PhD students studying at other universities can apply to be based in Cambridge during their studies.
There are two ways to apply, depending on the length of stay proposed:
Apply through Graduate Admissions, using the on-line application system. You will pay full fees for the year, be allocated a supervisor and a college place and have full access to University facilities (libraries, computing, lectures etc).
PhD students who wish to visit for less than a year, can apply as a guest of the Department of Sociology. Guest PhD students are offered the following:
- Access to computing facilities;
- Places at seminars and lectures;
- Use of the Seeley Library (Sociology, Land Economy) and the University Library.
- Mentoring: Department of Sociology staff mentor visiting PhD students to advise them on how best to make use of their time in Cambridge, and may give feedback on the work they do whilst in Cambridge.
Visiting PhD students are not registered for a qualification at the University of Cambridge.
Visiting PhD students must arrange their own accommodation, but the University Accommodation Office may be able to help.
The visiting student fee is £1200 per term, payable in advance.
How to apply
1 Identify a potential mentor from the Department’s Academic staff.
2 Fill in the application form and contact your potential mentor with:
- your completed application form,
- the time period for your proposed visit (the visit should ordinarily begin in a term following the application deadline),
- your CV,
- a reference from your PhD supervisor at your home University,
- a proposal for your research topic while you are in Cambridge and
- a sample of your work (in English).
Once your mentor has provisionally accepted your application, you will need to provide a scan of your passport and then your application will be sent to the Director of Research for final approval.
There are three deadlines per year for applications: 1st November, 1st February and 1st July. The three terms of the academic year at Cambridge are: Michaelmas (October–December), Lent (January–March) and Easter (April–June). Exact dates for the academic year are available here.
Further information
Please send any questions to enquiries@sociology.cam.ac.uk
Confidentiality Notice
The Department of Sociology uses your personal information to process your application to be a Visiting Scholar and to administrate your visit if your application is successful.
Your name and contact details will be held by the Department of Sociology in secure digital and hard copy files, and will be circulated to appropriate governance committees and staff for consideration. Unsuccessful applicants’ details will be held on file for two years, and successful applicants’ information for six years. Research Committee minutes and papers are held for five years from the end of the year the Committee was held in, and then considered as part of the archival process of the University.
For more information about how we handle your personal information, and your rights under data protection legislation, please see https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/general-data
