Thirty-five students from the United States have been selected as Gates Cambridge Scholars for 2025. The Gates Cambridge Scholarships are among the most prestigious awards for postgraduate study in the world. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the program.
The 35 U.S. students, announced this week by the Gates Cambridge Trust, will begin their studies at the University of Cambridge this fall along with 65 other new scholars from other parts of the world who will be announced in April. The full class of 2025 will join almost 300 current Gates Cambridge Scholars already studying at Cambridge.
“I’m delighted to announce the US Scholars for our 25th anniversary cohort. Since its inception Gates Cambridge has selected scholars based on their outstanding academic achievement and their commitment to change the world for the better,” said Eilís Ferran, Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust, in the announcement.
“Already they are having a ripple effect in the many disciplines and industry sectors they have gone on to work in. We know that our new US Scholars – and those we announce in early April from other parts of the world – will thrive in the rich, international community at Cambridge and we trust that they will go on to have a significant impact in their various fields and more broadly, tackling the urgent global challenges we face today,” added Ferran.
The Gates Cambridge scholarship fully funds postgraduate study and research in any subject at the University of Cambridge. It was established by a $210 million donation to the University of Cambridge from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000.
Four selection criteria are emphasized: outstanding intellectual ability, reasons for the scholar’s choice of a field of study, a commitment to improving the lives of others, and leadership potential. The scholarship covers the cost of attendance at Cambridge plus an annual living allowance for up to four years for PhD candidates. Additional discretionary items are also paid for, including academic development funds and a family allowance if the recipient has children.
The new U.S. scholars studied at 36 universities across the United States and beyond. Nine institutions produced a Gates Cambridge Scholar for the first time: College of Wooster, Columbia College Chicago, Emerson College, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Everett Community College, Grand Valley State University, Lafayette College, North Seattle College and the University of New Hampshire.
The 35 scholars will study and research subjects across a range of fields, including the physical and biological sciences, engineering, social sciences, and the humanities. Thirteen will pursue PhDs, and 22 will undertake one-year master’s degrees. Here are some examples of this year’s class.
- Princeton University senior Joshua Yang plans to pursue an MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies at Cambridge. Yang, who will intern this summer at The Washington Post, plans for a career in journalism.
- University of Chicago senior Elena Tiedens, who focused on environmental history and had a minor in Russian and Eastern European Studies, will study at Cambridge’s Scott Polar Research Institutes where she plans to conduct research on the post-Soviet Arctic.
- Yale University senior Naina Agrawal-Hardin is researching how the effects of climate change are litigated globally. She will pursue a Master of Philosophy degree in the field of Anthropocene studies, focusing on how climate change projections are received by various audiences, including the government, the fossil fuel sector, and the public.
- Abigail Schipper, a recent MIT graduate with a BS in mechanical engineering and a minor in biology, will pursue an MPhil in engineering, researching medical devices that are used in pre-hospital trauma systems.
- Eryk Salvaggio previously earned a MSc from the London School of Economics in media and communications and two BAs, in new media and journalism, from the University of Maine. He will pursue a PhD in Digital Humanities, studying the use of generative AI in policy, pedagogy and design.
- Sarah Nicholls, a University of New Hampshire a biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology major,will pursue her Ph.D. in medical science, focusing her research on the protein tau, which is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease.
- Washington University (St. Louis) senior Elijah Darden majored in psychological and brain sciences and minored in music. He plans to earn a master’s degree in population health sciences, after which he intends to attend medical school in the U.S.
Since the first class in 2001, Gates Cambridge has awarded 2,218 scholarships to scholars from 112 countries representing nearly 800 universities globally, including more than 200 in the U.S.