Masters degree - Postgraduate in English in Cambridge 2025

Funding Opportunities  
Cambridge universities are considered among the most expensive educational institutions in the world, but students (postgraduates, researchers) can receive scholarships that cover part of the costs, and sometimes even the full cost of tuition and living expenses.

Access to Housing 
The University of Cambridge offers housing to students during their studies, whereas most British universities provide on-campus accommodation only for new students.

Library Resources
The University of Cambridge has an extensive library network, including 114 public libraries and the Central University Library, which holds over 8 million volumes of various books, journals, documents, and manuscripts up to 3,000 years old.

Student Activities
Entertainment activities vary by institution, but each college and university offers a wide range of student interest groups, including literary and archaeological societies, sports and gaming groups (e.g., poker clubs), music clubs, and informal social gatherings.

Career and Support Services
These are specialized departments at Cambridge that help graduates and current students find jobs and gain work experience with leading employers. The centers also aim to enhance individuals' employability skills and organize internships.

Cambridge offers many different institutions where you can pursue a master's degree. Cambridge institutions are unique in that they are interdisciplinary communities that do not specialize in a single academic discipline but instead support students through individualized learning systems.

The most popular master's programs among international students are:

• Arts,
• Humanities and Fine Arts,
• Medicine,
• Social Sciences,
• Biological Sciences,
• Engineering and Technology.

Cambridge postgraduate programs are generally offered in the following ways:

- Master's degree with in-depth research — involves studying a new discipline,
- Master's with research/theses — focused on research projects.

However, there are also some professional qualifications such as MD, EdD, MFin, MBA, MLitt, LLM, MRes, etc.

Cambridge universities provide the most favorable conditions for conducting research at the master's and doctoral levels. Each student is assigned a mentor — a personal advisor who guides the student's work throughout the program. The curriculum is primarily focused on developing research skills, but students also attend several elective courses and practical sessions, including language courses organized by their faculty, the Career Center, or the Language Center.

For master's programs, one of the most important milestones is the interim exam at the end of the first year (the examination year). The student must demonstrate through an essay that they understand the key stages of conducting research and that they can complete it within the given timeframe. The primary goal of the program is to write a dissertation, usually up to 80,000 words, followed by an oral defense (viva voce).

Types and Structure of Courses. Exams

The academic system at Cambridge universities demands a fairly intensive pace of study. Students spend an average of 42-46 hours per week on their studies, including lectures, tutorials, practical work, independent study, and assessments. One unique feature of Cambridge, along with Oxford, is the supervision system, which consists of one or two meetings per week with a tutor who is an expert in a specific field. During these meetings, students (usually two or three) present and discuss their ideas and receive feedback on their assignments. Some courses also include field research trips, language courses, and internships.

At the end of each part of the course, students take 4 to 8 written exams on the areas they have studied, and results are announced within 4-8 weeks. Each part is independent and has its own final grade, which is recorded in the academic transcript upon graduation. Additionally, internships, research projects, or a final project (dissertation) may also be assessed.

Universities in Cambridge are not only educational institutions but also powerful research centers with numerous laboratories and lecture halls. On campus, there are large libraries, botanical gardens, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Zoological Museum, the Fitzwilliam Art Gallery, the Scott Polar Research Institute, the Cambridge University of R. Scott, and many other attractions. The famous University of Cambridge also boasts magnificent architectural structures, the most notable being the King's College Chapel, which took 69 years to build.

Sports play an important role in student life at Cambridge. The universities are equipped with several sports facilities (gym, weightlifting hall, and fitness center), football, baseball, and rugby fields, basketball courts, golf courses, and tennis courts. Rowing is the most popular sport among Cambridge students, with rowing competitions often held between colleges and faculties.

Cambridge also has a Drama Society — a student union that helps address student issues — and Footlights, a comedy club.

Studying at Cambridge requires significant financial investment. The exact amount depends on several factors, including the field of study (chosen specialty) and the type of degree being pursued. The minimum tuition fee for master's programs at Cambridge starts from £13,000 per semester.

The application process for postgraduate programs consists of the following steps:

1. Choose a suitable course using the catalog.
2. Discuss potential research opportunities with the school or department (for research projects) and take an English proficiency test.
3. Prepare all necessary documents.
4. Register for application submission.
5. Decide on two priority universities from those you are applying to.
6. Submit your application and pay the registration fee by the specified deadline.
7. Receive confirmation by email that your application has been received.
8. Check the status of your application.
9. Attend an interview via phone, Skype, or in person (usually part of the program requirements).
10. Receive your CAS number and begin the process for obtaining a Tier 4 student visa.

Master's Degree at Cambridge: Application Deadlines

When applying for master's and doctoral programs at Cambridge universities, it is important to keep the following deadlines in mind:

- Deadlines for academic programs:  
  Master's — May to June;  
  Doctoral — October, January, April, June, depending on the semester you plan to start your studies.
  
- Grant application deadlines: December to January.

Applications are processed on a rolling basis, and many courses close admissions before the deadline.

A Master's degree in Cambridge can be too expensive. We recommend exploring additional funding sources offered by universities and other organizations.

Most of the scholarships and grants offered are for masters and doctoral students. One of the few opportunities available to undergraduate students is the Cambridge Foundation Scholarship, it is need-based.

Another good option is the Cambridge Gates Scholarships (funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). The Foundation awards 80 full scholarships each year, including on-campus accommodation. Approximately 25 of them are awarded to students from the United States in the first round of competition. The remaining scholarships are distributed to students from other countries. Only academically successful students who have demonstrated leadership qualities and a desire to work in academia are eligible to apply.

Cambridge International Scholarships are popular among foreigners. The Cambridge University Scholarship Fund offers 250 scholarships annually to young scholars studying at master's and doctoral level. Applicants are selected on a competitive basis without regard to financial circumstances. The selection criteria are academic qualifications, letters of recommendation and research potential. The scholarship covers all costs associated with studying at Cambridge.

For international students, the employment and immigration process can be somewhat more complicated, depending on visa requirements. Until recently, graduates had only four months to work on a student visa, but with the reinstatement of the graduate work visa in the UK in 2020, a master's degree at Cambridge has become a viable option for international students to remain in the country. For instance, a master's degree at Cambridge could be the first step for students toward obtaining citizenship in any European country.

Career services, which organize internships and job fairs, offer career consultations and workshops on related topics (resume writing, interview preparation), and provide job placement assistance.