Funding and Scholarships for Postgraduate Study
Prospective students
- Santander Scholarships
- Simón Bolívar Scholarships
- Research Council Awards
- Gates Scholarships, Trusts and CIS/DRS Awards
- Other
- Further information
Santander Scholarships
CLAS are able to offer, with the generous sponsorship of Santander Universities and the Cambridge Overseas Trust up to three substantial scholarships for students of the MPhil in Latin American Studies. Three grants of £10,000 each are available for Overseas students (i.e., students liable to pay Overseas Fees.) These scholarships will be actively promoted towards students in the Santander Network Universities in non EU countries. They are partial awards, designed to help towards course fees and/or maintenance costs. Grants are awarded on the basis of academic merit and will be re-assigned to help other candidates in the University if the award holder gains a fully funded scholarship from elsewhere (if awarded a Santander Cambridge scholarship, a candidate must maintain all applications to other grant-giving organizations). All candidates without full funding are automatically considered so long as their application to the MPhil is received by the official deadline for applications.
Simón Bolívar Scholarships
The Centre is able to offer a small number of Simón Bolívar bursaries of up to £5,000 to help meet the costs of fees and maintenance for the MPhil in Latin American Studies. All applicants will automatically be considered for these bursaries on merit, but are also required to apply to all other available sources of funding. Both Home/EU and Overseas students will be considered. An applicant receiving full funding from a public source becomes ineligible for a Bolívar bursary, which then passes to the next eligible applicant. The Simón Bolívar Fund, from which these grants are awarded, was created with a generous donation from the Venezuelan government in 1968.
Research Council Awards
- See information on AHRC Block Grant Partnership procedure
British and EU applicants may seek funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), so long as the proposed thesis project (MPhil or PhD) relates to Cultural or Literary Studies, Film, History, or Cultural Anthropology (where the subject matter involves the study of texts). The Centre participates in the AHRC Bock Grant Partnership, and regularly has two or three award-holders per year (MPhil and PhD) in the field of Cultural Studies. To be eligible for an AHRC award under the Research Preparation Masters’ scheme, a candidate must express an interest in continuing to the PhD in their AHRC application. It is not possible to apply for an award for the Professional Preparation Masters’ scheme for the MPhil in Latin American Studies. Further information on the application procedure is available here, and you should also read the Board of Graduate Studies’ information pages on AHRC funding).
Those interested in research on topics covered by the ESRC should note that the ESRC only offers support for Masters’ + PhD, not for Masters’ Degrees alone. The MPhil in Latin American Studies is not recognized by the ESRC as part of a 1+3 package, so if you are interested in economics or social sciences and are looking specifically for ESRC funding, you should consider applying to the Economics or Sociology/Politics Departments.
Gates Scholarships, Cambridge International Studentships, Trusts, DRS Awards
Non-UK Candidates (i.e., EU or Overseas) applying for the MPhil or the PhD may apply for a Gates Scholarship, which provides full fees and maintenance for up to 100 new scholars per year across the University. The application deadlines are, however, very early, especially for candidates from the USA (as early as 15th October for entry the following October), so please check the Board of Graduate Studies deadlines and the Gates Scholarship website.
Cambridge University awards up to 40 full (UK) and fees only (EU) Domestic Research Studentships every year in an annual competition for prospective PhD students (NB, these are not available for MPhil students).You may also be eligible to apply for an Overseas Research Studentship (PhD applicants only) or for one of the many awards, such as the Cambridge International Studentships, administered by the Cambridge Trusts.
Other
Latin American students have also received funding from Erasmus Mundus, run by the European Commission. Venezuelan women students should apply to the Menca de Leoni Studentship (via Newnham College) which offers a substantial partial studentship to a Venezuelan woman wishing to read for the M.Phil. in any subject. Information is available here: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2007-08/special/06/184.html
Further information
More information on all of these sources of funding may be obtained from the Board of Graduate Studies. The Board will also advise international students and self-funding British students on the current level of fees. For international students, the information given by the British Council on funding study in the UK may also be useful.