2024 Rhodes Trust Scholarships for African Students at University Of Oxford in UK – Scholarships and Aid

The Rhodes Trust Scholarships is a postgraduate award supporting exceptional students from around the world to study at the University of Oxford.

Each year, the Rhodes Trust Scholarships are offered to more than 90 Rhodes Scholars selected from 20 Rhodes constituencies (64 countries) worldwide  to study for postgraduate degree at university of Oxford. They are outstanding young women and men of diverse backgrounds and interests who show strong potential to be public-spirited leaders for the world’s future.

Benefits

Rhodes Scholars may study for any full-time postgraduate degree (including the BA with senior status over two years) at the University of Oxford.

At the discretion of the Trustees, the Scholarship may be extended for a third year for those who take a recognized route to the DPhil. The Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and the Masters of Financial Economics (MFE) are only tenable in the second year of the Scholarship.

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The basic tenure of the Scholarship is two years, subject to satisfactory academic performance and personal conduct.

Eligibility Criteria

The following eligibility criteria apply to all applicants for the Rhodes Scholarships:

• Citizenship & residency: You must meet the citizenship/residency requirements of one of the Rhodes Africa constituencies : Kenya, Southern Africa (including South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland), West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, the island of Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone, São Tomé and Principe and Togo), Zambia, Zimbabwe.
• Age: You must have reached your 18th birthday and not have passed your 24th birthday on 1 October in the year of application. There is some variation on the upper age limit across constituencies depending on the local environment. Please check carefully the specific age requirements for your constituency before applying. Successful candidates will arrive in Oxford the October following the selection process. The Scholarship may not be deferred.
• Education: Rhodes Scholars must have completed a Bachelor’s degree before coming up to Oxford, to a sufficiently high standard to meet both the Rhodes and the Oxford criteria. Please consult the detailed information provided by the constituency to which you are applying on our How to apply for a Rhodes Scholarship page and the prospectus pages of the University of Oxford. NB: Some constituencies require completion of your undergraduate degree in the year of application for the Scholarship.

Selection Criteria

Rhodes Selection Committees are looking for young persons of outstanding intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service from 20 Rhodes constituencies (64 countries) worldwide.
The four criteria governing the selection of Rhodes Scholars are:

• Literary and scholastic attainments (academic excellence)
• Energy to use one’s talents to the full (as demonstrated by mastery in areas such as sports, music, debate, dance, theatre, and artistic pursuits, particularly where teamwork is involved)
• 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.

Method of Application

For detailed application requirements for each constituency, please visit the country pages via the country links.  In broad terms, all constituencies will require the following materials in differing forms:

• Evidence of academic record / transcript (complete or in progress) of undergraduate degree and any postgraduate study
• Curriculum vitae/resumé or list of principal activities
• Personal statement or essay (including, crucially, a clear statement of what the applicant wishes to study at Oxford and why)
• Evidence of age / birth certificate / passport
• English Language proficiency (where English is not the first language)
• Photograph
• List of referees (usually several are required) who can attest in confidential references to the character and intellect of the applicant, including academic, personal, extra-curricular and leadership achievements (and who should never include people to whom you are related)

For more information, visit Rhodes Trust website

Application Deadline: September 15, 2023