't know anyone applying for this year's entry - most of my friends have either joined the workforce or already started their PhDs - and it would be great to speak to others also trying to navigate this!
I may not have understood correctly, but you can easily access the Churchill Archive without being a College member.
Reply 8
*Cambridge LLM tuition support*
I have recently graduated with my LLM from Cambridge with a full tuition scholarship. I also held offers from 2 US schools in the global top ten. I tutor applicants by conducting personal statement and CV reviews- feel free to message if you are interested!
I have recently graduated with my LLM from Cambridge with a full tuition scholarship. I also held offers from 2 US schools in the global top ten. I tutor applicants by conducting personal statement and CV reviews- feel free to message if you are interested!
(edited 4 weeks ago)
Reply 9
Original post
by threeportdriftI may not have understood correctly, but you can easily access the Churchill Archive without being a College member.
Yes, you can! I've been there during the MPhil, but it's far enough from my original college that it didn't feel all that accessible (not that I'm saying Churchill is far out, I am just lazy and didn't ride a bike)...so I'm thinking about putting it down as a choice for proximity. From what I can tell they have accommodation for three years (like Jesus) so it would be really convenient. Just trying to work out how often I'll actually have/want to be there.
Reply 10
Hi! I’m thinking about applying for the PhD in Gender studies at Cambridge. The website says you don’t need to approach a potential supervisor as such (unlike a lot of uk universities I’ve looked at). Just curious more generally how other people interested in humanities/social science have been approaching any guidance like that whether they are approaching people? I’m just thinking about whether I’d be more likely to annoy academics basically or whether it’d be helpful lol
Reply 11
Original post
by thursdaygirlxProspective course: MPhil in Global Risk and Resilience
Achieved (or expected) grade: Upper 2:1
Nationality: Philippines/USA
Current (or last) university: New York University
Current (or last) course: History
College preferences: N/A
Other universities you’re applying to: Oxford MSc Migration Studies, Yale PhD Anthropology, and others.
Please let me know if you want to connect!
Achieved (or expected) grade: Upper 2:1
Nationality: Philippines/USA
Current (or last) university: New York University
Current (or last) course: History
College preferences: N/A
Other universities you’re applying to: Oxford MSc Migration Studies, Yale PhD Anthropology, and others.
Please let me know if you want to connect!
I submitted my application on Oct 11, and I am now under review. Is that normally how quick they move? This is a newly established program BTW.
Reply 12
Original post
by thursdaygirlxI submitted my application on Oct 11, and I am now under review. Is that normally how quick they move? This is a newly established program BTW.
I think it depends? Some programs review applications on a rolling basis. Some gather the applications and review in batches.
Reply 13
Original post
by thursdaygirlxI submitted my application on Oct 11, and I am now under review. Is that normally how quick they move? This is a newly established program BTW.
Yes, that just means they've sent your application out to an academic for them to review. It bears no relation to how quickly they will come to a decision - that could be days, weeks or months. Especially with a new program, they may well be slow in making decisions as they want to get a feel for the quality of applicant pool they have attracted.
Reply 14
Hi just a quick question on Gates - I'm applying for 3 courses with the same theme, and I am really hoping that I get funding for it (with prayers). I'll probably submit 3 separate application for each course, but does anyone know if there is a chance that if funding is offered for one course, you could ask them to change it to a different course as the overall vision is going to be the same? Generally, how does Gates application work for people applying for multiple courses? Especially worried because there has been a slight challenge in terms of references, so my reference combo is probably going to be different for two of my courses.
Reply 15
Original post
by AnonymousHi just a quick question on Gates - I'm applying for 3 courses with the same theme, and I am really hoping that I get funding for it (with prayers). I'll probably submit 3 separate application for each course, but does anyone know if there is a chance that if funding is offered for one course, you could ask them to change it to a different course as the overall vision is going to be the same? Generally, how does Gates application work for people applying for multiple courses? Especially worried because there has been a slight challenge in terms of references, so my reference combo is probably going to be different for two of my courses.
First check if you can apply for 3 courses (if Gates specifically allows you to, this advice is for non-Gates applicants!). Some programs actively dislike this, seeing it as trying to game the admissions process. Conversely, some courses do encourage it. In general, make sure the Department positively doesn't mind multiple applications. If they don't say they do, they generally don't like them.
