Career growth unlocked: find funding at Cambridge

From professional diversity and global impact awards to scholarships for military backgrounds or South African nationals, there are numerous options to help fund your MBA. Cambridge also maintains longstanding partnerships with the Forté Foundation for female candidates and Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) for candidates across the LGBTQ+ community. There are still plenty of opportunities to fund your MBA studies at Cambridge in 2025.  

Funding for professional career impact

Luisa Maria Horwitz, from Argentina, received this year’s scholarship award for Professional Impact. She explains what receiving the award means to her.

“I am deeply honoured and humbled to be the recipient of the Professional Diversity Scholarship and Forté Fellowship award. Not only were these awards significant in helping me attend the MBA programme, but they also make me proud to represent students of non-traditional backgrounds within my class and for women in business school generally.” 

After many years working in public policy and Latin American public-private sector relations, she wanted to transition to the private sector but needed a catalyst to propel her career forward. She says, “I realised that a transition into the private sector’s world of public affairs would be stronger if I added new tools to my belt with an MBA”. 

The Cambridge MBA Scholarship for Professional Impact offers 4 awards across the admissions cycle of up to £45,000 each. The scholarship supports the wider diversity of the class, bringing a wide range of sector diversity and professional experience into the MBA cohort. The scholarship is awarded for those who have made an impact in their industry and have meaningfully contributed to their professional community. Priority will be given to candidates who are working in sectors which we feel are currently underrepresented within the diverse and rich MBA cohort each year and across the community at Cambridge Judge Business School more widely. Sectors range from those working in a family business, careers in sustainability or the energy sector, NGOs and the not-for-profit sector, along with social enterprises, as well as those whose background is in the arts and media or have started their career in the professional sports sector.  

Luisa concludes, “What I want to get out of my MBA most of all is a challenge. Beyond accessing a network of aspiring individuals and world shapers, I want to learn from different perspectives and be challenged to push my boundaries both academic, professional, and personal”. 

Funding for global career impact

At Cambridge Judge, our people are our greatest asset. We take pride in the diversity of our community and promote an inclusive culture in which all are treated equally and have equal opportunity. Our Global Impact Scholarship is awarded to a selection of targeted nationalities, enhancing our cohort’s diversity each year. 

Weslyn (Lei) Wang, from China, received the Cambridge MBA award for Global Impact last September as she entered the class of 2024, she was also a recipient of the Forté Fellowship. 

She says, “The MBA at Cambridge offers a multidisciplinary environment where collaboration with other departments and fields is encouraged, which is essential for innovation and entrepreneurship, unlike some other standalone business schools. In addition, the Cambridge ecosystem, particularly with its strong ties to the tech community, known as Silicon Fen, offers a vibrant tech environment and the curriculum and projects align perfectly with my background and interests”. 

She continues, “I am truly grateful to receive this scholarship. It provides me with greater motivation to embrace future challenges. I am more than happy to contribute to the community at Cambridge Judge and share my experiences. By doing so, I hope to inspire fellow students from diverse backgrounds, encouraging them to integrate technology within their own fields and spark even more brilliant business ideas and entrepreneurial opportunities”. 

For Namsay Norbu, from Bhutan, it was also the shared learning experience, together with the diversity of the cohort, that inspired his MBA journey to Cambridge.

He says,  “Diversity has always been at the forefront of my education. Having attended schools in Bhutan, India, South Korea, and US, I have had the privilege to connect with and live among international students from around the globe. To be awarded the regional diversity scholarship, therefore, is not only a huge honour but also a validation of my belief that diversity is a pillar of effective education”. 

The Cambridge MBA Scholarship for Global Impact offers 4 awards across the admissions cycle of up to £45,000 each. 

The Cambridge MBA Scholarship for Global Impact is for candidates who have made an impact in their region and meaningfully contributed to their community. Priority will be given to candidates from countries which we feel are currently underrepresented within the MBA cohort to ensure a diverse global community each year.

The list of countries may change in each annual admissions cycle. For more details and a list of countries please visit our MBA Fees and Funding pages.  

Support for South African nationals

The Cambridge MBA Professor Jochen Runde Scholarship for South African nationals has been successful in bringing students from South Africa to study for their MBA in Cambridge for many years.  

“Having someone as qualified and experienced as Jochen is a massive opportunity for me. He is a well-respected and senior person in the business school as well as the wider Cambridge community. I intend to use my MBA skills to help others within South Africa to achieve greater things together,” says 2019 recipient Pieter Daneel.  

San Naidoo received the Jochen Runde award in 2021, on receiving the award he said,  “Being awarded this scholarship is an incredible honour and I am truly grateful. South Africa is a country characterised by staggeringly high levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality, amongst other challenges.

“I am proudly South African and deeply passionate about playing a role addressing these socio-economic challenges. Being awarded this MBA scholarship award gives me even more motivation to continue working towards having a more impactful and meaningful career and life.” 

He continued, “As a South African, studying at Cambridge Judge is an opportunity beyond anything in my wildest dreams.

“The idea still feels somewhat surreal to me! Beyond the MBA, having exposure to the broader university community will provide a richness that makes the Cambridge MBA experience unparalleled in my view.

“I feel incredibly privileged to know that I will share in the special history and pedigree of the University.” 

As well as a single award of up to £30,000 offered to a student of South African nationality, Professor Jochen Runde, whose name this award reflects, offers mentoring and support to the successful candidate during their MBA year in Cambridge.

Professor Jochen Runde is a former Director of the Cambridge MBA. He is Professor of Economics and Organisation at the University of Cambridge and Professorial Fellow of Girton College. 

Nikita Dehal received the award in 2022 and said, “I feel honoured and extremely grateful to have received this scholarship award.

“South Africa is a beautiful and culturally diverse country but one that also has its challenges, including the notably high levels of inequality and poverty.

“This scholarship and the associated mentorship from Jochen Runde, will provide me with the unparalleled opportunity to explore ideas around solving South Africa’s key challenges and will better position me for a more impactful post-MBA journey.” 

Military veterans pivoting their career

Alex Blomstedt from the US, proclaims to come from a family of “pathological pivoters”. When he started his MBA studies last year, the recipient of this year’s Cambridge MBA Scholarship for Military Veterans, he was preparing himself for a second pivot in his career after spending the past 7 years in the US Navy as an Intelligence Officer.

“As I prepare for a second pivot after almost 7 years of military service (previously I taught college English), I am happy to say that joining the University of Cambridge as an MBA student has assuaged the dread of abandoning yet another stable career,” he says.  

On the scholarship opportunity he says,  “I am honoured to receive this scholarship award and proud to join an organisation that values my military experience and that of others. I believe teams are stronger when they include people with starkly different backgrounds and skill sets. The military is just one non-traditional pre-MBA career, but I am thankful that Cambridge Judge Business School has carved out this space for veterans”. 

For those currently serving in the military or who have just left, an exciting opportunity awaits at Cambridge! The Cambridge MBA Military Veterans Scholarship offers substantial support, with 2 awards of up to £30,000 each. Additionally, Cambridge Judge Business School proudly maintains its status as a GMAC military-friendly institution, extending application fee waivers to all military candidates. This makes pursuing a Cambridge MBA not only achievable but immensely welcoming for our esteemed service members. 

These are just some of the scholarship awards on offer as we enter the last rounds for the MBA class of 2025, starting in September. Please visit our Cambridge MBA scholarships pages for more information, as well as opportunities across the wider University of Cambridge and worldwide external funding programmes.