Krishnan-Ang Studentship At Cambridge UK: The £65,000-a-Year PhD Award Overseas STEMM Applicants Should Not Ignore

A Cambridge PhD is expensive for international students. Overseas fees, living costs in one of the UK’s priciest cities, a student visa, and the Immigration Health Surcharge can add up before a single experiment is run. That is why the Krishnan-Ang Studentship Cambridge stands out. For 2027/28, Trinity College will award one studentship to an outstanding overseas applicant starting a PhD in any STEMM discipline at the University of Cambridge. The listed annual value is £65,000, and the award runs for a fixed 3.5 years.

This is not a small top-up grant. It is designed to remove the main financial barriers that stop talented scientists, engineers, and medical researchers from taking up a place at Cambridge.

Scholarship Summary

Host Country: United Kingdom
Host University: University of Cambridge (membership of Trinity College)
Scholarship Type: PhD Scholarships
Eligible Countries: All countries whose applicants have overseas (international) fee status
Scholarship Benefits: Full overseas tuition fees, living maintenance, student visa cost, Immigration Health Surcharge, £500 annual research emolument (for three years), and a return ticket from the country of origin to the United Kingdom
Application Deadline: Same as the funding deadline for the chosen PhD course (for 2027/28 entry, the main University funding deadlines are 8 December 2026 and 6 January 2027, depending on the course)
Award value: £65,000 (annual)
Award duration: 3.5 years (fixed length)
Number of awards: 1
Results: March–April
Award year: 2027/28

Why This Studentship Attracts Serious Applicants

Cambridge is routinely ranked among the world’s leading research universities. A funded PhD there means access to laboratories, supervisors, and research culture that few institutions can match. The obstacle for most overseas applicants is cost, not ambition.

The Krishnan-Ang award attacks that obstacle directly. According to the University’s funding search, the studentship funds overseas fees and maintenance. It also covers the student visa, the Immigration Health Surcharge, a return flight, and a research emolument of £500 a year for three years. Trinity’s own funding pages describe the maintenance element as being at the UKRI rate.

One award will be made for 2027/28. That scarcity is the point. The College is looking for academic excellence, not a long personal statement about financial need. If your record, proposal, and references are strong enough to compete for a Cambridge PhD, this is one of the funds you should treat as a priority.

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Who Funds It, and Why Trinity Matters

The studentships are funded by donations from Eashwar Viswanathan Krishnan and Tzo Tze Ang. Both were Trinity undergraduates: Eashwar read Natural Sciences (matriculated 1996) and Tzo Tze read Electrical and Information Sciences (matriculated 1997). The first Krishnan-Ang awards were made in 2008. Since then the programme has supported dozens of researchers across chemistry, engineering, physics, medicine, public health, genetics, materials science, and related fields.

Taking up the studentship means becoming a member of Trinity College. That is not a formality. Trinity is one of Cambridge’s largest and best-resourced colleges. Membership brings accommodation options, pastoral support, a graduate community, and the College’s academic network. Donor-linked awards also come with an informal expectation: Trinity’s Alumni Relations and Development Office may later ask for a short account of your progress so the College can report back to the donors.

Background on the philanthropy and scholar community is available from Krishnan-Ang Philanthropy.

What the Award Actually Pays For

The official award purpose is unusually broad for a college studentship.

Overseas (international) PhD course fees
Maintenance / living stipend
Student visa cost
Student Immigration Health Surcharge
Research emolument of £500 per year for three years
Cost of a return ticket from your country of origin to the United Kingdom

The published annual value is £65,000. Duration is 3.5 years and is not listed as extendable. The grant is made on academic merit. Part-time as well as full-time PhD study is listed as an eligible mode, which is useful if your department allows a part-time route.

Readers comparing this with other Cambridge funds should also look at the Cambridge Trust, Gates Cambridge, and other Trinity awards on the Trinity funding awards page. Those schemes have different eligibility rules. Krishnan-Ang is specifically for overseas PhD applicants in STEMM who will join Trinity.

