General information for new applicants
To be considered you will need to submit a formal University application. Information on how to apply is available at the University's Postgraduate Admissions pages.
The Postgraduate Admissions website includes information about living and studying at the University of Cambridge. In particular, it contains information on the Colleges and Departments and explains the conditions that must be observed for admission and subsequent work as a postgraduate student. In addition, the prospectus provides information on costs and funding. There is a funding search facility here. This is not a complete list and you should consider exploring other means of obtaining funding and apply to as many different fund sources as is applicable.
To gain admission to the University you will also need to be accepted by a College, please indicate your College preferences on the form
Applying to the Department of Physics Graduate programmes
Below are steps to help with you application process
- First please read the detailed webpages of the course you are interested in applying for. These can be found here – https://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/students/prospective-postgraduate
- If you are interested in applying for the PhD in Physics or MPhil in Physics, you will be asked to name one or more potential supervisors for your PhD. You are encouraged make contact with potential supervisors in research areas they would like to work in prior to applying. You can learn more about our research themes, research programs and potential supervisors here.
- Please check the Universities English Language requirements - https://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/english
- Submit your formal University application to the Postgraduate Admissions Office. The on-line process is detailed on the University's Postgraduate Admissions pages.
Selection Process
The selection process for all programmes is different – details will be available on each programme’s application webpage. Most programmes will conduct interviews (usually online) for shortlisted candidates. Once a decision has been made, applicants are notified of the decision via the application system.
If an offer is made, it is usually a conditional offer to begin with. Admission is not confirmed until a candidate satisfies all conditions mentioned on their formal offer by the University’s Postgraduate Admissions Office. You should not take any steps to come to Cambridge before you receive an admission letter from the Postgraduate Admissions Office stating that you have satisfied all conditions.