Funding Opportunities
University Funding
Information on studentships and scholarships managed by the University can be found on the Postgraduate Study Funding pages.
A range of funding opportunities is available to support your postgraduate studies at Cambridge. Students can be:
- Fully funded, where funding is given for course and living costs
- Partially funded, where funding is given for some costs and the student covers the rest of their costs independently
- Self-funded, where the student covers their study costs independently
When to look for funding
- You should look for funding opportunities at least a year before your course starts. If you're starting a course in January or April, you should look for funding even earlier. You may need to apply for funding 18 months before the start of your course.
- It can be incredibly hard to find funding after you have accepted a place or started your course, and you should not expect to find funding at that point.
- In 2024-2025 about 64% of the University's doctoral students and 14% of the Master's students were fully funded. Even though the competition for fully funded studentships is very intense, we encourage applicants to indicate on their course application form that they would like to be considered for funding opportunities.
Institute of Criminology Funding Opportunities
The Institute has a small number of funds available, details of which are outlined below.
Wakefield Scholarship
| Award Details | The value of the Wakefield Scholarship is determined by the course of study, please see values below: PhD: £20,000 towards University Composition Fees and/or maintenance MPhil: £20,000 towards University Composition Fees and/or maintenance MSt: 4 x £5,000 towards travel costs Previous scholarship recipients are not automatically considered or awarded funding for subsequent years of study. A new application will need to be submitted. The scholarship may not be available in every academic year. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. |
| Eligibility Criteria | The Wakefield Scholarship is open to any person who:
AND
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| Application deadline (for all courses) | Sunday 10 January 2027 |
| Forms |
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Manuel López-Rey Studentship
| Award Details | The Manuel López-Rey Studentship will go towards 1 year of University Composition Fees up to a maximum award of £30,000. If your University Composition Fees are less than £30,000, the value of your award will match the cost of your fees. If your University Composition Fees are being fully paid by an external body, you are not eligible to apply for this award. Previous studentship recipients are not automatically considered or awarded funding for subsequent years of study. A new application will need to be submitted. The studentship may not be available in every academic year. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. |
| Eligibility Criteria | The Manuel López-Rey Studentship is open to any person who is or is about to be registered as a graduate student at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge The Fund Managers give preference to candidates who are citizens of countries in which, in the opinion of the managers, there is a particular need for the development of the study of criminology. If your University Composition Fees are being fully paid by an external body, you are not eligible to apply for this award. |
| Application deadline | Sunday 10 January 2027 |
| Forms |
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Institute of Criminology MPhil Bursary
| Award Details | The MPhil Bursary will cover the University Composition Fee for students with home fee status. The Bursary may not be available in every academic year. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. |
| Eligibility Criteria | This award is open to any person who:
AND
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| Application deadline | Sunday 10 January 2027 |
| Forms |
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Jerry Lee Doctoral Studentships
| Criteria / Eligibility | Since 2006, the Jerry Lee Foundation has supported the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, in creating a Centre dedicated solely to the advancement of experimental criminology. It also pledged to fund a programme of doctoral studentships at the Institute of Criminology. Applicants to the Jerry Lee Doctoral Studentship will need to meet the following criteria:
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| Award Details |
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| Application Deadline |
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| Forms | Jerry Lee Doctoral Studentship - Application Form Jerry Lee Doctoral Studentship - Referee Form. [Please note that references should be sent to: graduate.administrator@crim.cam.ac.uk by the application deadline] Jerry Lee Doctoral Studentship - Employee Form. [Please note that employee form should be sent to: graduate.administrator@crim.cam.ac.uk by the application deadline] |
MSt in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management
- Most course participants apply for funding from their service or organisation. The applicant's organisation will normally be required to contribute a proportion of the funds, although some participants self-fund their studies.
- There are limited funding opportunites available from the University, due to the start date of the course.
- The Institute provides some funding opportunities.
- UK residents, and some EU residents, may be eligible to apply for UK Government funded Postgraduate Master's Loan. The GOV.UK Student Finance webpage also provides details on other funding options i.e. Postgraduate Scholarships for international students.
