Cambridge International Scholarship Scheme (CISS)

The University of Cambridge will offer, via the Cambridge Trusts, approximately 80 Cambridge International Scholarships to Overseas Students who embark on a research course in the next academical year. The awards will be made on a competitive basis to those applicants considered by their departments to be the most outstanding.

Value of the Award

Each award will underwrite the full cost of fees and maintenance for the duration of the course.

Duration of the Award

The award has a maximum duration of three years and is available to all students who will be registered for a three year research programme, leading to the PhD (including CPGS), that starts in the next academical year.

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a Cambridge International Scholarship students must:

1. be liable to pay the Overseas University Composition Fee (i.e. be assessed as 'Overseas' for Fee Status purposes).
2. be engaged in a three year research programme leading to the PhD (i.e. will be registered as PhD, "Probationary PhD" or "CPGS") starting in the next academical year.
3. be engaged in full-time study.
4. have a high upper-second-class undergraduate honours degree from a UK Higher Education Institution, or an equivalent from an Overseas Institution.

Please note: all students applying for a course of one year duration or less (including LLM, MSt, MBA, MED, Part III Mathematics, MPhil) in the next academical year are not eligible for a CISS award in the next academical year.

Application Process

1. In order to be eligible for a CISS award commencing in the next academical year, you must have applied for admission/continuation as a graduate student to the University of Cambridge either online (admission students only) or via the Graduate Admission and Scholarship Application Form (GRADSAF) by 4 December 2012.
   
   It is important that you send in your supporting documentation as soon as possible after you have applied for admission online, because your application will not be looked at until this is received. The closing date for this funding is firm - no late applications can be considered.
   
2. Every eligible applicant for a three year research course leading to the PhD in the next academical year will be considered to have applied for a Cambridge International Scholarship provided their completed application for admission is received by the deadline above.
3. Applicants are expected to also seek funding from other sources.
4. The application must be fully complete, i.e. including academic references and a research statement. The CISS committee will only consider academic achievement and research potential. It is therefore critical that academic references and a research statement are included.
5. Candidates should note that, given the volume of applications, applications which arrive after the deadline will not be entered for the Cambridge International Scholarships competition, nor will we provide feedback on the outcome of this competition at any stage.
6. In January the Student Registry will submit a list of all eligible candidates to the relevant departments/faculties.

The competition proceeds in a number of stages:

1. Ranking
   In January and February, the departments and faculties will consider your application against all others and draw up a ranked list of their top applicants.
2. Nomination
   Departments/faculties will nominate the very best candidates from their ranked list and submit this, together with a departmental/faculty statement of support, to the Student Registry.
3. Offer of Admission
   Departments/faculties will make a recommendation for an offer of admission to the Student Registry for their nominated applicants.
4. Selection of top nominated candidates for CISS awards
   In March, all the nominated candidates with a conditional offer of admission will be considered by a selection committee comprising academic members of the Student Registry. The committee will draw up a list of candidates who will be made an offer of a CISS award immediately. A reserve list of candidates will also be drawn up who may receive a CISS award should any become available. These candidates will receive a confirmatory email. Several hundred partially funded awards will also be made by the Cambridge Trusts to candidates unsuccessful in obtaining a full cost CISS award.

If candidates have not received an email by the end of April, they should assume that their application for a CISS award has not been successful.
It is a condition that successful candidates must meet all their outstanding conditions for admission to the University in order to receive CISS funding.

More information: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/students/studentregistry/fees/funding/ciss/index.html