Graduate Prospectus 2010-11

The costs you will incur

Fees and other costs are applied annually for the duration of your course. This is usually one year for an MPhil and three years for a PhD. See the relevant course entry for exact course duration.

• University Composition Fee (UCF) - this is for the teaching and supervision you will receive from your department.
• College Fee - this covers the cost to your College of providing a range of domestic and pastoral services and support.
• Living expenses (maintenance) - this is an estimate of your likely basic living expenses and personal costs, including your College accommodation bill if you live in. Figures for EU and Overseas students include a settling-in figure (currently £325). You will also need to meet all other costs - e.g. food, books, travel, personal computer equipment - from your maintenance sum, and the figure quoted should be regarded as the absolute minimum you will require.
• Dependants - If you intend to bring your family with you, you will have to provide the amount required to cover their maintenance costs separately; this is not normally provided by scholarships. Bringing one adult dependant will mean you will need to provide an additional £5,832 per year; your first child will require an additional £3,319 and subsequent children will need £1,132 each.
• Childcare - The cost of childcare in Cambridge is extremely high. Full-time nursery care for pre-school children costs up to £10,000 per child per year, and after-school clubs for children of school age cost up to £2,000 per child per year. These costs are in addition to the figures below.
• Course costs - If you undertake a course involving abnormally expensive laboratory materials, you may be expected to contribute towards the cost of your research (in addition to the University Composition and College Fees). The Admissions Office will let you know about this when it makes you an offer. Some courses may involve extra costs for special elements such as conference visits or field trips. Check the application information and website for the course that interests you to find out if you will need to make provision for this. Please note: the payment for these course costs is arranged through the Department, not the Board of Graduate Studies (BGS).

Students may find that their expenditure is greatest in the first term - fees for the entire year often have to be paid upfront and of course settling-in costs are incurred early on.

Fees are payable to your college when you arrive to begin your course.

Estimated annual costs for the academic year 2010-11

* Please note: many MPhil fees are non-standard. See the individual course details online.

The details shown are best estimates and the figures are liable to change. We recommend that applicants refer to the Board of Graduate Studies website for up to date details before applying.

• Graduate Course Costs

Part time: For the part-time PhD, MSc, MLitt, and CPGS the fee is 60% per annum of the full-time fee for both the University Composition and College Fees. For the part-time MPhil the fee is 50% per annum of the full-time fee for both University Composition and College fees. Students classified as 'Overseas' will not normally be eligible to undertake part-time research degrees. Part-time students do not have to provide a guarantee of funds to meet living expenses.

Fees for Cambridge University staff taking research courses

If you are an applicant who has, or expects to have, an employment contract with the University of Cambridge, you may be eligible for a reduced University Composition fee of one third (33%) of the Home/EU UCF rate for all students, including those who would ordinarily pay fees at the ‘Overseas’ rate. College fees are payable in full.

• How to apply for the reduced Staff University Composition Fee