How to Apply

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2027 Martingale Scholarship applications will open on Wednesday 12 August.

Eligibility

We are looking for candidates who have the academic potential and motivation to undertake postgraduate research, while contributing to the cohort of Martingale Scholars.

Applicants will be prioritised based on evidence of financial need, academic potential and motivation for postgraduate research.

If you have refugee status and are eligible for Home Fee status, you are eligible to apply even if you do not meet the minimum requirements for education history in the UK or Ireland.

Applications for 2027 Martingale Scholarships will open Wednesday 12 August 2026. Sign up to our newsletter for announcements about the 2027 Scholarships. Please note, dates are subject to change.

Have questions about the application process? Check our FAQs page for more information.

FAQs

To be eligible for 2027, you must:

01. Have achieved, or be on track to achieve, a First or Upper-Second Class (or equivalent) in your most recent taught degree in a relevant subject.

02. Be eligible to commence a Masters or PhD degree at a UK university from September 2027.

03. Qualify for Home Fee status at our partner universities.

04. Have been to school in the UK or Ireland for at least three years between the ages of 11 and 18; or if not, for at least seven years between the ages of 4 and 18.

05. Have completed your GCSEs or equivalent at a state-funded school, or received a scholarship or bursary covering least 90% of fees to attend a fee-paying school or college.

06. Have faced or are facing financial barriers, including having a household income of £45,000 or under.

Read the eligibility guidance document in more detail here:

2026 Scholarships Eligibility guidance document

The three application stages

01. Apply to Martingale

To apply, you will need to complete our online application form. This helps us understand your background and your motivations to become a Martingale Scholar. You will need to provide an academic transcript, evidence of financial need and two referees.

You should also seek further information from universities about the courses directly, including their graduate admissions departments.

If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to an assessment centre, where you will be interviewed by academic representatives and a Martingale representative. These will assess your academic potential and your motivation to do postgraduate research. We will also assess how you would contribute to the cohort of Martingale Scholars.

02. Apply to partner universities

If successful, Qualified Candidates will then apply directly to one or more partner universities for an eligible course. Throughout this period, Martingale will run Masters and PhD application support, including online workshops, one-to-one guidance and an in-person Showcase Event for PhD candidates.

You will complete a separate application for each university, which must be done in accordance with the university’s standard admissions process and deadlines.

03. Funding allocation

For Masters Scholarships: If you receive an offer from one or more eligible courses, you will be invited to submit your university and course preferences to Martingale. The Martingale Foundation will use your preferences to allocate funded places to successful Qualified Candidates, and to place a group of Martingale Scholars at each of our partner universities.

For PhD Scholarships: Universities will make offers of Martingale PhD places directly to Qualified Candidates at their discretion, from the pool of candidates who have applied to them. Please note that there is a fixed number of Martingale PhD places at each partner university.

Please note that if a university offer is conditional, any funding from Martingale will also be conditional.

Be sure to read the application guidance before applying:

2026 Scholarships Application Guidance

Have questions about applying? Read the application FAQs here:

FAQs

Key dates

Wednesday 12 August 2026

Applications open

Ahead of applying, read the application guidance document for more details

Sunday 18 October 2026

Final application deadline

Applications will close at 23:59 on Sunday 18 October

November 2026

Assessment centres

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an in-person assessment centre across the country.

december 2026

Applicants will be notified of outcomes

Successful candidates (‘Qualified Candidates’) are supported to apply to partner universities.

december 2026

Showcase

PhD candidates will have the opportunity to meet with academics from our partner universities to learn more about eligible courses at the in-person PhD Showcase event in London.

December 2026 – january 2027

Application support

Martingale will run Masters and PhD application support workshops, one-to-one guidance and application proofreading for Qualified Candidates throughout this period.