Benefactors' Scholarships

The Scholarship

In March the College proposes to elect a number of postgraduate students, in any discipline, to Benefactors' Scholarships tenable from the following October.

Eligibility

Eligibility
  • Members of the College engaged in study which will count towards the requirements of the PhD degree
  • Applicants to the College for admission:
    • as Postgraduate Students intending to register as candidates for the PhD degree;
    • as Postgraduate Students for the MPhil degree; and
    • to read for the Master of Advanced Study degree in Mathematics (Part III of the Mathematical Tripos) with the intention of registering thereafter as candidates for the PhD degree. 

 

Current undergraduates of St John's and those members of the College currently reading for the Certificate of Advanced Study in Mathematics or the LLM, current MPhil Students of St John's and former MPhil Students of St John's returning for a PhD are not eligible for these Scholarships, but will be considered for Internal Postgraduate Funding.

Value, tenure and application details

Value

The maximum annual value of the above Scholarships will consist of: a maintenance grant at the rate of £15,200 per annum (expected to be reviewed annually) and the following additional payments; (a) approved University Composition fee; (b) a contribution towards expenses of travel and reasonable removal expenses from the Scholar's home and (c) an annual contribution towards the cost of a return journey home.  Financial assistance may also be given towards the cost of field-work, attendance at conferences, and other essential academic expenses.

All Scholars will be awarded a Prize of £500 for their first year and, subject to satisfactory academic progress, a Prize of £400 in each subsequent year of the Scholarship. In addition to the above fully-funded Scholarships, some Benefactors’ Scholarships will be awarded which initially carry only the Prizes mentioned above; holders of such Scholarships will be placed on a reserve list for further funding.

Tenure

For the normal minimum duration of the course subject to satisfactory academic progress, ie: three years for the PhD and one year for the MPhil or MASt. For those embarking on an MPhil with the intention of continuing for the PhD, the Scholarship will initially last for one year but will be renewed for a further three years if the distinguished performance standard is achieved in the MPhil, and for those embarking on the Master of Advanced Study degree in Mathematics (Part III of the Mathematical Tripos) with the intention of registering thereafter as candidates for the PhD degree the Scholarship will initially last for one year but will be renewed for a further three years if a Distinction is obtained in the MASt.

How to apply

For students outside Cambridge there is no separate application form for these Scholarships. All eligible applicants who by 1 March have been made a conditional offer by St John’s will be considered. In view of the sometimes lengthy selection processes in departments and the resultant delays that may occur between the submission of applications and their receipt by the College, applicants are advised to apply to the University's Graduate Admissions Office (via the Applicant Portal) no later than 30 November. Please note, however, that many University funding opportunities and some courses specify an earlier deadline. 

Applicants for the above Scholarships will be required to also apply for all other research awards for which they are eligible. The value of any Scholarship awarded will be reduced appropriately to take account of payments from other sources. Election will be conditional upon admission by the University's Graduate Admissions Office.
 

Applications from current Postgraduate Students of St John's

Suitably qualified current PhD or CPGS Students of St John's are required to fill in a separate ‘Form of Application for a Research Scholarship’. Students who apply on this form will be considered for any College Scholarships for which they are eligible. The forms should be obtained electronically from the Postgraduate Administrator, Postgraduate Office, St. John's College (graduate-office@joh.cam.ac.uk) no earlier than 1 December 2020 and no later than 31 January 2021. The closing date for receipt of forms by the College is 1 March. The value of any Scholarship awarded will be reduced appropriately to take account of payments made from other sources. Please note, however, that current PhD or CPGS students of St John's who have already been awarded full funding from other funding bodies before 1 March 2021 are not eligible to enter the 2021 Competition.

Applications from Members of other Cambridge colleges

Former and current students of other Cambridge colleges are asked to contact the St John's College Postgraduate Office for further information before nominating their preference colleges on the Graduate Application Form (via the Applicant Portal) supplied by the University's Graduate Admissions Office. They may also be asked to fill in a separate 'Form of Application for a Research Scholarship' (contact details and deadlines as above).

Please note that members of other Cambridge colleges who have already been awarded full funding from other funding bodies before 1 March 2020 are not eligible to enter the 2020 Research Scholarships Competition.

Postgraduate Students of other Cambridge colleges who have commenced a PhD or CPGS prior to the academic year 2021-22 are not eligible to enter the Competition.