UK: Rhodes Scholarships for International Students

The Rhodes Scholarships are postgraduate awards supporting exceptional all-round students at the University of Oxford. Established in the will of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, the Rhodes is the oldest and perhaps the most prestigious international scholarship program in the world.

Host Institution(s): Oxford University in UK

Fields of study:

Rhodes Scholars come from many academic backgrounds and pursue a wide variety of courses at Oxford. The scholarship is more accurately viewed as an investment in a person of remarkable promise than support for a particular course of study. Applicants should review the University of Oxford’s course programmes to determine the degree for which they would apply. There are very few restrictions on the full-time post-graduate degrees supported by Rhodes Scholarships and these will ordinarily be in the Memorandum to Candidates for your country. Rhodes Scholars may only undertake the Master of Business Administration or the Master of Financial Economics in the second year of the Scholarship.

Number of Scholarships: A class of 82 Scholars is selected each year

Target group:

Students from Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica and Commonwealth Caribbean, Kenya, New Zealand, Pakistan, Southern Africa (including South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, and Swaziland), United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Scholarship value/inclusions:

The Rhodes Scholarship covers university and college fees and a stipend for living expenses for two and possibly three years of study at the University of Oxford. The stipend is currently set at 958 UK pounds per month.

Eligibility:

The Rhodes Trust warmly welcomes applications from talented young women and men of diverse backgrounds. Selection of Rhodes Scholars is made without regard to gender, marital status, race, ethnic origin, colour, religion, sexual orientation, social background, or disability.

Cecil Rhode’s will outlines four criteria to be used in the election of Scholars:

* literary and scholastic attainments
* energy to use one’s talents to the full
* truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship
* moral force of character and instincts to lead, and to take an interest in one’s fellow beings.

Application instructions:

The selection of Rhodes Scholars is overseen by a National Secretary in each Rhodes country. For details of the selection process in your own country, including detailed eligibility criteria and application form, follow the country links here.

The 2011 Round applications will open around May 2010. In the meantime, please check carefully the eligibility criteria for the country for which you are applying.

It is important to visit the application page and the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

Contact information:

Rhodes House, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RG, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1865 270902
Email: admin@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk

Official page: http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/page/about