Reply 16
Prospective course: MPhil in Biological Sciences (Infection Biology and Molecular Immunology) by advanced study
Achieved (or expected) grade: Expected First
Nationality: UK
Current (or last) university: Royal Holloway
Current (or last) course: Genetics
College preferences: Clare, Wolfson, Trinity Hall, Kings (still undecided on my top two hahaha)
Other universities you’re applying to: Probably London School of Tropical Medicine, Imperial, not 100% sure on any others
Achieved (or expected) grade: Expected First
Nationality: UK
Current (or last) university: Royal Holloway
Current (or last) course: Genetics
College preferences: Clare, Wolfson, Trinity Hall, Kings (still undecided on my top two hahaha)
Other universities you’re applying to: Probably London School of Tropical Medicine, Imperial, not 100% sure on any others
Reply 17
Hey everyone, I'd really appreciate some guidance on this. I applied for a PhD in English to Cambridge, among other unis, last year and I didn't get in 
I contacted a couple of supervisors but two never got back to me and the last was helpful but didn't think they'd be a good fit. Found out on April 1st that the dept was considering me for a place but couldn't find an appropriate supervisor. I would love to go so I figured I would wait a year and reapply again.Fast-foward to this year and I've widened the net to many other universities including Oxford. I've sent over my original proposal to potential supervisors at other unis and it seems promising, but there's I've contacted a supervisor at Cambridge who didn't come across my radar last year (I think they may have been on research leave?) and they sound interested. Do I send them my original proposal with the caveat that I didn't get in last time? I do want to develop my proposal but I also want to be transparent with the stage I'm currently at. Any suggestions?
I contacted a couple of supervisors but two never got back to me and the last was helpful but didn't think they'd be a good fit. Found out on April 1st that the dept was considering me for a place but couldn't find an appropriate supervisor. I would love to go so I figured I would wait a year and reapply again.Fast-foward to this year and I've widened the net to many other universities including Oxford. I've sent over my original proposal to potential supervisors at other unis and it seems promising, but there's I've contacted a supervisor at Cambridge who didn't come across my radar last year (I think they may have been on research leave?) and they sound interested. Do I send them my original proposal with the caveat that I didn't get in last time? I do want to develop my proposal but I also want to be transparent with the stage I'm currently at. Any suggestions?Reply 18
Original post
by AnonymousHey everyone, I'd really appreciate some guidance on this. I applied for a PhD in English to Cambridge, among other unis, last year and I didn't get in I contacted a couple of supervisors but two never got back to me and the last was helpful but didn't think they'd be a good fit. Found out on April 1st that the dept was considering me for a place but couldn't find an appropriate supervisor. I would love to go so I figured I would wait a year and reapply again.Fast-foward to this year and I've widened the net to many other universities including Oxford. I've sent over my original proposal to potential supervisors at other unis and it seems promising, but there's I've contacted a supervisor at Cambridge who didn't come across my radar last year (I think they may have been on research leave?) and they sound interested. Do I send them my original proposal with the caveat that I didn't get in last time? I do want to develop my proposal but I also want to be transparent with the stage I'm currently at. Any suggestions?
I contacted a couple of supervisors but two never got back to me and the last was helpful but didn't think they'd be a good fit. Found out on April 1st that the dept was considering me for a place but couldn't find an appropriate supervisor. I would love to go so I figured I would wait a year and reapply again.Fast-foward to this year and I've widened the net to many other universities including Oxford. I've sent over my original proposal to potential supervisors at other unis and it seems promising, but there's I've contacted a supervisor at Cambridge who didn't come across my radar last year (I think they may have been on research leave?) and they sound interested. Do I send them my original proposal with the caveat that I didn't get in last time? I do want to develop my proposal but I also want to be transparent with the stage I'm currently at. Any suggestions?I suggest that you set up some time with the interested supervisors to introduce yourself, background and interests. During that meeting, you can share your proposal and offer to send the PDF after the meeting.
That way, you can add caveats during the meeting, so they wont be surprised when they receive the full proposal. It would also give you a chance to update it with their comments.
Reply 19
Hi, I'm arriving Cambridge at Lent term 2026 for PhD in Engineering. There's no induction events held for lent term by my college, but will there by induction or orientation events at university? And when should I arrive considering registration and other stuff? Before Jan 5th or 20th, one is term start date another is full term start date.
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