Information for Incoming Scholars

Please make sure that you regularly check your student self-service area in the University admissions portal so that you can see the conditions (if any) that are connected with your offer of a place at Cambridge and whether you have any conditions outstanding.  The University will use this portal to alert you to any missing documents or to let you know if you need to provide additional materials.

Your place at Cambridge, and therefore your Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholarship, is only final once you have met all your offer conditions.  For further information about your offer and meeting its conditions, please read the Postgraduate Admissions Office's 'Guide to your Offer and its Conditions: Entry in 2022/23'.

Plenty of information will be made available to you from your Department and College. Most information relating to the Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholarship Programme can be found on this website. However, please feel free to ask any questions relating to your funding by emailing us on HardingScholarship@admin.cam.ac.uk and we will be happy to help.

In addition, information on all aspects of postgraduate study can be found on the Cambridge Students web pages here.

Your maintenance payments are issued by the Cambridge Trust on behalf of the HDPSP. 

Your maintenance will be paid by BACS into your UK bank account.  When you accepted your Scholarship, you were sent the Cambridge Trust’s ‘BACS payment’ form – if you haven’t done so already, please complete this form and send it with proof that your UK bank account is in your name (a bank statement with transactions covered, or a confirmation letter from your bank) to trust.finance@admin.cam.ac.uk 

If you are an international student and do not have a UK bank account at this time, you must open one when you arrive in the UK to start your studies and then send the form and bank statement/letter as soon as your account is open.  

Your maintenance is paid in four instalments each year:

* If the proposed payment date falls on a weekend, payment will be made on the previous working day.

** Your first maintenance payment cannot be made until (i) you have opened a UK bank account and sent the details to the Cambridge Trust; and (ii) we have received confirmation from your College that you have started your course.  Payment will be made as soon as possible but please note that it may be later than 30 September.

You will receive a £2,000 instalment of your personal research allowance with your first maintenance payment, to cover the academic year 2023/24.  Please be aware that the personal research allowance will not be paid to you in advance of your first maintenance payment and there will be no allowance payments in addition to the £2,000 instalment during 2023/24.

If you are studying on a 1+3 MRes+PhD course, you will receive a £1,500 instalment of your personal research allowance to cover the academic year 2023/24.

The HDPSP guidelines include a section on the personal research allowance – please ensure you read this carefully. If at any time during your Scholarship you have any questions about what the allowance may or may not be used for, please do not hesitate to get in touch at: HardingScholarship@admin.cam.ac.uk

If you need a student visa for your studies at Cambridge, the HDPSP will cover this cost (including the Immigration Health Surcharge) at the standard rate. 

Reimbursement will usually be made into your UK bank account once you have arrived in Cambridge upon receipt of a completed reimbursement form with supporting documents. 

You can check whether or not you require a visa to study in the UK on the UK government website. 

Details and advice about how to apply for a student visa can be found on the University’s International Students website.  The HDPSP is unable to provide advice on visas but the University’s International Student Office provides visa advice on a range of UK student-related immigration matters. 

You must apply for your student visa before you travel to the UK and commence your studies at Cambridge. You can only submit and pay for your visa application once you have been issued your Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS).  Please be aware that:

• Visa processing times can take longer during the peak period between July to September.
• Most students undertaking a PhD-level research degree (or a Masters course) in certain science and technology subjects require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate to support their visa application. Postgraduate students who are required to apply for ATAS will have this included as a condition of their offer and will be able to view an ATAS summary of research and the course CAH3 code, required for the ATAS application, in their applicant self-service portal.
• The HDPSP covers the cost of standard visa processing.  If you choose to use a more expensive priority premium service you will need the pay the difference in cost and provide evidence of the standard visa rate.
• The HDPSP covers the Immigration Health Surcharge to allow ‘free at the point of care’ access to the National Health Service.  Your Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholarship does not cover the cost of private healthcare.
• Full-time students with a European Healthcare Insurance Card (EHIC) issued in an EU country may apply for an Immigration Health Surcharge refund from the UK government from 1 January 2022. Students who meet the government’s refund eligibility criteria and intend to apply for a refund once applications open should not apply for reimbursement from the University.  In the event that a student obtains an Immigration Health Surcharge refund from the UK government they must inform the HDPSP as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made for any Immigration Health Surcharge reimbursement to be returned to the HDPSP.

If you are moving to Cambridge from outside the UK, the University’s International Students webpages provide pre-arrival and orientation information to help students plan their move, this includes a guide on opening a UK bank account and the International Student Guide which offers guidance on living in the UK, a useful glossary of Cambridge terminology and information about University support services.

The HDPSP will cover the cost of one economy single airfare to the UK from a Scholar’s usual country of residence. The HDPSP will also cover the cost of checking a single bag for this flight.

This can be reimbursed at the same time as any visa and IHS costs, by completing the reimbursement form.

Should a Scholar check more than one bag, book a return flight, or book a ticket for any class other than economy, the HDPSP will cover the costs up to the level of an economy single airfare with a single bag checked. Any cost in addition to this amount should be funded by the Scholar themselves.

The HDPSP will also cover the cost of internal travel to Cambridge for students travelling from elsewhere in the UK. This will include the cost of an internal flight, a train journey, van/car hire, or mileage for those travelling in a personal vehicle. Mileage will be reimbursed according to the University’s standard rate of 45p per mile, as well as 5p per passenger per mile.

We ask that you travel as sustainably as possible (e.g. train journeys are preferable to flights where this is possible). If you have any questions about this, please contact us at HardingScholarship@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Being selected for a Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholarship is an achievement to be proud of.  You are strongly encouraged to promote your success by sharing your accomplishment with your referees, your current institution's communications team/magazine editor or anyone else you think might be interested in showcasing your achievement.  This will also help to increase awareness of the HDPSP amongst prospective applicants and assist us in reaching an even wider audience.

The donor representatives are keen to stay up to date with Scholars' research activities and achievements, and we encourage you to update us on these achievements via the online form on our website, or via email. You may also occasionally hear from donor representatives, who will invite you to share this information.

All incoming Scholars are invited to complete a Scholar profile for publication on the HDPSP website at the start of Michaelmas Term.  Scholar profiles are an important feature of our website, not only do they help you to become acquainted with each other but they also showcase your innovative and diverse research to the wider world. We will ask you to complete a profile template form shortly before the start of your Scholarship but you may submit your profile before then if you prefer.

We are delighted to announce that a HDPSP Welcome Event will take place on 20th October at 11:00-13:00 at St Catharine's College.

Details are in the process of being finalised and a formal invitation with all the details will follow soon.

Last year's Welcome Event was a great success, and more can be read about the day here.