Gates Cambridge Scholarship
The Gates Cambridge Scholarships were established in October 2000 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with a $210 million donation to support outstanding graduate students from all around the world to study at the University of Cambridge. The scholarships are the University's most prestigious programme for postgraduate students and the gift remains the largest single donation to a British university in history. Each scholarship covers the full cost of a postgraduate degree in any subject at the University of Cambridge and includes a range of discretionary funding for academic and professional development.
The Gates Cambridge Scholarships are very similar in structure to Oxford University's Rhodes Scholarships, although the Gates Scholarships are awarded through a more centralized process and have a larger endowment. Their duration is also more flexible, as the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships generally only last for two years. Similar to the Rhodes Scholarship, the international Gates Scholarships are far more competitive than most American scholarships.
The first Scholars arrived at Cambridge in October 2001 and between then and 2019 more than 1,800 individuals from over 110 countries have been awarded the scholarship. There are more than 200 Gates Cambridge Scholars studying at Cambridge at any one time. Scholars have access to the Scholars Room located in University Center and contribute to many elements, activities and communities at Cambridge.
Eligibility and selection criteria
Applicants from any country other than the United Kingdom are eligible to apply for the Gates Cambridge Scholarships. Candidates must apply to pursue one of the following full-time residential degrees at the University of Cambridge:- Doctor of Philosophy
- Master of Science, Master of Letters, Master of Philosophy
- Other one-year postgraduate course
The Gates Cambridge Trustees use four criteria to choose Scholars-Elect:
- Academic excellence: Competitiveness is evaluated through academic transcripts, references, experience and the potential to succeed on the chosen course. A departmental nomination is crucial for demonstrating this criterion,
- Choice of course: The Trust seeks Scholars who will have an academically transformative experience at Cambridge. Candidates must demonstrate intellectual superiority and the necessary skills and expertise to complete the course which they have chosen,
- A commitment to improving the lives of others: A defining characteristic of Scholars is their deep devotion to improving lives of others as evident by their past, current and future commitment to the societies in which they will live and work,
- and a capacity for leadership: Candidates must show exceptional leadership elements and a pledge to ‘take others with them’ as future leaders of their fields and communities.
Goals
The aim of the Gates Cambridge programme is to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others. Scholars and alumni are already becoming leaders in their fields and contributing to finding solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems.Gates Cambridge Scholars organizations
In 2002, Gates Cambridge Scholars organized and elected a student committee titled "The Gates Scholars' Council". The Council aims to represent the Gates Scholars at Cambridge and to build a scholar community interwoven into the fabric of the university. In cooperation with the Gates Cambridge Trust, the university and various academic and professional organizations, the Scholars' Council organizes a number of academic, social and professional events that have distinguished and built the reputation of the Gates Scholars at Cambridge University. The scholarship is particularly known for its strong academic and social community at Cambridge.In 2005, the Scholars once again self-organized to create the Gates Scholars Alumni Association, which aims to build upon the friendships and contacts that were first made at Cambridge and to bridge the gap between the different generations of scholars. It is an active and growing organization, with members dispersed all over the world.
Controversies
Criticism of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
In 2015, Gates Cambridge Scholars and Alumni forwarded an open letter to the Trustees of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation urging the non-profit philanthropic organization to divest from fossil fuels. Following additional divestment calls by environmental activist groups, the Foundation significantly scaled back its investments in non-renewable energy sources in 2016.Following the controversial decision by Narendra Modi's government to withdraw the special status given to the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, more than 100 Gates Cambridge Scholars and Alumni signed an open letter condemning the Foundation's decision to award PM Modi the Global Goalkeeper Award for 2019. Despite such condemnations, the Foundation awarded the recognition to PM Modi for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "... the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership" during its third annual Goalkeepers event in New York City.
Notable scholars
| Name | University | Cambridge College | Year | Nationality | Field |
| US Naval Academy | Peterhouse | 2010 | NASA astronaut | ||
| Harvard University | King's | 2015 | historian | ||
| UCLA | King's | 2006 | neuroscientist | ||
| University of Michigan | Queens' | 2006 | classicist | ||
| Yale University | Hughes Hall | 2005 | journalist and author | ||
| UC Berkeley | Trinity | 2003 | climate scientist and science writer | ||
| Jadavpur University | St. John's | 2002 | vocalist | ||
| University of Chicago | Fitzwilliam | 2011 | ultramarathon runner and entrepreneur | ||
| University of Queensland | Christ's | 2008 | poet | ||
| University of Auckland | St Catharine's College | 2004 | entrepreneur and writer | ||
| Georgia Tech | Churchill | 2002 | toy inventor | ||
| BYU | Trinity | 2008 | writer and memoirist | ||
| Duke University | Trinity | 2003 | mathematician | ||
| Universiti Teknologi Petronas | Corpus Christi | 2009 | politician |