Rhodes Trust Scholarships 2025 for African Students to Study at University of Oxford, UK

The Rhodes Trust offers Rhodes Trust Scholarships Postgraduate Scholarship Program for international students globally including Africans, to study at University of Oxford, UK (See country list below).

Application Deadlines: 

• East Africa: 31st August, 2024 (23:59 Eastern Africa Time)
• Kenya: 31st August, 2024 (23:59 Eastern Africa Time)
• Southern Africa: 1st August, 2024 (23:59, SAST)
• West Africa: 28th September 2024 (23:59 GMT)
• Zambia: 31st August, 2024 (23:59 Central Africa Time)
• Zimbabwe: 31st August, 2024 (23:59 Central Africa Time)

Offered Annually: Yes

Eligible African Countries: 

• East Africa: Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi
• Kenya.
• 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.
• Southern Africa: South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and eSwatini),
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe.
• See Countries specific criteria

Other Countries: Australia, Bermuda, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Jamaica & the Commonwealth Caribbean, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, SJLP (including Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine), United Arab Emirates, United States.

To be Taken at: University of Oxford.

Accepted Subject Areas: Courses offered at University of Oxford

About the Award: 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.

Type: Postgraduate

Rhodes 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.

Who is qualified to apply? 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.

Number of scholarships: Up to 19 (99 Annual Scholarships Worldwide)

• East Africa: 1
• Kenya: 2
• West Africa: 2
• Southern Africa (10): The Scholarships for these countries are administered from a regional secretariat based in Johannesburg. There are:
  • four Scholarships every year for applicants from South Africa-at-Large,
  • one for applicants from KwaZulu-Natal,
  • one for an applicant from one of: Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and eSwatini, and
  • one each for applicants of or from Diocesan College, Rondebosch; South African College School, Newlands; Paul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch; and St Andrew’s College, Grahamstown (including their identified partner schools, which are listed here).

• Zambia: 2
• Zimbabwe: 2

Duration: 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.

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

How to Apply: 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)

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details