Cambridge reduces Masters application fees, scraps doctoral applications fees

The University of Cambridge has committed to reducing its application fees for Masters students to £50 and scrapping doctoral applications fees entirely from the next academic cycle (2022/23). A press release by the Cambridge Student Union claims that the change “is an enormous step towards improving postgraduate access.”

The fee for all postgraduate courses – including doctoral-level courses – currently stands at £75. A 2021 survey conducted by Cambridge SU found that “over 260 respondents called for the fee to be removed and for the University to improve the accessibility of its postgraduate courses.”

The press release continues, “for students from countries where the currency is weaker, the £75 is a higher proportion of their income. UK students who cannot pay the fee are more likely to be state-educated, contributing to the lack of diversity within the postgraduate body at the University.”

The press release also notes that “many Russell Group institutions do not ask applicants to pay a fee.” The University of Oxford has also removed its application fees from 2023 onwards, “de-incentivising prospective students from making an application to Cambridge because there are cheaper and more accessible options.”

The alteration of fees is the outcome of “extensive campaigning and lobbying efforts by postgraduate SU sabbatical officers Amelia Jabry and Anjum Nahar.”

Nahar, the Cambridge SU Postgraduate President, asserted that “I was very lucky in that my parents were able to help me pay my application fee when I was applying to Cambridge, although I recognise that not everybody is in this position.” 

She affirmed, “Scrapping the doctoral application fee is certainly a positive step towards making postgraduate study at Cambridge more accessible to all.”

The SU Class Act Campaign, which “represents, supports and advocates for all students who have faced any kind of social, educational, cultural or economic disadvantage,” added that “access doesn’t end at undergrad admission, and the steps taken here to lower the cost of postgrad applications are a really important realisation of that philosophy.” 

The Class Act Campaign also added, “hopefully [the fee alterations] are the first step in getting the application fee abolished completely!”

Cambridge SU “hopes to see further investment into the University’s Postgraduate Admissions Office, alongside further measures to improve postgraduate access and participation.”

The full press release can be read here.

Feature image credits: Rosie Smart-Knight