Gates, Churchill & Ellison Overview

Gates Cambridge Scholarship 

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship program was established in October 2000 by a donation of US$210m from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge. The first class of scholars came into residence in October 2001. Since then, the Trust has awarded over 2,000 scholarships to scholars from more than 100 countries. Each year Gates Cambridge offers around 80 full-cost scholarships to outstanding applicants from countries outside the UK to pursue a postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. Approximately two-thirds of these awards will be offered to PhD students, with approximately 25 awards available in the US round and 55 available in the International round. 

Churchill Scholarship

The Winston Churchill Foundation of the U.S., established in 1959, supports outstanding American students to do graduate work in engineering, mathematics, and the sciences at Churchill College, Cambridge University. Each year Stanford can nominate two applicants for the Churchill Scholarship, which provides for one year of tuition and expenses. At least fourteen Churchill Scholarships are offered annually. The Scholarship is tenable for nine, ten, or twelve months, depending on the academic program. “Churchill Scholarships enable American students of exceptional ability to study at one of the world's great universities. The Scholarships also provide the opportunity to experience the profound educational benefits which come from living abroad, adapting to a different way of life, and seeing the world, one's own country, and oneself from a new perspective."

Ellison Scholars Programme

The Ellison Scholars Programme is a relatively new initiative, born out of a large investment by U.S. tech billionaire Larry Ellison (co-founder of Oracle) to bridge the gap between academic research and global problem-solving. The programme is the educational arm of the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) founded in Los Angeles in 2016. In 2023, a formal partnership between EIT and the University of Oxford was established. This included a £30 million one-time investment specifically for scholarships and an ongoing £20 million annual commitment to the university, including the building of an EIT Oxford Campus designed by world-renowned architect Lord Norman Foster. The programme is notable for its high-profile advisory board (Larry Ellison, Tony Blair, Sir John Bell and Dr. David Argus), which connects the scholarship to global policy and industry. In 2025, EIT announced its first-ever cohort of 22 scholars which  represented 11 different countries across five continents, emphasizing the programme's "global innovator" mandate.