- Are you thinking of applying to a graduate course at Oxford?
Great! - The best time to start applying for funding is right now.
- You can apply for a course from the start of September.
- Most scholarships are open only to new graduate students,
so it’s important to think about the costs for your whole course,
and how to fund it, as soon as you decide to apply.
You should consider funding offered both within Oxford,
like scholarships, studentships and Research Council funding,
and outside the University, like charities, employer support and loans.
Applying for Oxford funding can actually be pretty simple.
Most is awarded based on academic excellence,
and often nothing more than your course application is required.
For the majority of Oxford’s opportunities you’ll
be automatically considered for scholarships you’re eligible for.
For scholarships which do need an extra application, you can use the Fees, Funding
and Scholarship search to check which you’re eligible for.
For some it's as simple as ticking a box on the application form
to say that you’d like to be considered.
You’ll find a list of Oxford scholarships you’ll be automatically considered for
on our A-Z scholarships page.
There’s also information on department and college websites
about the funding they offer.
- Most Oxford scholarships provide full funding,
which will cover your course fees and a grant for living costs.
- There are around 1,000 full or partial Oxford awards available to new students each year.
There are also a range of scholarships provided by colleges.
- For most you don’t even need to choose that college on the application form to be considered.
- They all might look different but they’re all lovely and happy to have you.
- Getting an offer to study at Oxford doesn’t necessarily mean that you
will be getting an offer for a scholarship,
and some scholarships may only cover partial costs of the degree,
so it’s really important that you start researching
and look into opportunities outside of the university.
- And there are many who want to give you a helping hand, from the
Rhodes Scholarships to the Leathersellers' Company.
- Our external funding webpages can help you work out
where to start and give you lots of ideas for options to explore.
- The most important thing to remember is to apply by the deadline.
- For almost all Oxford scholarships you need to
apply by the December or January deadline
for your course to be eligible.
- Check your course page to see which deadline you’ll need to apply for.
- Double check the deadlines for external funding
you’re applying for, as this can be different from your course deadline.
- You’ll hear whether your application to your course is successful around eight to
ten weeks after the deadline you applied to.
- So if you apply for a January deadline,
you’ll hear around mid- to late March.
- While you’re waiting to hear back, you can explore other alternatives such as UK Master’s or
Doctoral loans, or government loans from your home country where these are available.
- Many of these open to applications in the spring
and you can cancel them later if you end up not needing them.
Around this time scholarship selection panels meet to assess the applications.
- Panels are made up of academics who are experts in their field.
They rank students based on academic merit and potential,
based on your course application.
- For some scholarships, panels will assess additional factors such as leadership potential
by reviewing any extra documents you have submitted.
- You can check selection criteria for different Oxford scholarships on our website.
- Each scholarship has its own decision timeline,
so if you’re successful you’ll be contacted by email,
usually between March and June.
- The university will get in touch with everyone
about the outcome of your course application,
but for funding only successful applicants will be contacted.
- If you’ve not been offered a scholarship by the end of June,
or received a partial award, now is the time to sort out
other sources of funding.
- You will need these details to complete your financial declaration and confirm your place to study.
- Don’t rely on being able to earn your way through your course
by working alongside full-time study.
- You won’t have time to do both your course and a job,
and will want to ensure you can focus on your studies.
- If it seems like a lot to do - don’t panic!
- Make sure you work backwards from your December or January course deadline
to give yourself plenty of time for each step.
- What you can do with funding is pretty incredible…
- It's a really amazing experience, being a student here.
- I would not have been able to fund my studies here
without the Clarendon scholarship.
- The most special thing about the WHT scholarship programme
is that it creates a true family,
a community at Oxford that you can rely on.
- As a Rhodes scholar, there's a large community
of fellow scholars I get to interact with
from all over the world.
- Coming to Oxford is an incredible experience.
- I have had my mind challenged, my intelligence boosted.
- So I actually visited Oxford 8 years before,
and that was my first time here,
um, and at the time I just feel this urge
that I want to go back and become a student.
- It has really changed me, and the way that I see my field.
- The Clarendon scholarship has not only impacted my studies,
but has also impacted my life as a whole.
- It's a place where you find some of your best friends.
- I feel lucky to be here.
- Even if you're doubting yourself you should still submit an application
because you never know what's going to happen...
um...
and it can be life, life changing.