Eligibility: Who Can Apply

The official criteria are short and strict.

You must be a prospective applicant (this is not an in-course transfer award).
Level of study: PhD only.
Mode of study: full-time or part-time.
Fee status: overseas.
Subject: a PhD in any STEMM discipline — Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine.
College: Trinity College.
Departments: the listing covers a large set of Cambridge departments and schools (52 are referenced on the funding page).
Basis of selection: academic merit.

If your proposed doctorate sits clearly in the arts, humanities, or most social sciences, this is not the right fund. If it is a STEMM PhD and you will be charged overseas fees, you are in the target group. Confirm your exact course and department in the Cambridge Course Directory, because the funding deadline is course-specific.

Home-fee students should look elsewhere. Separate Krishnan-Ang awards exist in some years for specific cancer research projects and may be open to home or international candidates; those are different competitions, described on Trinity’s funding page.

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How to Apply

There is no free-standing public application form sitting outside Cambridge admissions. Consideration is tied to your University application.

Choose an eligible STEMM PhD in the Course Directory.
Check that course’s funding deadline, not only its final admissions deadline.
Apply through the Cambridge Applicant Portal.
Indicate that you wish to be considered for relevant funding. The official listing states that there are additional questions in the Applicant Portal.
Name Trinity College as your college preference if you want to be in contention for this award. Awards are conditional on acceptance by the Postgraduate Admissions Office and on becoming a member of Trinity.
Submit a complete application, including references, by 23:59 UK time on the relevant funding deadline.

Trinity’s general guidance is that applicants for most College studentships do not complete a separate funding form. Eligible candidates are considered from the University application if they have indicated interest and meet the criteria.

Do not leave references to the last day. An incomplete file on the deadline is usually a file that is not considered for University and College funding.

Key Dates for 2027/28 Entry

Applications for 2027/28 are open.
Main University funding deadlines: 8 December 2026 and 6 January 2027, depending on the course.
Gates Cambridge (US round): 14 October 2026, if that separate scholarship is also relevant to you.
Krishnan-Ang application deadline: the same as the funding deadline for your course.
Results window: March–April.
Award year: 2027/28.
Length: 3.5 years from the start of the PhD.

Always verify the date on your own course page. Departments do not all share one calendar. The University explains the process on Applying for University funding.

How to Make a Competitive Case

One award means the shortlist will be small and the standard will be high. Committees read the same materials your department reads.

A first-class or equivalent undergraduate record, and a strong master’s result where that is the normal path in your field.
A research proposal that is specific, feasible, and clearly located in a Cambridge group.
Evidence that you already think like a researcher: publications, preprints, conference work, or substantial project experience.
Referees who can compare you with other people who went on to leading PhD programmes.
A supervisor or group that is a genuine fit, not a name taken from a ranking table.

The studentship is awarded on academic merit. Financial need is not the stated selection basis. Write for excellence, then use the funding section of the portal so the College can see that you want to be considered.

Is It Worth Restructuring Your Application Around Trinity?

If STEMM at Cambridge is already your plan, yes. You are completing the University application in any case. Selecting Trinity, answering the extra funding questions, and meeting the course funding deadline is a low extra cost for a high-value award.

If you have no interest in Trinity membership, this particular studentship is not transferable to another college. The award and the College are linked.

The practical next step is simple. Open the course page for your intended PhD, write down its funding deadline, and start the Applicant Portal file early enough that referees are not the reason you miss March–April consideration. For one overseas student in 2027/28, that sequence is the difference between a fully supported 3.5-year doctorate and another year of looking for money.

Official listing: Krishnan-Ang Studentship for Overseas Students in STEMM Disciplines
Trinity overview: Trinity postgraduate funding awards
Cambridge funding search: Postgraduate funding at Cambridge

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