What Rhodes Scholarship actually covers.
The Rhodes Scholarship is the world's oldest and among the most prestigious international postgraduate awards, funding exceptional young people to study at the University of Oxford. Applications for the Rhodes Scholarship 2027 cycle are open. The scholarship operates through a network of country and regional constituencies, and a number of these serve African nations — including South Africa, Kenya and East Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, West Africa, and Southern Africa — making it a genuinely open pathway for outstanding African graduates.
The award is fully comprehensive. It pays all University of Oxford course fees and provides an annual living stipend (£20,400, or £1,700 per month, at the 2025-26 rate), together with visa costs, the UK International Health Surcharge, two economy return flights, and a settling-in allowance to help scholars establish themselves in Oxford. It can be held for the full length of the chosen course, typically two years and up to three years for doctoral study.
Rhodes Scholars may pursue almost any full-time postgraduate course across Oxford's faculties, from the humanities and social sciences to the natural sciences, medicine, and engineering. Selection looks well beyond academic results, prizing character, leadership, service to others, and the energy to use one's talents to the full. Beyond the funding, scholars join a global community based at the historic Rhodes House and gain access to mentoring, leadership programmes, and an influential worldwide alumni network. African applicants should consult their specific constituency page for the precise eligibility rules and the exact closing date, which differs from region to region.
Who can apply.
Open to masters, phd applicants seeking to study in United Kingdom.
Open to applicants from across the African continent. Confirm specific nationality eligibility on the official application page.
Every academic discipline is accepted.
This programme does not restrict by field. Research proposals across humanities, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine are all accepted.
From here to submitted.
Scholar Africa helps you discover, shortlist, and track. The application itself is submitted on the provider's site.
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Save itAdd this to your shortlist so we can recommend similar scholarships and remind you of the deadline.
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Prepare your documentsMost providers ask for the same set — transcripts, references, a personal statement, ID. Use the checklist below to track progress across all your applications.
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Apply on the provider's siteSubmit on the provider's site before September 30, 2026 · 87 days left.
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Track the outcomeAdd to your tracker so you can update the status as the provider responds (shortlisted, interview, decision).
Document checklist
Checks are local to this device — they're not stored. Always confirm exact requirements on the provider's official application page.
What we checked, when we checked it.
Scholar Africa runs a link-liveness check on every listing before it goes live and an admin manually reviews every scholarship submitted by providers. Rhodes Scholarship is awaiting manual review. Five deeper checks (contact, organisation, winners, third-party, formal audit) are on the roadmap.
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Other scholarships worth a parallel application.
Same eligibility window or destination. Many strong applicants apply to three or four programmes per cycle.