The Blavatnik School of Government, together with Wolfson College, is pleased to announce a scholarship to work under the supervision of Professor Jonathan Wolff, Dr Maya Tudor, Professor Dapo Akande, Professor Chris Stone, Dr Thomas Simpson, and/or other Blavatnik School faculty members on the themes of democracy and minority rights.

The scholarship covers full tuition fees and a stipend for living expenses for students of any nationality enrolled in the DPhil programme at the Blavatnik School. The scholarship is made possible through the Alfred Landecker Programme, which in turn is generously supported by the Alfred Landecker Foundation. The successful candidate will also benefit from membership of Wolfson College.

Wolfson College is one of the University of Oxford’s largest graduate colleges and is truly unique in its academic scope and international reach. Founded in 1966 by the philosopher and historian of ideas, Sir Isaiah Berlin, Wolfson is committed to sharing knowledge, inspiring change, and continuing to explore the human condition. The College motto, ‘Humani nil alienum’ – “nothing to do with human beings is foreign to me” – expresses our ideal for intellectual curiosity in the betterment of the human condition.

The project

The Alfred Landecker Programme aims to advance the goals of the Alfred Landecker Foundation, by drawing on lessons from the Holocaust and the collapse of European civilisation in the 1930s, and applying them to leadership today.

The overall aim of the programme is to draw upon cutting-edge research across disciplines to understand how the rights and interests of vulnerable people and groups are under threat through the overreach of authority and other threats to the rule of law, and to recommend and advocate for policies that strike the right balance between the protection of the most vulnerable and the celebration of distinct national cultures, in a way that benefits the integrity of democratic institutions. The Programme is mindful of the fate of Alfred Landecker himself, who like so many Jewish people, was murdered as a result of unchecked Nazi anti-Semitism.

We are especially interested in supporting work that combines a deep theoretical engagement on the themes of the programme with a concern for public policy. We anticipate that public engagement will be a natural part of the programme of activity undertaken by the scholar.

The candidate

Applicants will be assessed through the regular DPhil application process of the Blavatnik School. Please make clear in your DPhil application that you wish to be considered for the Alfred Landecker Programme scholarship. We welcome outstanding applicants from any discipline that can support the aims of the project, and are prepared to consider applications from philosophy, political theory, political science, social science, law and other relevant disciplines. Students are ordinarily only accepted to the Blavatnik School DPhil programme if they already possess a research master’s degree or equivalent training. For any questions, please contact the admissions team. The deadline for applications is the early January University deadline.

• Amount: Fees and a contribution towards living expenses
• Eligibility: Up to 30 scholarships are available for applicants who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, who are of Black or Mixed-Black ethnicity and who hold an offer for either a taught or research postgraduate degree, in the 2024–25 academic year, for any full or part-time graduate course at Oxford.
• Application process: To apply for the Black Academic Futures scholarships, all you have to do is submit your completed graduate course application, including ethnicity information, by the January deadline and you will automatically be considered. You do not need to submit any additional documents and there is no separate scholarship application form for these awards.

If you are eligible for these scholarships, you will be considered automatically regardless of which college (if any) you state as your preference on your graduate application form. However, some of these awards are only tenable at specific colleges and successful applicants will be transferred to the relevant college in order to take up the scholarship if applicable. Selection is expected to take place in May.

The Blavatnik School of Government-Nuffield scholarship is designed to help the University and Nuffield College attract and recruit outstanding graduate students in Public Policy. All applicants for the Blavatnik School DPhil will automatically be considered for this scholarship. For more information please see the Nuffield College website.

Please note that other scholarships linked with other colleges may also be available. For this reason, unless you already have funding secured, we recommend you submit an open college application.

• Amount: Full fees and a set amount to cover living expenses
• Eligibility: Academic merit and potential
• Application process: No separate application process
• Clarendon Scholarships aim to give the most academically-able students not only the life-changing opportunity to study at Oxford but also the chance to form lasting social, academic and professional networks.
• Read about Hannah Foxton's experiences as a Clarendon Scholar on the MPP.

• Amount: Full fees and a set amount to cover living expenses
• Eligibility: Residents of countries identified by the Jardine Matheson Group, and applicants to specific Oxford colleges
• Application process: You can apply directly to the Foundation – applicants will also be considered through a separate strand automatically if applying to the MPP.
• Up to five full scholarships are available for applicants who are ordinarily resident in Cambodia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand or Vietnam. The scholarships have been made possible through the support of the Jardine Foundation, an educational trust supporting scholars who have the potential to become outstanding citizens with a high commitment to the community.
• The scholarship is only tenable at one of the Foundation’s four link colleges: Exeter College, Oriel College, The Queen’s College and Trinity College. All eligible applicants will be considered for this scholarship, regardless of which college (if any) you state as your preference on the graduate application form. However, successful applicants will be transferred to one of the link colleges in order to take up the scholarship.
• Read about Weijie Tan's experience on the MPP as a Jardine Scholar.

Many national governments provide funds for their students to study overseas in the interest of fostering the skills and knowledge of their citizens.

Many of our students have successfully been awarded funding to complete their studies. For example, previous students have been successful in securing scholarship support from the governments of Chile (through the BECAS Chile), India, Indonesia, Singapore, Mexico (through CONACyT), and Qatar.

