Oxford and Rhodes Scholarships

Oxford and the Rhodes Scholarships
The Rhodes Scholarships, the oldest international fellowships, were initiated after the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, and bring outstanding students from many countries around the world to the University of Oxford. The first American Scholars were elected in 1904.


American Rhodes Scholars are selected through a decentralized process by which regional selection committees choose 32 Scholars each year from among those nominated by selection committees in each of the fifty states. Through 2004, applicants from more than 300 American colleges and universities had been selected as Rhodes Scholars. In most years, a Rhodes Scholar is selected from an institution which has not formerly supplied a successful applicant.

Intellectual distinction is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for election to a Rhodes Scholarship. Selection committees are charged to seek excellence in qualities of mind and in qualities of person which, in combination, offer the promise of effective service to the world in the decades ahead. The Rhodes Scholarships, in short, are investments in individuals rather than in project proposals. Accordingly, applications are sought from talented students without restriction as to their field of academic specialization or career plans although the proposed course of study must be available at Oxford, and the applicant's undergraduate program must provide a sufficient basis for further study in the proposed field. Through the years, Rhodes Scholars have pursued studies in all of the varied fields available at the University of Oxford.


Rhodes Scholars are elected for two years of study at the University of Oxford, with the possibility of renewal for a third year. All educational costs, such as matriculation, tuition, laboratory and certain other fees, are paid on the Scholar's behalf by the Rhodes Trustees. Each Scholar receives in addition a maintenance allowance adequate to meet necessary expenses for term-time and vacations. The Rhodes Trustees cover the necessary costs of travel to and from Oxford, and upon application, may approve additional grants for research purposes or study-related travel.

Overseas Rhodes Trust Secretaries

All applications should be made to the Secretary of the local Selection Committee. A separate memorandum explaining the regulations in detail is published for each country and may be obtained from the local secretaries whose names and addresses are below:

AUSTRALIA: Professor G L Hutchinson, Australian Secretary, The Rhodes Trust, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Melbourne,

Parkville, Victoria 3052

BANGLADESH: Professor T. Maniruzzaman, Secretary Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, Department of Political Science, Dhaka University, Dhaka 1000

BERMUDA: Mr J C Collis, c/o Conyers, Dill & Pearman, PO Box HM 319, Clarendon House, Church Street, Hamilton, HM BX

CANADA: Mr A R A Scace, QC, General Secretary, Rhodes Scholarship Trust, PO Box 48, Toronto-Dominion Centre, Toronto, Ontario, M5K 1E6

COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN & JAMAICA Mr P S Goldson, Secretary, Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, PO Box 417, Kingston 6

GERMANY: Herr T F M Böcking, Scherneck, Alteschlossstrasse 9, 96253 Untersiemau

HONG KONG: Mrs C Lee, Secretary, Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, Office of Student Affairs, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T.

INDIA: Professor V S Chauhan, Secretary, Rhodes Scholarship Trust , International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067. Email: india@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk

KENYA: Mrs Janet Kabiru, Secretary , Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, PO Box 2588, Kenyatta National Hospital, 00202 Nairobi.

MALAYSIA: Miss M Chow, Secretary, Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, The British Council, Ground Floor, West Block, Wisma SelangorDredging, 142C Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur

NEW ZEALAND: The Scholarships Manager, The New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee, PO Box 11-915, Wellington

PAKISTAN: Mr. Wasim Sajjad, Sajjad Law Associates

House 15, Street 49, F7/4, Islamabad, Pakistan

SINGAPORE: Dr Ong Teck Chin, Secretary, Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, c/o 119 Dover Road, Singapore 139656

SOUTH AFRICA: Mr Justice Edwin Cameron,

PO Box 41468, Craighall, 2025, Johannesburg, South Africa

This is for all correspondence regarding the Rhodes Scholarships in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland.

UGANDA: The British Council, PO Box 7070, Kampala

USA: Mr E F Gerson, The American Secretary, Rhodes Scholarship Trust,

8229 Boone Blvd, Suite 240, Vienna, VA 22182

ZAMBIA: Professor O S Saasa, Director, Institute for Africa Studies, University of Zambia, PO Box 30900, Lusaka

ZIMBABWE: Mr D L L Morgan, Secretary, Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee for Zimbabwe, PO Box 53, Harare

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