Graduate Studentships

The Governing Body of Peterhouse intends to award a number of Graduate Studentships, to be taken up in October 2025.

The Graduate Studentships will be held for the normal duration of the degree. In the competition for studentships to start in October 2025, the College will offer studentships ONLY for students undertaking doctoral degrees; students applying to do Masters degrees or other qualifications such as diplomas are ineligible to apply.

Please note that the studentship competition traditionally attracts a large number of applicants, and to be successful, applicants should be of the highest academic calibre. While we do not specify a threshold for eligibility, since academic systems and qualifications vary immensely internationally and we wish to attract candidates from around the world, applicants should generally have a first in all previous degrees (UK), a GPA of 3.75 or higher (USA), or be in the top 10% of their cohorts. If your credentials are not above the threshold specified above, you have a very small chance of being funded.

To be eligible for a Peterhouse studentship, applicants must be accepted as a doctoral student by the University of Cambridge. You must therefore submit an application for admission to the University through the University’s Board of Postgraduate Admissions Office. Note that the application for a PhD is made to the University and not to Peterhouse. You must meet whatever criteria are specified by the University and the department or faculty to which you apply. You need to make sure that the faculty to which you apply also considers you for all University studentships for which you are eligible. Useful information can be found on the University’s Graduate Funding page, at https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/funding.

You can make your application for Peterhouse Postgraduate Studentships at the same time as you are making your University application. If the University's decision is still to be made and we award you a studentship, the award will be conditional upon your being admitted to the University. In your University application you do not need to nominate Peterhouse as your preferred College, but if you are awarded and accept a Peterhouse studentship, you will have to transfer to Peterhouse as successful applicants must study here. PhD students who have already started their doctoral studies are eligible only if they are already members of Peterhouse.

The value of each studentship will depend on whether students are in receipt of other grants. If a successful applicant has no funding from other sources, then their studentship will cover University and College fees plus maintenance at the same level as the Arts and Humanities Research Council awards. This is what is meant by 'full funding'.

Successful applicants who have grants from other sources will receive some proportion of full funding. Students who already have full funding are not eligible to apply for a Peterhouse studentship.

Any further queries please contact studentenquiries@pet.cam.ac.uk.

Professors C H Lee & M Perutz Studentship in Applied Medical Biotechnology

Thanks to a generous donation, Peterhouse is now able to award a 3-year studentship to a female graduate student studying for a PhD in the field of applied medical biotechnology, with a strong preference for an international student from a resource-poor setting and/or a low-to-middle income country. The award will be of the same financial value as the main Peterhouse Studentship (ie will make up any shortfall between a student’s existing funding and the full cost of University fees and a stipend at the level offered by UK research councils).

The information and criteria listed above for the Graduate Studentships applies to this studentship as well. Any further queries please contact studentenquiries@pet.cam.ac.uk.

Hayes Allen Studentship in Medical Nutrition

Thanks to a generous donation, Peterhouse is able to award a 3-year studentship to a graduate student studying for a PhD in the field of nutrition and its connection with human health, including mental health. The award will be of the same financial value as the main Peterhouse Studentship (ie will make up any shortfall between a student’s existing funding and the full cost of University fees and a stipend at the level offered by UK research councils).

The information and criteria listed above for the Graduate Studentships applies to this studentship as well. Any further queries please contact studentenquiries@pet.cam.ac.uk.