The Newton Fund promotes the economic development and welfare of poor people in partnering countries through science and innovation partnerships. The Newton PhD Programme offers funding for individual partner country students to undertake full PhD studies in the UK, or vice versa.

The Open Society Foundations award grants, scholarships, and fellowships throughout the year.

• Amount: Variable; depending on need
• Eligibility: Any applicant with financial need
• Application process: The Blavatnik School of Government Scholarship Questionnaire (which will be sent to everyone who receives an offer)
• These scholarships collect the gifts generously made available by some of our donors who wish to remain anonymous. Please contact the Admissions team if you have any questions relating to the Blavatnik School of Government Scholarships process. Please also be aware that due to other scholarship deadlines, the Blavatnik School of Government Scholarships Committee may not be able to make some decisions until late June.

• Amount: Fees and a contribution towards living expenses
• Eligibility: Various countries with Muslim communities
• Application process: Attachment of OCIS Scholarships Supporting Statement to university application
• These scholarships have been established by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies to allow graduates to pursue studies of benefit to the Muslim world.

• Amount: The scholarship covers course fees and a grant for living costs. Awards are made for the duration of fee liability for the course.
• Eligibility: Applicants must be ordinarily resident in India or have previously studied at an Indian higher education institution. The scholarship is applicable to any DPhil programme in Oxford, but the proposed area of study must be relevant to the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development’s agenda of interdisciplinary research on sustainable development and India. The Centre’s core research areas are: sustainable cities, climate change and clean energy, healthcare innovation, environmental sustainability and food and water security, law, governance and human rights are cross-cutting themes. Independent proposals on any India-related theme which fits within the overall aims of the Centre will be considered.
• Application process: Via University of Oxford application form. This award is only tenable at Somerville. All eligible candidates who have applied for graduate study by the January deadline will be considered, regardless of which college preference (if any) is included in the graduate application. Successful scholars will be transferred to Somerville. There is no separate application process, but shortlisted candidates will be asked to attend a video interview.

Find out more about the Oxford-Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship.

• Amount: Full fees and a set amount to cover living expenses (UKRI stipend equivalent)
• Eligibility: Any applicant to the MPP, the MSc in Public Policy Research or the DPhil in Public Policy; preference will be given to those coming from under-represented socio-economic groups.
• Application process: The Blavatnik School of Government Scholarship Questionnaire (which will be sent to everyone who receives an offer)

The Oxford-Reuben Graduate Scholarships were created as part of the Reuben Foundation’s landmark £80m gift to the University, and in this endowing Reuben College. The Foundation is committed to the betterment of society in the UK and around the globe through focused charitable giving in the areas of education, health and the community. The University has supplemented the £15m hypothecated to Reuben College scholarships with £7.5m from the Graduate Endowment Matched Scholarships initiative. This aims to support students who have demonstrated excellent academic ability and potential, and who will go on to make a great impact in their future careers.

Reuben College was founded in 2019 as the 39th college at the University of Oxford. To promote the ethos and practice of interdisciplinary interaction, there is an initial focus on four research clusters within the college, whose themes have been chosen for their wide reach across the University, their strongly interdisciplinary nature, Oxford’s existing and potential strengths in these areas, and their innovation and entrepreneurship potential. Each of the four areas is interpreted as broadly as possible, as the College is keen both to host students from all four of the University’s Academic Divisions (Medical Sciences, Maths, Physical & Life Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities) and to support the admission and progression of students from under-represented demographics.

• Amount: Full fees and a set amount to cover living expenses
• Eligibility: Please see the Rhodes Trust website.
• Application process: Separate application process through the Rhodes Trust – follow link for details
• The Rhodes Scholarships are postgraduate awards supporting exceptional students from around the world to study at the University of Oxford. Rhodes's vision in founding the Scholarship was to develop outstanding leaders who would be motivated to fight 'the world's fight' and to 'esteem the performance of public duties as their highest aim' and to promote international understanding and peace.
• Read Rafiullah Kakar's experience on the MPP as a Rhodes Scholar.

• Amount: Tuition fees, subsistence allowance and airfare
• Eligibility: Japanese offer holders
• Application process: Please see the application guidelines available online
• The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) provides scholarships for up to two years to a limited number of Japanese mid-career professionals who are dedicated to the alleviation of poverty and enhanced shared prosperity in developing countries, and who have been admitted to or are currently enrolled in a master’s or PhD graduate degree programme outside of Japan and in development-related fields.
• After earning their degree, Japanese scholars are expected to advance their professional careers with a keen focus on the alleviation of poverty and enhanced shared prosperity in developing countries.
• The next application window for Japanese candidates will open from 12 February to 19 April 2024 at noon Washington time.
• For more details on eligibility and how to apply please see the World Bank website.
• Please note: in order to apply to this scholarship candidates must meet their English language and transcript conditions as well as various other requirements prior to the application deadline in April and submit, with their application, a letter from the School confirming these requirements have been met. This can be a very tight turnaround given that offers from the School only go out in mid-March. Therefore, if you are hoping to apply for this scholarship we would advise you to make arrangements to meet your English language and transcript conditions in March – and you may need to make arrangements prior to outcome decisions. If you have any questions please email admissions@bsg.ox.ac.uk