Applying and funding

Applying 

All applications must be made via the Applicant Portal which is available on the central Postgraduate Admissions website.

It is important that you read through the information available on the Postgraduate Admissions Office website before submitting your application. These webpages provide detail on the course structure and content, entry requirements, fee rates, information on the collegiate system, and information regarding the application process.

For admissions enquiries, please contact the MMLL Postgraduate Office (postgraduatestudies@mmll.cam.ac.uk).  If you have queries on the technicalities of applying, please contact the central Postgraduate Admissions Office.

The Faculty welcomes and encourages applications from prospective postgraduate students from underrepresented groups, and recently participated in the Close the Gap project.

Funding

For 2026/27 Entry: deadlines for applicants seeking funding

There are many funding opportunities at Cambridge from a wide variety of sources including the Cambridge Trust, Gates Cambridge, Colleges, Departments, Research Councils, and central University funds.

The Postgraduate Admissions Office publishes information about the University's central funding competitions for Postgraduate Students on their website, which includes information about how to apply, deadlines, and other useful information.

Funding is highly competitive and applicants are advised to apply for as many funding opportunities as possible.

There are three main funding deadlines to consider:

  • 15 October 2025: deadline for Gates US funding (for US citizens resident in the US)
  • 2 December 2025: deadline for all other central funding competitions for all MMLL PhD courses, as well as the MPhil in Linguistics and Language Sciences (by Advanced Study and By Thesis)
  • 7 January 2026: deadline for all other central funding competitions for the MPhil in Literature, Culture and Thought and the MPhil in Film and Screen Studies (by Advanced Study and By Thesis)

Central university competitions include the following sources:

For the university's central funding competitions, no separate application form is necessary. Applicants will need to apply for admission before the required deadline and tick the relevant boxes to be considered for funding.

We recommend that applicants prepare their supporting documentation and apply well in advance of the final deadlines, as no exceptions can be made for those who miss their deadline.  The Faculty can only consider applications with a complete set of supporting documents, and it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all documentation (including references) has been supplied.

Even if you are not seeking funding, we strongly recommend that you submit your application before 7 January 2026, as courses can fill up, and applications will no longer be accepted once programmes are full.

If places are still available on programmes beyond this deadline, self-funded applicants will continue to be considered until the final deadline of 14 May 2026 (or 26 February 2026 if you are applying for an MPhil in Linguistics and Language Sciences).

Courses may reach capacity and applications may close early, please refer to the Postgraduate Admissions Office Course Directory for advice regarding final deadlines.

Please note that funding from Cambridge is highly competitive and therefore students are also advised to do their own research on other funding sources including the Colleges. At least two thirds of our MPhil students are self funded (including those with loans).

Funding decisions are made separately to admissions decisions, and it is possible that students receive an offer of admission without an offer of funding, so it is important to apply for any funding opportunities available to you, both internal and external to Cambridge.

Faculty funding

Other funding