University of Oxford Rhodes Scholarships: A Comprehensive Guide

The University of Oxford Rhodes Scholarships are a prestigious and highly competitive award that can change the course of your academic and professional life. The scholarships are open to students from around the world, with a focus on the United States, Germany, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore.

The Rhodes Scholarships are fully funded, covering all tuition fees and living expenses, allowing you to focus on your studies without financial burdens. This means you can concentrate on your academic pursuits and make the most of your time at Oxford.

To be eligible for a Rhodes Scholarship, you must be at least 18 years old and not older than 28 years old by October of the year you apply.

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The Rhodes Scholarship covers Oxford University course fees, as well as providing an annual stipend of £19,092 per annum (£1,591 per month).

Scholars pay all living expenses, including accommodation, from the stipend, but it's not sufficient to cover partners or dependents.

The scholarship's basic tenure is two years, but it may also be held for one year or three years.

University and college fees are paid by the Rhodes Trust, and scholars receive a monthly maintenance stipend to cover accommodation and living expenses.

Scholars become affiliated with a residential college while at Oxford, and they also enjoy access to Rhodes House, an early 20th-century mansion with numerous public rooms, gardens, a library, study areas, and other facilities.

To be eligible for a University of Oxford Rhodes Scholarship, you must be a citizen of a country that is eligible for the scholarship, which includes over 20 countries in the world.

The selection process for Rhodes Scholars is highly competitive, with only a small number of scholarships available each year.

You must have completed at least two years of university study by the time you apply, and you must not have begun a graduate degree program.

A Rhodes Scholarship covers all university and college fees, as well as a stipend for living expenses, which is currently £15,900 per year.

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The selection criteria for the Rhodes Scholarship is quite specific and has remained unchanged since 2018. The criteria are based on the will of Cecil Rhodes and include 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.

Applicants must demonstrate these qualities through their academic and personal achievements. In the United States, for example, applicants must first pass a university-internal endorsement process before proceeding to one of the 16 U.S. districts committees.

Here are the specific selection criteria as outlined by the Rhodes Trust:

These criteria are used to evaluate applicants from around the world, and the selection process is highly competitive. In fact, the overall global acceptance rate stands at 0.7%, making it one of the most competitive scholarships in the world.

The Rhodes Scholarships are a truly international opportunity, covering course fees and providing an annual stipend of £19,092 per annum (£1,591 per month) to support living expenses.

The scholarship covers the cost of applying to study at the University of Oxford, including the fee for a student visa and the International Health Surcharge (IHS).

Scholars receive two economy class flights to and from the UK for the beginning and end of their studies in Oxford, which can be a huge help when planning travel arrangements.

The Rhodes Trust also covers the fee for visa renewal and further application for IHS for Scholars who transition to a second course of study in Oxford.

One of the most important things to note is that the stipend is not sufficient to cover partners or dependents, so Scholars will need to budget for additional expenses.

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The exclusion of Black Africans from Rhodes Scholarships was a contentious issue.

Scholars began protesting against the lack of diversity in 1970, with 120 Oxford dons and 80 of the 145 Rhodes Scholars in residence signing a petition in 1971.

The case of South Africa was especially challenging due to Cecil Rhodes' will, which specifically allocated four scholarships to alumni of white-only private secondary schools.

Only in 1991 did black South Africans begin to win the scholarships, thanks to the rise of the African National Congress.

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The exclusion of Black Africans from the Rhodes Scholarships is a complex issue that has a long history. In 1970, scholars started protesting against the fact that all Rhodes Scholars from southern Africa were white.

The problem was especially difficult to resolve in South Africa, where Rhodes specifically allocated four scholarships to alumni of four white-only private secondary schools. This made it even more challenging to change the rules.

A petition was signed by 120 Oxford dons and 80 of the 145 Rhodes Scholars in residence in 1971, calling for non-white scholars to be elected. The issue became "explosive" in the 1970s and 1980s as scholars argued that the scholarship be changed.

It wasn't until 1991, with the rise of the African National Congress, that black South Africans began to win the scholarships. This was a significant turning point.

Out of five thousand Rhodes Scholarships awarded between 1903 and 1990, about nine hundred went to students from Africa.

The Rhodes Scholarship has inspired many other post-graduate scholarships around the world. These include the Kennedy Scholarship, which is available to British nationals for study at Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Kennedy Scholarship was established in 1964, making it one of the earliest successor scholarships to the Rhodes. The Yenching Scholarship, on the other hand, was introduced in 2015 for study at Peking University.

The Schwarzman Scholarship was launched in 2016 for study at Tsinghua University, and the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program was established in 2018 for study at Stanford University. The McCall MacBain Scholars program was introduced in 2019 for study at McGill University.

These scholarships share similarities with the Rhodes Scholarship in terms of structure and selection criteria. Some of the notable similarities include the John Monash Scholarship, the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarship and Leadership Program, and the Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

The Marshall Scholarship and the Yenching Scholarship are also similar to the Rhodes, with a focus on public service and leadership. In fact, the Marshall Scholarship is often compared to the Rhodes, with some even highlighting a longstanding rivalry between the two.

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The following table highlights some of the key similarities between these scholarships:

These similarities demonstrate that the Rhodes Scholarship is not alone in its focus on public service and leadership.