Further study

For postgraduate study overseas you’ll generally need to apply to each institution individually, as there are few equivalents to the UK’s UCAS system. When considering whether to study in another country, you’ll need to consider the following issues:

• How does the Higher Education system work in your country of choice? What level of course should you be looking at, what is the admissions procedure, and what qualifications are required?
• What are the language requirements for studying in your chosen country?
• Are there nationality restrictions for the programmes or courses that you’re interested in?
• Will the qualification you obtain be adequately recognised in the country or profession in which you ultimately intend to work?
• Funding availability and costs of application, tuition and living.

The Careers Service subscribes to GoinGlobal to help you explore living, working, and studying in different countries.

If you are considering courses in the US, these additional resources can support your research:

• Fulbright Commission
• International Student Study USA Guide
• Education USA
• FindaPhD has some excellent advice on studying in the US.
• See our article on GRE resources on Handshake.

Advice on GPA

It is not possible to directly translate a UK qualification into a GPA equivalent because the UK and US education systems use fundamentally different grading structures and evaluation criteria. The UK system typically uses degree classifications (e.g., First-Class, Upper Second-Class) and percentages, whereas the US system relies on a numerical GPA scale (0.0–4.0) based on individual course grades and credit hours. As a result, any attempt at direct conversion may lead to inaccuracies, and at worst a misrepresentation of your grades.

Reach out to the university or employer to ask for specific guidance on the type of evidence they require to evaluate your qualifications - most major colleges in the US will be aware of international grading systems and will give you advice on what evidence they require. 

If this approach doesn't work When applying for jobs or study in the US, you can provide a breakdown of your results by percentage and classification or ranking,  Employers or universities can use this information to better understand your academic performance.  The Fulbright Commission offer information and advice on study in the US.

Fees for postgraduate study vary considerably, with non-UK fees often being much higher than those in the UK. International fees may not be covered by studentships or other funding arrangements.

• Postgraduate loans are available for Masters’ and PhD courses in the UK.
• Guide to Funding Your Masters provides an overview of funding sources. FindAPhd has the equivalent guide for PhDs.
• Find additional funding via Postgraduate Search and the Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding.
• The Henry, Procter, and Choate Fellowships support UK students and graduates (in some cases specifically Cambridge graduates) applying for postgraduate study in the USA.
• The Thuron Award is a scholarship for British Nationals who want to study their masters or PhD study at the University of Pennsylvania in the US.
• University of Cambridge Postgraduate admissions funding overview
• University of Cambridge Cambridge students fees, funding, and financial assistance
• University of Cambridge Undergraduate study fees and finance

Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding

• We subscribe to The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding which is all about alternative sources of funding - especially charities - which can make awards (fees, maintenance, research costs) to any student regardless of subject, or nationality. This huge database contains: funding opportunities, comprehensive guidance, grant application writing tools, model personal and financial statements.
• To access this as a current student go to the website and register with your current Cambridge e-mail. If you have graduated, you can access the site under the prospective student section, entering the PIN 8707. We also keep a hard copy of the guide in our library.

FundsOnline

We subscribe to the Funds Online funding database. This is produced by the Directory of Social Change which is a UK charity producing software for grant-seekers.

• Information on about 3,500 grant-making trusts
• Includes trusts that give grants for educational needs to fund people looking for money to study or develop their career and for welfare (because of poverty, ill-health, disability)
• In the first instance, we'd recommend The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding (above) as it is quicker to navigate. Once you have explored that, email enquiries@careers.cam.ac.uk for an access code to FundsOnline, this will allow you to use the database for seven days. Please share your CRSid and the reason for the funding.