- Overseas students may be eligible to apply for Chevening Scholarships, funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The selection criteria and other details for these can be found on the Chevening website.
Timpson Bursary - Third Sector
(For those working in the third sector in criminal justice)
We are pleased to announce that we will again be offering a 50% fee bursary for the Masters in the Applied Criminology, Penology and Management programme in 2027 for people working in the third sector relating to criminal justice. The bursary is awarded from the benefaction of Lord James Timpson, an ardent supporter of those with lived experience of the penal system and those that work in the third sector to support them. Mr Timpson is passionate about employing ex-offenders and works closely with HMPPS to improve the lives of his employees by creating an empowering workplace culture. Prospective students for the MSt in the Applied Criminology, Penology and Management, will need to be working in the third sector in the area of criminal justice (third sector is defined as non-governmental and non-profit making organisations including charities, voluntary and community groups, cooperatives, etc.) and satisfy the application criteria for the course. | |
| Criteria / Eligibility | The Timpson Bursary is open to any person working in the third sector in criminal justice. |
| Award Details | This bursary will be awarded for the duration of the MSt course, and will cover 50% of the fees for each year (total £11,000 over two years). |
| Application Deadline | Sunday 29 November 2026 (for course starting in March / April 2027) |
| Form |
Please note that the application form and references should be sent to: sgc@crim.cam.ac.uk by the application deadline. |
Timpson Bursary – Lived Experience
| Criteria / Eligiblity | We are pleased to announce that we will again be offering a 50% fee bursary for the Masters in the Applied Criminology, Penology and Management programme in 2027 for prospective students with lived experience of the penal system. The Bursary is awarded from the benefaction of Lord James Timpson, an ardent supporter of those with lived experience of imprisonment and those that work in the third sector to support them. Mr Timpson is passionate about employing ex-offenders and works closely with the prison service in the UK to improve the lives of his employees by creating an empowering workplace culture. Mr Timpson is offering a bursary to prospective students with lived experience of the penal system. Prospective students for the MSt in the Applied Criminology, Penology and Management, will need to be working in the field of criminal justice and satisfy the application criteria for the course. Having a criminal conviction does not, of itself, prevent people from studying at Cambridge. However, the University has safeguarding duties towards all its students and staff and there may be occasions where these have to be placed ahead of other considerations. During the application process, in certain circumstances, you must provide full details of your criminal conviction. This enables the University to assess the risk posed to individuals and the wider University community, identifying where this risk is unacceptable or where specific actions or support are needed to mitigate the risk to an acceptable level. We encourage prospective students to apply as early as possible to allow time for any required assessments. More details of the assessment process and requirements can be found here: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/postgraduate-applicants-previous-criminal-convictions Please note that an application for the Timpson Bursary is separate to your application for entry onto the course; you must also apply for admission onto the course through the University online application form. |
| Award Details | The Timpson Bursary will be awarded for the duration of the MSt course and will cover 50% of the fees for each year (total £11,000** over two years). |
| Application deadline | Sunday 29 November 2026 (for study in 2027) |
| Form |
Please note that the application form and references should be sent to: sgc@crim.cam.ac.uk by the application deadline. |
MSt in Applied Criminology and Police Management
- Most course participants apply for funding from their service or organisation. The applicant's organisation will normally be required to contribute a proportion of the funds.
- There are limited funding opportunites available from the University, due to the start date of the course.
- The Institute provides some funding opportunities.
- Overseas students may be eligible to apply for Chevening Scholarships funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The selection criteria and other details for these can be found on their website.
- US Veteran Affairs Benefits. Anyone who may be eligible for the funding/loan should first visit the US Department of Veteran Affairs website and apply for benefits. More information can be found here. Applicants should also contact StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk , quoting 'VA Benefits' in the subject line of the e-mail if applying for VA benefits or have any questions.
- UK residents, and some EU residents, may be eligible to apply for UK Government-funded Postgraduate Master's Loan. The GOV.UK Student Finance webpage also provides details on other funding options i.e. Postgraduate Scholarships for international students