Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars Programme 2026

Who can apply

Applying for a full-time or part-time PhD at the University of Cambridge, including the integrated MRes+PhD (1+3) route
Any nationality and any academic discipline; Home and overseas applicants are both eligible
Assessed as academically excellent by the Department or Faculty you apply to
Must apply by your course's funding deadline and tick the box in the 'Funding your Study' section of the Applicant Portal
Scholars are expected to be resident in the UK for most of their studies, apart from fieldwork, internships or other long-term academic activity
Not open to anyone who has already started their Cambridge PhD, and applicants who already hold a PhD, or have held a Harding scholarship, are not normally eligible unless the Advisory Committee exercises its discretion for exceptionally groundbreaking interdisciplinary research
Scholarships cannot be held at Trinity College or St John's College; applicants who applied to either are asked to change College if offered an award

Why there is no application form to find

People searching for a “Harding scholarship application” expect a separate form. There isn’t one. The programme says candidates must tick the box in the “Funding your Study” section of the Applicant Portal when they apply for their PhD, apply by the funding deadline for their course, and be assessed as academically excellent by their Department or Faculty. In practice your Cambridge PhD application is your scholarship application. Departments judge applicants on their transcripts, references, experience and potential to succeed on the course, so a strong research proposal, a good fit with a supervisor and well-prepared referees matter more here than any scholarship essay.

The admission deadline is not the funding deadline

This is where most applicants go wrong. Many Cambridge PhD courses accept applications long after the funding competition has closed. The PhD in Pharmacology course page, for example, lists an application deadline of 13 May 2027 for Michaelmas 2027 entry, and also says there is only one funding competition round in the academic year, with a deadline of 8 December 2026. If you apply in March you can still be admitted, but you will not be considered for Harding or for most other University funding. According to the University’s funding page, the two main funding deadlines for 2027-28 entry are 8 December 2026 and 6 January 2027, and your complete application, references included, must be in by 23:59 GMT on the day. Ask your referees early.

What the money covers

The scholarship pays the University Composition Fee at whatever rate applies to you, so an international applicant has the international fee covered. It also pays a maintenance allowance for three and a half years, which was £21,360 for 2025-26. The programme has not yet published the 2027-28 rate. On top of that you get a £6,000 research allowance for the whole PhD, economy travel to Cambridge at the start and home at the end, and, for international scholars, the student visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is a large upfront cost for many applicants. If you need it you can ask for extra maintenance for the last six months of the writing-up year. Help with sickness, unforeseen circumstances, parental leave and child dependants is discretionary and subject to approval, not automatic. Scholars are also expected to live in the UK for most of their studies. Our guide to studying in the UK explains the other costs of the visa route.

Selection is about academic excellence

About 45 scholarships are awarded each year, across every subject. The programme says it aims to support “academically outstanding” PhD students “from any part of the world, and in any discipline”. Its criteria are academic: nothing on its pages mentions financial need or nationality quotas. A proportion of the awards sit at St Catharine’s College, reflecting David Harding’s earlier association with it, and the scholarships can be held at any other College except Trinity and St John’s, so an applicant who chose either of those would have to move to take one up. Selection happens in late February 2027, and the programme says it cannot advise applicants on their chances or give feedback on unsuccessful applications.

How it compares with Gates Cambridge

Both are large Cambridge awards that you reach through the same Applicant Portal: like Harding, the Gates Cambridge Scholarship has no separate form, and your department assesses you first. The differences are in who can apply and what they fund. Gates is for citizens of countries outside the UK and also funds master’s study, with a separate earlier deadline for US citizens. Harding funds PhDs only and is open to applicants of any nationality, UK applicants included. If you are applying for a Cambridge PhD, tick every funding box you are eligible for. The Cambridge Trust Postgraduate Scholarships are another route worth reading about, and our guide to how PhD funding actually works explains how the pieces fit together.

Who should not apply

You are not eligible if you have already started your Cambridge PhD, because funding cannot be requested for the remainder of a course that has begun. Applicants who already hold a PhD, or who have previously received a Harding scholarship, are not normally eligible either, unless the Advisory Committee decides to make an exception for exceptionally groundbreaking interdisciplinary research. Current Cambridge undergraduate and master’s students, including MPhil students, can apply for a PhD and be considered, as can part-time PhD applicants and those on the MRes+PhD (1+3) route.